Iranian Embassy Siege

Over the course of the years, King Tutankhamen’s (also known as King Tut) death has remained a mystery. Many theories have been put forth, but still, the cause of his death is unknown. Some theories suggest that King Tut was murdered while other theories suggest that his death was an accident or an illness. The top three theories are the theory of Aye, the theory of Horemheb, and the theory of natural death. During the reign of Amenhotep IV (also known as Akhenaton), Egypt was catastrophic. The…

advancement toward secular Westernization with its strong Islamic roots led to great social upheaval. Indeed the “culture of distrust” that marked the Iranian political sphere created a sense of paranoia among the masses on which revolutionaries like Ali Shari’ati acted. But many of the conspiracy theories that prevailed were not without legitimacy; Iranians felt that imperial powers controlled their leaders—which in fact they did. For example, it was the British who helped Reza Khan rise to…

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 staying at Canadian embassy ambassador, Ken Taylor’s home (Argo). Reviews are generally positive…

Persepolis is a an autobiography about a young girl who is stuck in a time period of much political turmoil in her country, Iran. Marjane Satrapi, the author and main character, has several struggles, including internal and external ones. Satrapi decided to portray her childhood struggles in a unique way. A graphic novel was an ideal format for Satrapi because her pictures and speech bubbles work together to communicate with the audience. For example, on page 71 Satrapi placed an image that…

The women chant “Guns may shoot and knives may carve, but we won’t wear your silly scarves” in protest against the law that says women must cover their hair with the veil (Satrapi 76). The graphic novel Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi, is about the childhood of Marjane Satrapi, also known as Marji, and what it was like growing up in Iran after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Marji is ten during the Islamic revolution and when she is forced to wear the veil. Her family shapes her opinion on how…

Imagine living in Iran in 1970. It was a time of great boom and great bust. There was much wealth to be had from oil production, and at times things were very prosperous. This prosperity was overshadowed though, by the many socio-economic failures of the Shah. His unwise use of power and his greed made Iran a country ripe for revolution. By 1979 the stage was set for Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who because of cunning historical and political maneuverings was able to use politics, religion, and…

During my time at Sandia National Laboratories, I interned under the department of WMD Threats and Aerosol Science. I saw men and women using their scientific and engineering backgrounds to study and understand systems that can be used to counteract chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction. It was incredible to see and work on various projects that allowed for counter-terrorism. One of the biggest projects I worked on was our "Spray Knockdown System" it is a massive, almost…

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. Coupled with anxiety about Westernisation and inequality created by the influx of a huge quantity of petrodollars, the discrepancies between the views of the Iranian people and their ruler reached breaking point. The Shah’s goal of modernizing…

Throughout the book, family and friends did many sacrifices and jeopardized their lives for each other. An example is when Paravana ran away from the taliban. She showed courage because if the taliban caught up to her she could have faced twice the consequences or worse. Another example is when Mrs.Weera decided to walk home with Parvana because if the taliban would have noticed them both of them would have gotten punished because Parvana wasn't covered completely. Also when Parvana found Homa…

During the Iran Iraq war, inorder to recruit more soldiers, the Iranian government use religion as a tool to enlist more soldiers. One of Marji’s neighbor told Marji’s mother that her oldest son has been given a plastic key at school. The school leaders told her son that if he goes to war and dies, the key will get him…