Purpose in Persepolis
by Stuart Henderson
1. When Anoush is arrested for his communist beliefs. Marjane is forced to come to terms with reality of the Shah and his evil ways towards those who do not abide by his beliefs. Subsequently, we see Marjane deal with anger towards God for not protecting her Uncle. This event shows that Marjane's ignorant attitude limits her knowledge of the world and therefore suggests that losing one's naivety is a necessary part of growing up.
1.1. This idea is shown though various techniques such as mise-en-scene. When Marji goes to visit Anoush in jail, we see Anoush in white against a black background. This suggests that Marjane views Anoush in such a bright light, whilst he is surrounded by black representing evil. By illuminating Anoush, the audience connects him with the idea of purity and good. Therefore, by removing such a positive character from the plot the audience and Marjane can see how the evils of the world are capable of abolishing innocence and good. As a consequence of this moment Marjane develops moral values that have positive impacts of her later in life.
2. An example from the film is the Islamic Republic's fundamental views. Because their beliefs are law, if you don't follow their beliefs you, you go against the law which results in destruction as not every one can hold the same beliefs.
2.1. Soldiers are constantly patrolling the streets of Iran to reinforce the law of the Islamic Republic.
3. That coming to terms with the evils of the world is a fundamental part of growing up
4. That fundamentalism is always destructive
4.1. Example from film is when Marjane has very fundamental views in God. She believes in Gods words and take them as the only words she likes to listen to. But when Anoush is killed, it goes against what God had told her, leaving her lost and in a very destructive state.
4.1.1. The scene of separation with Marjane and God in Marji's bedroom, shows her questioning Gods actions and essentially her fundamental views in God. Anoush dying went against what God told her which makes her question her fundamental views. - leaving her in destruction against herself
5. Embracing your cultural identity is important to self-acceptance. Without this you are rejecting who you are.
5.1. While in Vienna Marjane experiments with several different social groups trying to find her place within society. However she is always rejecting her true heritage as Iranian and that makes her uncomfortable with herself and others. This leads to her being clinically depressed and almost committing suicide. The film shows all of these relationships she forms with people within the groups ending badly, this shows that she'll never really be at ease until she accepts her Iranian heritage.
5.1.1. Marjane does her best trying to fit in the punk ocker music scene.
5.2. When Marjane denies her Iranian heritage, her grandmother's shadow haunts her and makes her admit her thoughts on Iran out loud. This scene ends with the shot of Marjane by herself in the darkness.By trying to brand herself as a french person she is faced to deal with her problems by herself with no one to talk to.
5.2.1. The film uses the mise-en-scene of her grandmother's shadow following her to represent her Iranian heritage. This shows that Iran will always be with her no matter how much she denies it, because you always have a shadow wherever you go.
6. That we need martyrs in the world.
6.1. Matyrs are people who have died for their cause and therefore are a symbol of what they are fighting for. Anoush is an example of a Martyr. We need matyrs in the world to give the people something to fight for. the whole idea that "they didn't die in vain". when Anoush gets put in jail and instead of sharing information, to protect his cause, he dies to save it. this is the example of matyrs being necessary, as he turns into an image for marjane of why she should fight the current government of iran. Another mention of martyrs in Iran is when Marjane's mothers friend comes troubled to marjanes house about her son being told that if he dies in battle he will be a martyr and will go to heaven
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8. When Marjanes gets her heart broken for the first time, it shows that in Iran they are described and shown as fundamentalists and fanatics but really they are like everyone else and do normal things and go through normal experiences
9. a scene that highlights this is when Anoush has to sacrifice his family and marjane for freedom and his beliefs
10. That freedom demands sacrifice
10.1. marjane and her family realise that the iran of today is not for marji and they decide to move her to vienna. she gains the freedom to express who she is in a country that doesnt deny her but it comes with the sacrifice of leaving her family and forgetting her cultural identity
11. That the struggle to grow up is universal - it doesn't matter your ethnicity.
11.1. Scene Description: Marjane's History Lesson. This scene essentially shows how kids do not understand politics. Kids across the globe have a naivity to them revolving around how their country is run, and why these particular people are in power. Marjane goes through these same struggles - she doesn't understand why Iran is so against The Shah - and why people don't like him even though he was chosen by God. In this scene Marjane is sat down with her parents for a much needed history lesson, which teaches her about the Shah and how he came to reign over Iran, and why in the present day people are so conflicted with him being the ruler.
11.1.1. Techniques Within This Scene: Composition. The composition of this scene shows how naive Marji truly is, and her struggle to understand such a mature problem in her immature state. The use of puppetry and colour shows how the history lesson was tailored to appeal to one of such youth, and was explained in such a way that would make sense to a young girl like Marji. The history lesson never really went into much depth, but a lot of information was covered - which shows the urgency for Marji to understand after being so confused and questioning about The Shah.