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THEME OF POWER & POLICS IN THE NOVEL, 'PERSEPOLIS' by Marjane Strapi

How does the given splash present tension and oppression resulting from power and politics?

'Persepolis’ is one of the most well-known and famous books written by Marjane Satrapi. It includes themes which relate to the author's real life. This graphic novel is autobiographical to a large extent and tries to capture the writer's childhood memories. The character of Marjane appears to be that of a thoughtful, insightful, perceptive child who may be looked upon as precocious as she is far ahead of her times; when other children of her age would be playing with dolls and toys, Marjane aspires to be a prophet. Marji’s growing up phase, starting with her childhood, is proof of the period of transition in Iran, when the Western culture was giving way to religious fanaticism. A drastic cultural change in the people's daily lives could be witnessed as the religious upholders executed strict vigilance and control over individual independence so that any adherence to the Western culture- be it to music or the dress code- was strictly prohibited, looked upon, and deemed punishable.

Marjane is ten years old in 1980 when the novel begins. She goes by the name Marji, and she's not an average girl playing with dolls. She thinks she's going to be a prophet. "I was born with religion," she says, without any perception of the depth of her words. Marji’s conversations with God reveal her innocence, which would be lost as she grows up in due course of time in the face of growing oppression in her country. Confused about it being a silly career choice, Marji tells her parents she wants to be a doctor but feels betrayed by God. "I wanted to be justice, love, and the wrath of God all in one" This is only the beginning of her identity crisis, which undergoes various phases of transformation and growth through a process marked by a rigorous ebb and flow as a consequence of the tides of change in their nation.

                                             

                                               SPLASH 1

                             

Marjane, sleeping at night, was woken up by her parents' conversation, overhearing which she learned that the police in Iran are oppressing the citizens. The visual graphic depiction of flames of fire emerging from the closed cinema is symbolic of the extreme oppression exerted by the police on the people. Hence, this represents the severe fanaticism spreading like wildfire in Iran. Since the police did not let other citizens help and due to the late arrival of the firefighters, the fire killed 400 people. However, the government blamed religious fanatics for the massacre.  The 4th panel, using emanata, depicts the severe injustice meted out, with the people trapped in the fire inside as the police do not allow them to escape. This is also proven in the next panel whereby the use of metaphorical visual graphics, the police force is shown to dominate the scene, intervening almost like an indestructible wall in juxtaposition with which the people carrying water seem minuscule and inconsequential, yet peaceful, displayed in the colour white. The last panel projects people being attacked mercilessly with batons; the visual graphics connote the severe injustice unleashed on the civilians, highlighting the theme of cruelty and oppression. The exercise of power and politics is shown to create mayhem, terrorising people into submission. 

                                              SPLASH 2

                               

    

The caption ‘I felt very lonely, I missed my country’ and Uncle Anoosh missing his family is evident in the visual graphic where his family is shown to be ghosts flying in the wind and watching over him, diminishing the gap between dream and reality. This shows their strong bond of love and the importance of family, which was hampered by the separation. The second panel shows an entirely different person, showing his desperation to go home, as it shows his anguish to see his family again, so much so that he is willing to take dangerous risks. The third panel, with the exclamatory fragment, “HALT!” suggests the police's suspicion of her uncle, and it seems as if the police were going to arrest him, leading to his imprisonment. This is shown in the next panel, and the exclamatory fragment, “Nine years!” also indicates the shock Marji experiences when hearing about her uncle, where her expression is heightened with the emanate of shock. 

The larger picture is the depiction of the time of oppression, ruthlessness and expulsion resulting from brutal and uncontrolled power, which forced people to forfeit their identity, disguise themselves and have false passports in the face of tension due to the oppression. The splash rivets the focus entirely on the tiny figure of Marjane sitting on the floor, listening intently to her uncle. The torture is also conveyed through the words, “They say you were tortured terribly”. Yet the speech, “What my wife made me suffer was much worse”, shows the various problems in Anoosh’s life. The panels project how outside torture infiltrates into the personal lives of people, in addition to the distress caused by political oppression and marginalisation that bears witness to how power and politics deprive people of freedom and fundamental rights.