Thursday, April 23, 2009
Still trying to figure it out...
Okay so I did not really connet well with Persepolis when I first read it. For some reason that really bothered me because I thought it was a compelling way to present a memoir and I just liked it. For that reason I have spent a while trying to think why it is I liked it so much, but could not connect with it. These were the few things that I could come up with as to why I liked and I found my connection. First off, Lily asked a question about the use of black and white verses a color presentation. Well my first thought: Color would be really expensive. Then I thought about it deeper to think that maybe Satrapi wanted to connect with people who would not really understand the history of that particular war. People like me. Dare I say many Americans? Where the majority is white. That was one connection that I could make with why it was printed in black and white. On another level, I think that Satrapi encounters many problems that we might encounter as we reflect on our pasts. Granted we never had to move out of our parents house because of war, or have to worry about a strict dress code, moral code, and religious code, but in a way we do. Satrapi had to move out of her house which is something that all of us have encountered as college students. We all have made friends had our troubles no matter how big or small compared to Satrapi, so in that way I think she is a lot like us. Another thing is in our American culture I think that there is a definate standard as to what people "should" wear, "should" act, "should" believe. None of us really get thrown in jail or killed over it, but there is an underlying sense of what we should define to be a part of the American society. With that I think that Satrapi's life really can connect with that of an American reader. Just some after thoughts.
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could the lack of connection be that you are unfamiliar with the events/government/history with the country iran?
ReplyDeletealso, i kind of said this in class, but i think that the white and black has a few tools I see. First, it is jarring on many pages. The simplicity of black and white really allows for the detail to sore. also black and white lends itself back the traditional format of a novel of a white page and black words. Second, I think it shows that I can take your tools and do something different and still profound. Third, I think it focuses more on the idea of lightness and darkness as good things are usually the light in the dark blocks like God and Freud. And fourth, the idea of buying market i like. But I think it moves past America and is global. I think in each of our worlds things are pretty black and white to us. This way or not. And the morals and motifs and emotions of the characters dealt within the book hit at the core; again no different in America or Iran.
so those are my thoughts. sorry if they are late and nonsensical.