Yasmina Reza

in their everyday life and how it changed the way they lived. Before exploring the nature of the revolution of 1979 in the novel, it is important to understand the historical roots. From 1925 to 1941, the administration and government of Iran under Reza Shah were quite influential at their positions. Due to industrialization and urbanization, new social classes emerged which consisted of the working class and the middle class. All the while, the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941 led…

Marjane Satrapi’s book Persepolis is a true story about Marjane growing up in Iran during times of war and revolution. In her book she portrays countless events she experienced while growing up during those harrowing times. However, her perspective on certain issues like gender roles, social class, and religion affected how Marjane portrayed certain events in Persepolis. This political cartoon depicts a bunk bed of the upper class at the top, the middle class in the middle, and the lower class…

Few experiences are more difficult than coming of age, especially amidst turmoil. In Marjane Satrapi's bildungsroman, she endeavors to overcome the challenges that arise from her Muslim heritage, the corruption of her country, and developing her identity as a woman in a patriarchal society. She describes life in post-revolutionary Iran and then Austria in the 1980s. In spite of Muslim stereotypes, the death of Neda, and social inequalities, Marjane’s struggle for freedom, justice, and…

Set in the late 1970’s, award-winning film Argo, is based on the real story of the Iran hostage crisis. The film begins after the US government takes in the Shah, with Iranians attacking the US embassy in Iran, resulting in the capture of sixty American embassy staff (Argo). Argo exclusively shares Tony Mendez’s effort to exfiltrate the six American embassy staff that manage to sneak away, from Iran (Argo). This is accomplished as Mendez and the six Americans pose as Canadian filmmakers, while…

The notion of ‘modernity’ brings with it connotations of individualism, secularism, rationalism, and democracy. Its emphasis on personal freedoms and the abandonment of tradition make it somewhat incompatible with faith-based societies, which place more value upon community and piety. Certainly this rings true in the case of the Iranian Revolution of 1979. The swift and wide-reaching social and economic changes instituted by Shah Pahlavi were at odds with Iran’s traditional, Islamic culture.…

The representation of religion in the film Persepolis Persepolis: The story of a child hood is movie made from a graphic novel and autobiography by Marjane Satrapi. The story is told from a first person perspective by young author Marji. She had witnesses the entire Islamic Revolution; including the fall of the pro-western Shah republic in 1979, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the Iran-Iraq War in 1980; throughout her childhood. The author had painted us a vivid portrait of Iran during…

Persepolis Persepolis is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution. It was an eye-opening, heartbreaking and thought provoking book— I had many thoughts and feelings while reading, so much so that I had to put it down multiple times to take a breather. It is amazing how she could remember and write about her life growing up during Islamic revolution and the Iran Iraq war, a time of operation and dejection at the age of ten. During the revolution, and some…

In 2004, two successful authors, Ayaan Hirsi Ali and Irshad Manji met over an interview and bonded immediately due to their passion for the same cause. They are two Muslim rebel’s sisters who are against radical Islam. Both have been targets for death threats due to their support for the feminist movement and for their rebellion against Islam and require constant protection. Ms. Hirsi Ali rejects Islam while Ms. Manji is a practicing Muslim who is against Sunni Islam. She aims to reform some of…

After Operation Ajax deposed of “Mohammed Mossadegh a titan of a man” in 1953 and established the Reza Shah until the 1979 Islamic Revolution erupted shaping the future of Middle Eastern conflict. Kinzer relies on the primary source of Dr. Donald Wilber, the lead agent during TPAJAX, in “The Wilber Report,” a complete historical account of CIA operatives…

Ervand Abrahamian is one of the leading experts on modern Iran and has written extensively about the history of the country. In his most recent piece of work, The Coup, he covers the nationalization of oil in Iran, and how the poor negotiations among Britain, the United States and Iran led to a coup orchestrated by the CIA and Britain to overthrow the leader of Iran, Mohammad Moseddeq. There have been several books written covering these events, but in The Coup Abrahamian challenges three…