Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

1140 Words3 Pages

In America, many have come to recognize Iran as a terrorist nation, but in reality, many Americans stereotype Iranians because they misunderstand the country and how it got to that point. In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel Persepolis, she gives her readers an inside look of Iran by writing about her childhood during the Iranian Revolution and the changes in her life during that time. The frames in Satrapi’s graphic novel draw similarities and differences between advertisements and the Iranian culture. After analyzing the Satrapi’s graphic novel to advertisements we will look at the similarities and differences of how graphic novels and advertisements use words and images to establish the visual rhetoric.
In the chapter “The Veil,” Satrapi’s graphic novel displays a connection with advertisements; that being a theme of oppression toward women. In the chapter “The Veil,” Satrapi introduces her readers to her life in 1980. A frame from “The Veil,” Satrapi includes a caption and image that 1980 was the year when wearing the veil became enforced by the law (681). The frame prior to the enforcement of the veil explains that the reason behind this law is due to ‘The Islamic Revolution’ (681). With these two frames, readers see that new laws such as the veil were enforced due to “religious” reasons because the government. Having men in government enforce such laws on women demonstrates the control they are attempting to gain. Women face oppression in advertisements similarly by society telling women how they are seen and how they should look. The types of advertisements that target women this way are sexual advertisements. An example of an advertisement oppressing a woman is displayed in Dolce & Gabbana. Dolce & Gabbana created an adver...

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... hand in hand with Persepolis’ use of visual rhetoric to advertisements. The way Satrapi and advertisement companies convey their messages varies, they still contain similarities such as the underlining themes of oppression and desire to attract their audiences.

Works Cited

American Apparel. Advertisement. Themanifoldmag.net. N.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
Dolce & Gabbana. Advertisement. Es.advertolog.com. August 2007. Web. 01 May 2014.
Kilbourne, Jean. “‘Two Ways a Woman Can Get Hurt’: Advertising and Violence.” From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 2nd ed. Eds. Stuart Green and April Lidinsky. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012. 459-480. Print.
Satrapi, Majjane. “The Veil” & “The Bicycle.” Persepolis. From Inquiry to Academic Writing: A Text and Reader. 2nd ed. Eds. Stuart Green and April Lidinsky. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2012. 681-695. Print.

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