Persepolis and Hotel Rwanda: Human Rights Films

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The last three decades of the twentieth century were a time of revolution, genocide, and violence. Many governments around the world were taking full control over the lives of their citizens. African and Middle Eastern countries were often controlled under European rule through indirect rule. The way that indirect rule worked was that European nations appointed an indigenous group to enforce European laws creating chaos and turmoil within the satellite countries. The turmoil turned brother against brother and father against son. Both Persepolis and Hotel Rwanda illustrate the daily struggles that people in Iran and Rwanda as satellite citizens, endured. The police beat and imprisoned the citizens, and violence increased on the streets. Both films illustrate strength and determination that citizens of Iran and Rwanda used to navigate through a difficult time.

Persepolis was a heartwarming film showing how the people of Iran struggled under the leadership of the Shah. The Shah's primary goal was to modernize Iran. Part of modernizing Iran was turning it into an absolute dictatorship. The Shah was a ruthless leader. He jailed those who did not follow his laws. The Shah violated the basic principles of human rights, such as freedom of speech and religion. The Shah's son was also a ruthless leader who made himself like a king; he denied Iranian citizens peace. Under the Shah's son Iranian citizens were often whipped, killed execution style, or went to prison for speaking out. Brainwashing people into believing, that the way to heaven was by obeying the Shah's rules and if they did not honor the Shah they would go to hell.

After the deposing of the shah by revolution, the people of Iran elected a democratic l...

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...ing the Tutsis; he knew that he would be called a traitor and that people would try to walk all over him for the decision that he made. The consequence that Paul could have faced for not shooting the Tutsis was death.

Both films focused on human rights and the lengths that people went to try to achieve their human rights. It is awful the torture people went through some people were even beat to death. It is truly terrible in some countries women are still viewed as property and must obey everything their husbands tell them to do. It is a tragedy when you walk down the street and are not sure if you will live to come back home. The saddest problem is that we Americans do not take full advantage of all the rights and privileges that we have. In other countries people will risk their lives and suffer pain just to have the same rights that we have.

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