I was immediately struck by the power of the graphics and was not surprised to read in the back matter that Satrapi studied illustration--not art (per se), but strictly illustration. Technically, the drawing is considered black and white, but rarely does "black and white" art not also include gray tones and gradations. Persepolis is ONLY black and white and it occurs to me that perhaps Persepolis should be considered, not b & W, but black OR white. This is a very strong hint to the nature of the narrator's worldview (and also a signal of the Bildungsroman nature of the work). Satrapi sees the situation in Iran as a polemic one--she and her family are on the correct side of morality and the Iraqis, the Iranian regime, and the Guardians of the Revolution are all on the wrong side. It is cut and dry, black or white.
The polemic is reinforced and authenticated by the age of the narrator--as children and teenagers, we tend to make large pronouncements about our beliefs and hold them like dogma. That Satrapi is so clear in her voice and her convictions (and so clear, in black OR white, with her graphic representation of them) reminds me very much of the way I held my own convictions as an adolescent--with unwavering certainty.
prompt: More on the style and imagery of the art: what do you think about the fleeting moments into surrealism (the burning theatre, the cut up prisoner, the magic carpet ride, etc.) and how they complement/supplement the black-and-white visuality. What does this accomplish?
I am so moved by the surreal imagery and patterning created by the Satrapi. The images that simultaneously connect with the narrative and create patterned images that might be self-contained narratives are amazing. The prompt mentions the burning theatre and the magic carpet--and these are amazing. The images that I find particularly compelling are the Black Friday massacre (p40), the party when the Shah leaves (42), the border down exodus (89), mourning the war dead (95), the exploding children (102), and especially the down-the-stairs and the up-the-stairs images (103, 104). All these images use repetition to create patterns that have amazing movement and emotion. In the best quality of surrealism, this images waver between realism and patterns of black and white that blur the bounds of realism. It doesn't take much work to detach the realism in my mind (squinting can aid this) and "feel" the image as a movement of space, time, and matter--all imbued with emotion.
One more thought on pattern. Without the richness of chroma or even tone, Satrapi used patterns on clothes and blankets to give the imagery depth and texture. These patterns also work in a pseudo-subliminal way to guide the reader from scene to scene and day to day by the changing of pajamas, scarfs, and other textiles.
prompt: The abandonment of faith (religion, "God" in the narrator's dreams, etc.)
When the narrator banishes God from her life, "Shut up, you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!" (p70) I got goosebumps because it is almost exactly how I felt (and maybe what I said) when I was twelve and my brother died of leukemia. I decided right then, on that day, that God could not be benevolent and that I did not want a relationship with the entity. I look back on that time and I feel the gift of my brother's death (just one among many). That is the day that I became spiritually self-reliant and freed from doubt.
Thanks Darin for shedding light on the B & W aspect of the graphics. I particularly connected to "The polemic is reinforced and authenticated by the age of the narrator--as children and teenagers, we tend to make large pronouncements about our beliefs and hold them like dogma. That Satrapi is so clear in her voice and her convictions (and so clear, in black OR white, with her graphic representation of them) reminds me very much of the way I held my own convictions as an adolescent--with unwavering certainty"
ReplyDeleteblack is the color of that adolescent abyss when morality is high and narcissism the order of the day
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I had not considered the black and white (or black or white) nature of the text until reading your post. Thank you for that. It is true that much in the book is cut and dry; particularly the duality of good guy/bad guy, and that clinging to dogma that you mention was very much part of the adolescence of my friends and myself. I think it is reflected in the facts that Satrapi gives us in the narrative, too. Maybe the black and white works to reinforce that as well: here are the facts of this war; they are very straightforward. Here is my experience of it; it is very clear. The graphics and the text do seem to reflect each other in this way.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly black OR white; I hadn't previously considered that the drawings did not have gradations of grey, and yes it does definitely speak to the "right OR wrong with nothing in the middle" attitudes of many of the characters. Part of the reason I love Marjane as a protagonist is because she is so resolute in her opinions, and the abandoning God scene exemplifies that, and is powerful.
ReplyDeletei noticed how repetition and patterns created movement as well. there is a definite momentum that gets created in the way that she illustrates scenes from frame to frame. it's not static, but cinematic. what i found interesting, too, about this memoir in comparison to other memoirs, is that the visual image seems more necessary in telling the story and moving in forward than the text. at times, feel like i could glean what was going on plot-wise (minus the parts that require explanation around historical and political events occurring in the moment) without the text.
ReplyDelete