East vs. West-- A Different Childhood

“Marji’s rebellious spirit is much celebrated by reviewers; they often remark on how she—like all children—rebels against adult authority. However, hers is more than just the youthful rebellion supposedly universal to all children; in the specific context of revolutionary Iran, the play and children’s culture depicted in the text take on qualities of political subversion.” –Naghibi, Estranging the Famililar

“We demonstrated in the garden of our house.”

“Down with the king! Down with the king!” –Satrapi, Persepolis p. 10

Estranging the Familiar is an interesting discussion of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis in which the authors discuss the way in which the Satrapi’s graphic novel was perceived in the West, as well as the dichotomy of the familiar and alien throughout it. It is especially interesting to note the differences between Satrapi’s childhood play and the play of children in the West. It is not typical for Western children to pretend that they are demonstrating against the government or war, whereas on page 10 of Persepolis, Marji and her friends are demonstrating in her backyard, holding fake guns and ammo and shouting “down with the king!” Such activity is not seen in the United States, unless, of course, it is pretend, because war isn’t fought on US soil and there is no regime to protest. To see a different way of life is fascinating, especially to someone who has led a sheltered life, unlike Marji. From a Western perspective, Marji’s way of life in Iran is foreign and almost exotic but mostly it is a sobering reminder that any problems I experience are insignificant and small when looked at from a global perspective.