Questions for Persepolis Part B

1.) In an Associated Press interview, Satrapi said, “The only thing I hope is that people will read my book and see that this abstract thing, this Axis of Evil, is made up of individuals with lives and hopes.” And in her introduction to Persepolis, she explains that she wrote this book to show that Iran is not only a country of “fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.” How does Satrapi go about challenging this myth? How does Persepolis dispel or confirm your views on Iran? In what ways does reading this book /seeing this film deepen your understanding and knowledge of Iran, and the current situation in Iraq?

2.) “Every situation has an opportunity for laughs.” (p. 97) Give some examples of how the ordinary citizens of Iran enjoyed life despite the oppressive regime. What made you laugh? How does Satrapi add comic relief? How are these scenes relevant to the story as a whole?

3.) What kinds of captivity and freedom does Marjane Satrapi explore in Persepolis? What stifles or prevents people from being completely free? How do they circumvent and defy the rules imposed on them and attempt to live ordinary lives despite revolution and war? Give some examples of their small acts of rebellion.

4.) What is the role of women in the story? Compare and contrast the various women: Marji, her mother, her grandmother, her school teachers, the maid, the neighbours, the guardians of the revolution.

5.) What is Satrapi suggesting about the relationship between past and present, and between national and personal history? What role does her family history, and the stories of her relatives, play in shaping Marji?

6.) Marji has a complicated, shifting relationship with her parents. What is important to Marji’s parents? What environment do they create for their daughter despite living under an oppressive regime and through a brutal, prolonged war? From where do they get their strength? What are their expectations for her and how - if at all - do these expectations shape her?

7.) Written as a memoir, is Persepolis more powerful than if Satrapi had fictionalized the story? Why or why not? Compare this film to other biopics you have seen. What are the benefits and drawbacks of biopics

8.) How is Persepolis organized and structured? What has Satrapi chosen to emphasize in her childhood? How is the passage of time presented? Describe Satrapi's drawings. How do the drawings add to the narrative of the story?

9.) Describe the main characters personality. Is it appealing? Which aspects of Marji's character do you identify with or like the most, the least? Did your reaction to the little girl affect your viewing experience?

10.) How did the revolution exert power and influence over so many people, including many educated and middle class people like Satrapi's parents? Why did so many people leave after the revolution? Why do you think Marji's parents send her off to Austria while they stay in Tehran? Why don't they leave/escape as well? Questions for Persepolis Part A

1. Who is the author of Persepolis?

2. Is Persepolis a work of Fiction or Non-fiction?

3. How old is Marjane when the story begins?

4. In what country is the Persepolis set?

5. What major event is in the background at the beginning of the story?

6. What religious regime takes over the country?

7. List two ways Marjane’s school changes in the beginning of the story?

8. What does Marjane want to be when she grows up?

9. Why is Marjane’s Uncle in trouble with the law?

10. List three things the Fundamentalist regime bans.

11. Who is told to wear golden keys?

12. What country bombs Iran?

13. What do Marjane’s parents smuggle into the country for her?

14. Where does Marjane go in the middle of the story? Why? 11LIT Homework Due Fri: 16/10

Go to the following website: http://www.filmeducation.org/persepolis/production-process.html

 read/watch/listen to each piece  read each piece of information, watch each clip, listen to and read each interview  answer all the “clip activity” questions  answer all the “production process” questions  Answer questions for Pesepolis Part A and B

Clip activity

Ideas of Iran

Is this what you expected from an Iranian film? Where do you think these ideas come from?

The Iran that we see on screen is navigated through the eyes of Marjane.Think of key scenes/moments that sum up her character for you. Compare these with your first thoughts on the film's title or when you were told you’d be watching an Iranian film.

Key Scenes: Persepolis raises many issues and questions about identity, actions and consequences. Once you've seen the film use the key scenes below as a starting point for discussion and analysis.

Questions Clip 1 Video clip of Marjane challenging the teacher in class

Marjane challenges her teacher in class, bringing up points that are not being taught or discussed. We then see her at home. How do her parents react? Can you understand the different viewpoints they express? Do you think that Marjane did the right thing?

Questions Clip 2 Video clip of the Guardians of the Republic taking a man away, and Marjane's part in it.

1. How would you describe Marjane's actions at the beginning of this sequence? Can you understand her motivations? 2. Could they be justified? Are her actions perceived as acceptable? 3. How and why does her attitude to her own behaviour change?

Questions Clip 3 Marjane discusses getting a divorce with her friend.

In this clip we see a depressed Marjane. She is very nervous about telling her family about her divorce.

1. Is this something you can understand? 2. What do you think divorce means in this context?

When she tells her Grandmother she is met with some information about her Grandmother that she did not know. 1. How did you react to this? 2. Does this fit with your ideas of Iranian society?

Production Process

Persepolis is an unusual project in many ways. Adapting a novel for the screen is commonplace but adapting a graphic novel is less common. Marjane Satrapi, the author of the graphic novel and director of the film, made a deliberate decision to use traditional animation techniques giving the film Persepolis a very distinctive visual style.

The following clips look at specific aspects of the process:

Video clip of scenes from Persepolis, with commentary from the animators

Questions Clip 1

1. Think about other animated features you have seen. What are the differences between these and Persepolis? What did you think about the style used in Persepolis? 2. Marjane says that part of her decision to use traditional animation is because more high-tech techniques would look dated. Do you agree with this? She also says that traditional animation was chosen because, like people, it has imperfections. What do you think of this statement? 3. Do you agree with Marjane’s point that animation has a universal quality that live action does not? 4. She mentions specific aspects to the film that would be difficult to realise in live action such as the dream sequences. Can you imagine the differences that this would make to the film if sci-fi conventions were employed?

Video clip of the animation production process, focusing on character development

Questions Clip 2

1. In this clip we see the animator developing the characters' movements and emotions. How important is sound to the construction of the visuals here? 2. The animator talks about checking his progress, saying that he can only tell if it works by filming the sequence. What does this tell you about the animation process?

Video clip of Marjane working with the production team

Questions Clip 3

1. Persepolis is clearly a very personal project for Marjane, however we can see here that the process of developing scenes is a team effort. Do you think that this would be as much the case if this were a live action film? 2. Most animated features are not made in this way. Do you think that the skills required to produce the film Persepolis are lost through production that relies primarily on computer- generated techniques? PRODUCTION PROCESS Interview with Marc Jousset

Why did you decide to produce PERSEPOLIS almost completely in a ‘traditional’ way, not using computer generated images? The question of which technique to use, arose very quickly when we discussed the movie. We started with 2D images on pen tablets, but we were not totally happy with the result. The lines lacked definition. It also seemed logical that Marjane should be able to work with the animators using the tools of her trade; paper and ink. It was clear that a traditional animation technique was perfectly suited to Marjane's and Vincent's idea of the film.

Did the use of black and white make things particularly difficult for an animated movie? Using only black and white in an animation movie requires a great deal of discipline. From a technical point of view, you can't make any mistakes. As soon as an eye isn’t in the right place, or a pupil not perfectly drawn, it shows up straight away on the large screen. It's even more obvious in this particular film since it’s not a cartoon with codes, conventions and distortions. We were closer to Japanese animation because of the story’s realism, but we couldn't apply the techniques used in manga. As a result, we had to develop a specific style, both realistic and mature. No bluffing, no tricks, nothing overcooked. With animation director Christian Desmares, twenty animators worked on the movie. Marjane had quite an unusual way of working. Each sequence (1,200 shots) was given to an animator. Marjane insisted on being filmed playing out all the scenes. Given that she’s a genuinely talented actress, it was a great source of information for the animators, giving them an accurate approach to how they should work. It was also very encouraging for them that she was so committed and passionate. Usually, in animated movies, directors are rarely so concerned with the day-today work on the film. After animators, the assistant animators put the finishing touches to the drawings and check them against the original. Marjane's drawings look very simple and graphic, but they're very difficult to work on because there are so few identifying marks. Realistic drawings require outstanding accuracy.

What was the main challenge for you? To be on schedule, and to stay within budget, whilst maintaining our requirement for high quality. The budget was 6 million Euros, which is reasonable for a 2D movie made in France. I've rarely seen a team so focused on a project, not only for the technical challenge, but also for the story itself. I think the culmination of the fact that it was a true story, that the main character worked with you, that an animated movie dealt with a current issue and that it was intended for adults was tremendously exciting for the team.

Interview with Pascal Chevé

You were the one who suggested to work with a team of traditional animators (trace animators), who hardly exist in France anymore. Why? It was essential to be true to Marjane's line. An animation studio is a team of over 100 people, all with their own style. An animator will be more focused on trying to make the character move in the right way. Assistant animators will then put the final touches to the drawings, to make sure they're true to the original. Then the ‘trace’ team comes in, and they work on each drawing with a quill pen, a paintbrush or, (as it was the case here), a felt pen, to ensure that they are consistent with the line that runs throughout the movie. Our philosophy was to work on this movie in a traditional way. http://www.filmeducation.org/persepolis/persepolis-interview.pdf

Timeline of Events

1. Marji's Grandfather is mentioned, 'He had royal blood. He was a Qajar Prince'. What does this mean? This means that he belonged to the Qajar dynasty which ruled Iran from the late 18th century until the early 20th century.

2. In the clip we see two rulers who was the first Shah and when did he rule from? The first Shah was the one who ended the Qajar dynasty. His name was Reza Khan. He was an army officer who staged a coup d'etat against the Qajars in 1921, and subsequently came to be known as Reza Shah.jar dynasty which ruled Iran from the late 18th century until the early 20th century.

3. During this clip we see the influence of the British on the future Shah, what influence did the British have in Iran? How long did this last? The British backed Reza Khan in his coup d'etat. They had taken control of southern Iran for several years prior to the coup in a power struggle with Russia over Iranian territory. This was driven by interest in Iran's assets, including its strategic geographical position and oil. Britain occupied part of Iran during World War I, and did not stop official control of the country until it signed the Tehran Declaration in 1943 with Russia and the USA, accepting Iran's independence. But unofficial British influence continued as the Anglo- Iranian Oil Company (which later became British Petroleum) remained in charge of Iran's oil. This control ended when oil production in Iran was nationalised in 1951.

4. Who was the second Shah and when did he rule from? The second Shah was the son of the first Shah. His name was Mohammed Reza and he started ruling in 1941 as the British and the Russians had forced his father to abdicate due to Reza Shah's support of Nazi Germany during World War II.

5. What are the differences between the ways the Shahs ruled Iran? Both Shahs were interested in modernising Iran. Mohammed Reza carried on some of the incentives started by his father, such as improving health, literacy and industry infrastructures. But while the first Shah ruled under British and Russian control, the second Shah ruled an independent Iran that was closely affiliated with the West. The second Shah had more actual control over Iran than his father, and utilised this to silence his opponents. His opponents included both communists and the religious right affiliated with the clergy. There were therefore around 3000 political prisoners by the time his rule came to an end.

6. What was the 'White Revolution'? Its aims, outcomes and successes? The White Revolution was known as such because it was a bloodless revolution that started in 1963. It was a series of actions taken by the second Shah to modernise Iran socially and economically. Its aims included eliminating illiteracy; emancipating women; land reforms that seized land from elites and distributed them among Iranian peasants; and electoral reforms that gave election rights to non-Muslims. Some of its successes were the gaining of the right to vote by women; the nationalisation of water resources; and making school education free and compulsory. One of its important outcomes was a reduction in the powers of the Muslim clergy, who criticised some of its measures like the extra rights given to women.

7. What was life like for ordinary people at this time? Life for ordinary people at this time was contradictory: on one hand, they were enjoying living in a country that was being rapidly modernised. The arts were thriving and people could wear the latest fashions. Some roads in Tehran were being modelled after French ones, with elegant tree-lined boulevards. On the other hand, people were in fear of the Shah's secret police, the SAVAK, which could arrest them at any time if they spoke against him. Some religious people also were uncomfortable with the Shah's stance towards the clergy.

8. When did the Iran/Iraq war start? In 1980 by an attack by Iraq on Iran. 9. What are the major factors that led to this conflict? Iraq thought it was taking advantage of instability in Iran during the early days of a new state undergoing revolution. The main two reasons for the attack are border disputes between the two countries, and Iraq's fear that the rise of an Islamic state in Iran would encourage an insurgency by the Muslim Shiite majority in Iraq who had been suppressed by Saddam Hussein's regime, as he was the president of Iraq at the time.

10. When did it finish? In 1988.

11. What was life like for ordinary people at this time? Life was difficult for ordinary people. 87 Iranian cities were bombed, and thousands of people were killed. The economy underwent further decline. Many people lost their jobs and loved ones, or were forced to leave their homes.