Persepolis: American Pop Culture in Iran

 

 

 

 

   In the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, the influence of American pop culture and American ideas in general can be seen. In the above panel (p. 6) Marjane addresses the veil that Muslim women are required to wear. In this panel I feel she is expressing her view that the veil and religion are old-fashioned, but she and her family are "very modern and avant-garde." I believe that the continued use of American culture throughout this novel was another way for Marjane and her friends to feel like they had freedom. The veil, the ideas, the political unrest made Marjane and her friends feel trapped in Iran, but the rebellious use of American clothes, music, and sayings made them feel like individuals in a land of sameness.

   In the above panel, (p.132-133) Marjane is caught by the women's branch of the guardian's of the revolution. Their job was to arrest any women they saw that were improperly veiled. In the above sequence, not only is Marjane improperly veiled, she is wearing a jean jacket, singing "Kids in America," wearing tight jeans, and wearing a Michael Jackson button. Michael Jackson is declared by one of the women to be the "symbol of decadence." Marjane manages to get out of being taken away, and as soon as she gets home she cranks up her American music and starts dancing again.

   American culture was so important to Marjane and her friends because wearing American clothes or listening to American music was their way of resisting the regime that was trying to oppress them. In the United States there was religious freedom, economic freedom, and freedom of speech. The great effort that not only Marjane and her friends, but also Marjane's parents go to to bring in Western culture to Iran shows how important these freedoms were to them. In the book, Marjane's parents go on holiday and ask her what she wants them to bring back for her. Marjane wants punk rock posters to put up in her room, so Marjane's mother rips the lining out of her husband's jacket, places the posters inside, and sews the lining back in. They risked their own safety in order to promote American culture in their daughter's life. The simple act of singing a song by an American artist or looking at a poster of an American punk rock band made the hell that the Iranian people were living in a little more bearable.