Persepolis Book vs. Movie

After reading Persepolis, I was very impressed with the graphic novel. I admired the author's successful attempt at showing the dilemma's of  a young woman throughout her life concerned with remembering the past during the Iran-Iraq war. It showed this through the main character, Satrapi's relationships and experiences growing up. The comic childlike drawings are simplistic but simplicity is far from accurate in regards to the answers for the reader and the characters. The novel has vignette-like sections which help show that each mini story is used to present a larger tale. 

Prior to watching the film version of Persepolis, I anticipated a film that was not going to live up to the potential of the novel, like most films. However, I was impressed with the fact that the film was done in a comic-strip style which were reflected by the flat black and white hand drawn animations. The film continues to show Satrapi's struggle with identity during her teen yeas, loneliness, and homelessness. Nevertheless, a part in the novel that I felt was important that was not in the film was "The Letter." In this part of the novel, the reader is shown that the Satrapi household's maid, Mehri, was not allowed to sit with the family during dinner. Satrapi's father also cut off a love affair Mehri had with the neighbor next door by telling him that she was not a part of the family and she was just a maid. This shows how social class was an important matter in the Satrapi household. I felt that this was an important matter in the novel by showing the type of living environment Satrapi grew up around and I was surprised that it was not included in the film. 

One apparent differences I found between the novel and the film was that the brisk pace of the film failed to capture the despair of Satrapi in the scenes. As McCloud mentions, comics allow for the reader to allow time to pass while reading and also gives them time to go back.