Persepolis Essay

Persepolis was a very insightful movie virtu every last(predicate)y the lives of Iranian people at a very important epoch in the countrys history. Two topics that stuck out to me the most were the personal effects of the war on the everyday lives of the citizens of Iran and secondly the not-so-patriarchal lifestyle of people at the household level. Once the revolution to bring down the Shah began, which was followed by the Iran-Iraq war, the lives of Iranians were never the same again.Before these events, Iran appeared to be what we can easily c every(prenominal) a modern society. Women were treated equally, men and women openly socialized unneurotic without any restrictions and westernization was apparent with the dressing styles of women, parties and the children indulging in pop culture. each(prenominal) of this drastically changed after the elections and once the war began. Under the new repressing government, religious extremists in power imposed several laws that undermine d the freedom of all citizens of Iran.Everybody was told how to dress whereby women were required to veil in public, parties and consumption of alcohol became banned, children were taught in school that the new government was very good, young boys were influenced into joining the troops and fighting in the war. In addition to all these social impacts in that location were economic downturns as well. The stores are shown to have empty shelves, the countrys infrastructure destroyed, healthcare deteriorated, the excessive restrictions on almost everything pushed for the need for black-markets and illegal operations.Even with all the restrictions from the people in power and the policing of everybody, there were muted a large number of people who were very modern, even men. unmatched example would be Marjanes father telling her and Reza to be to a greater extent careful about meeting in public. Another example would be when Marjanes uncle Anoush is released from prison and visits t hem, everybody ate dinner at the same table, both men and women. One of the topics that relate to our class readings is war and bereavement. The war that lasted so long did not occur without expensing lives of millions of innocent people.During the war period, countless lives were muzzy and most of these were men. Men fought in wars and died and the women were left to deal with the loss. When a missile lands in Marjanes neighborhood, the fear of losing her family takes over her and she is still a small(a) girl at the time. The same incident cost the lives of her friends in the neighborhood. Of all the natures in the movie, to me, Marjanes grandmother was the most compelling character. She was a fresh old woman who was inspirational, understanding and very realistic.She was a symbol of liberty and a great role model for Marjane. Most importantly, she practiced what she preached. She rigid a great emphasis on protecting the innocent as this was an issue close to her since her h usband and family members had been victims. When Marjane tells her that in order to save her self from the police, she lie and got an innocent man in trouble, Grandmother reacts in a agency that I didnt expect. She believed in being true to your own self and certainly did not tolerate any unfaithfulness, even from her beloved Marjane.The character that had the most impact on Marjane would have to be her uncle Anoush. He came into Marjanes life when she was still very young and definitely made an immense impression on her. As if his life story wasnt enough, uncle Anoushs goal left an even bigger impact on Marjanes life. She wouldnt tolerate people talking about war and death lightly after his death. Several times in her life when she was ghost confused, the words of her uncle Anoush helped her get through.