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French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

france24.com

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Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#41

Post by catigula »

p-e-w wrote: post #28
everdrive wrote: post #13

I always enjoyed the first half of Persepolis. Told from Satrapi's perspective, it was a very relatable story about a young child who was swept up by the world events around her, and tried to rebel in very normal, child-like ways. It was very relatable in that abstract sense, even if most of us have not been through a violent revolution. (and even more violent subsequent war with a neighboring state) The second half…

I’ve always wondered how much of the second part is truth and how much is fiction. That a teenage girl from Iran, living by herself in Central Europe with essentially no local connections, would become a drug dealer to her classmates, and on top of that somehow be let off the hook for it by the headmaster, stretches credibility a little bit.

[flagged]

Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#42

Post by loeg »

EB-BarringtonII wrote: post #17
Tade0 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I believe there is a qualitative difference between the governing systems in the west and a place where there are seven official allowed haircuts for men, aside from other things.

I believe there is a qualitative difference between the governing systems in a country that tries to regulate personal appearances, and one that would shift it's military to the other side of the planet, bombing and murdering Iranian school children and civilians en-masse for no particular reason. I also believe that your claim of seven "official allowed" haircuts is bs, as with almost everything I ever read about Ir…

> EDIT: I have been shadowbanned, again, by HN. I check this by opening this thread in a private tab, not logged in, and notice my most recent comment is not visible.

> I wasn't personally insulting nor aggressive in any comment I have made. I didn't spread disinformation. This thread is inherently political by nature, and I have been objective.

> It just goes to show, even here on HN, if you don't stick to the "THIS SIDE GOOD THAT SIDE BAD" narrative, your voice WILL be restricted.

> Again, RIP Marjane, you taught me a lot about Iran and the world.

You're not shadow banned, but comments peddling objectively false conspiracy theories and whining about downvoting do not play well here.

Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#43

Post by draw_down »

p-e-w wrote: post #29
internet_points wrote: post #21

The graphic novel was very good, showing what Iran must have felt like to iranians before the revolution, and the sadness at having lost that way of life. I highly recommend reading it.

At least to the kind of Iranians who were sending their children to French schools, yes. But of course the other kind of people very rarely have someone writing international bestsellers on their behalf, so this is all we’ll get.

[dead]

Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#44

Post by chmod775 »

p-e-w wrote: post #28
everdrive wrote: post #13

I always enjoyed the first half of Persepolis. Told from Satrapi's perspective, it was a very relatable story about a young child who was swept up by the world events around her, and tried to rebel in very normal, child-like ways. It was very relatable in that abstract sense, even if most of us have not been through a violent revolution. (and even more violent subsequent war with a neighboring state) The second half…

I’ve always wondered how much of the second part is truth and how much is fiction. That a teenage girl from Iran, living by herself in Central Europe with essentially no local connections, would become a drug dealer to her classmates, and on top of that somehow be let off the hook for it by the headmaster, stretches credibility a little bit.

I've personally encountered some stories that were pretty much exactly that.

Vulnerable young people becoming low level drug dealers (often for lack of other options) isn't exactly a rare story.

Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#46

Post by p-e-w »

catigula wrote: post #41
p-e-w wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’ve always wondered how much of the second part is truth and how much is fiction. That a teenage girl from Iran, living by herself in Central Europe with essentially no local connections, would become a drug dealer to her classmates, and on top of that somehow be let off the hook for it by the headmaster, stretches credibility a little bit.

[flagged]

This was a very different era, and the author belonged to the educated elite of Iran. Hardly comparable to whatever you’re referring to.

Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#47

Post by colechristensen »

p-e-w wrote: post #38
colechristensen wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do all stories need to be of virtue and success? It seems like you're disappointed it wasn't a modern "noble savage" myth, that it was realistic instead of a fairy tale about a person coming from a bad place to a good place and being happy, wholesome, and free. This kind of mythology is a pretty big problem in the western world right now as is the kneejerk reaction to it.

That’s a rather uncharitable take on what the poster you’re responding to wrote. I read Persepolis a few years ago, and it’s hard not to come away with a similar impression. The first part often does resemble a fairy tale of sorts, while the second part is a pretty dark story of teenage alienation. The contrast is jarring, and it goes well beyond “duh nobody’s perfect”. Both parts are excellent in their own right, an…

What's jarring to many people is it isn't the three act hero's journey of a noble savage. The "something" going on is that it isn't a copy of just about the only narrative in western mythos:

1. Departure - from a humble background the subject leaves amid struggle

2. Growth and Initiation - the subject discovers who they are building themselves into the hero they'll become

3. Heroic Return - the now hero makes a return to their beginnings to great success

Instead, Persepolis is a much more realistic story and each act is around three very different kinds of strife experienced by our hero and only in the very end a kind of coda where things go well.

My criticism of the criticism is that Persepolis is tremendously more realistic than the hero's journey and people are jarred by it because it doesn't represent their imagination of what real world struggle is like, the fact that it upsets people is one of those deep core societal issues because of the wrongness of the lens people see the world through.

Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#49

Post by conductr »

p-e-w wrote: post #28
everdrive wrote: post #13

I always enjoyed the first half of Persepolis. Told from Satrapi's perspective, it was a very relatable story about a young child who was swept up by the world events around her, and tried to rebel in very normal, child-like ways. It was very relatable in that abstract sense, even if most of us have not been through a violent revolution. (and even more violent subsequent war with a neighboring state) The second half…

I’ve always wondered how much of the second part is truth and how much is fiction. That a teenage girl from Iran, living by herself in Central Europe with essentially no local connections, would become a drug dealer to her classmates, and on top of that somehow be let off the hook for it by the headmaster, stretches credibility a little bit.

Idk, I didn’t read this book. But I lived a similar version of that reality in a conservative southern US town. My home life was challenging. I sold drugs and generally was a rebellious troublesome teenager. All the officials in my school and local law enforcement gave me kind slaps on the wrist compared to what they could/should have. I had to assume they were trying to get me to a point of adulthood without having life ruining consequences weighing me down. I straightened up by around 17-18 but there were certainly a few times between 14-17 I could have been charged for adult felony crimes and was let off the hook, never even spent a night in a juvenile detention facility but I was made to flush a lot of drugs down some toilets a time or two. I think it used to be more common to let kids figure things out for themselves. I don’t think the similar levels of leniency would occur, it’s all zero tolerance.

Re: French-Iranian author Marjane Satrapi, author of 'Persepolis', dies at 56

#50

Post by shermantanktop »

EB-BarringtonII wrote: post #6

[flagged]

I have had the privilege and pleasure to work with some great engineers and scientists from Iran. Same with Turkey, and of course India, and so many other places in the world. People are individuals, no matter where they are from.

I do recognize that the type of person who I might encounter in the workplace is an educated, accomplished, English-speaking person who has likely gone through cultural adjustments to operate in an American workplace. So there’s a filter there.

But when you get to know people, especially when they talk about their family and childhood, the idea that a nation is full of bad people full of hate is just laughable.

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