Persepolis Identity

Within any literature, there is an omnipresent emphasis of history, identity, and time. No matter the genre, it has the ability to define how we ultimately interpret a text. It hands readers the opportunity to relate to a text that eventually stemmed from accounts of the environment the author is in and who the readers themselves are. However, as years pass, a developing bias towards literary fiction has crippled the appreciation for genre fiction’s own contemporary narrative. Academia fails to recognize the representation genre fiction provides for minorities, instead clinging to literary fictions with often exclusionary ideals.

Literary fiction has the tendency to be written by white authors with experience more closely relating to a white

Much too often, if not presented the news in major news outlets, people unconsciously allow themselves to either be unaware of the gravity of something or worse, not know of it at all. Because of this, genre fiction has been the one to come forth and provide this representation. A previously CPS banned book, Persepolis is an autobiographical graphic novel by Marjane Satrapi based on her experience growing up in Iran post Islamic Revolution. From the get go, the distinction of Satrapi’s life and a middle class American’s life is an obvious one. Though this does not necessarily designate one’s life worse or better than another’s, it ultimately provides a first hand visual documentation of just one of the many struggles people of color forgo. This is where genre fiction and literary fiction don’t meet. Literary fiction in the United States shows no regard towards life outside of it, leaving a very narrow path for people to comprehend one’s background. The discomfort of learning the truth behind life outside suburbia and privilege only builds bigger walls that result in stubbornness and ignorance. Even worse, it affects the life of others as minorities continue to struggle due to one’s ignorance. Awareness may not be able to instantly end an issue, but it encourages faith and optimism that a better life is not impossible. For this to happen, however, it’s crucial to take the step of

Our attempts to be heard are taken for savagery and unruliness while in complete hypocrisy, a white person’s stance against anything is a heroic gesture. Genre fiction provides the voice many people of color are unsure how to muster and encourages change among them. The Hunger Games, one of the most recognized genre fictions franchise today, is a prime example of this. With the story revolving around the rebellion against corrupt government, Collins submerges readers into a captivating and entertaining piece that warns them of the dangers of these types of totalitarian systems. Even further is a more deeply-rooted message directed towards minorities that screams for them to stand against oppression. Katniss Everdeen is is a symbol for those who have grown accustomed to the feeling of feet stomping across their chest, their existence being treated as anything but a human life. Her actions against the Capitol are just as much a push for equality and human rights that we witness in our own real world. This is what literary fiction lacks and genre fiction effectively provides-- allegories that not only go hand in hand with conflicts relevant to this timeline, but that directly relate to or include minorities. For instance, we can connect the rebellions from Hunger Games to events such as the Baltimore and Ferguson riots. Both rebellions stemmed from a growing tension caused by the carelessness from authorities and