Oppression In Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis

Germaine Greer once said, “Revolution is the festival of the oppressed.”, Through the graphic novel Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi gives a voice to those who were oppressed during the Iranian revolution Ensuring that they are not forgotten. With the use of homogenous features and other stylistic devices, Satrapi shows how she and her classmates, her parents, and other nationalists were marginalised, excluded, and silenced during this time period.
From early on in the book, the theme of oppression is ever-present. On page 3, Satrapi introduces herself, expressionless and wearing the veil, stating, “This is me when I was 10 years old”. In the next panel in the same tier, Satrapi depicts her classmates, in the same manner, stating their names as,

Although they may not have been a direct threat to the Regime, because of their views, they were marginalized and silenced. The use of monochromic colours emphasizes the conflict at the time being. Some, such as the fighter pilots who were a part of the Shah’s army and aided in the bombings of Iraq were imprisoned (83). Although they may have been useful in a military sense, their views and loyalties did not agree with the regime, and thus were imprisoned. The use of several graphic novel techniques, such as voiceover, speech bubbles, and splashes aid in the storytelling along with the illustrations. Similarly, Marji’s Uncle Anoosh was another example of this. After being exiled to the U.S.S.R for aiding in the independence of Azerbaijan, nonetheless, he is still imprisoned and executed (70). Despite the fact that the new Regime claimed to be different than the Shah and they may not have had evidence to prove he was a Russian Spy, he was still executed on false accusations and his views. These events give a wider perceptive of some of the atrocities committed during the revolution and under the Regime because they had different