Persepolis -- Draft 2

The graphic novel Persepolis is a graphic representation about the Iranian Revolution through the eyes of a little girl names Marjane Satrapi. This story was developed into a movie that closely resembled that of the graphic novel. Many of the movie characteristics are directly from the graphic novel.
The graphic novel used simple images with great dialogue to tell the story. The novel is in black and white, as is the majority of the movie, leaving much of the detail to the imagination of the viewer. Leaving room for the viewer’s imagination to go to work allows the viewer to feel a part of the story. Famous movie critic Robert Ebert agrees when he states, “The style is deliberately two-dimensional, avoiding the illusion of depth in current animation. This approach may sound spartan, but it is surprisingly involving, wrapping us in this autobiography that distills an epoch into a young women's life”. Satrapi forces the reader to focus on the ideas of the comics rather than the elaborate illustrations as does the movie. McCloud agrees when he states, “The ability of cartoons to focus our attention on an idea is, I think, an important part of their special power”. The movie seemed to be fast paced and moved quickly through the frames found in the comic book. Though it takes getting used to, it moves at the same pace as the comic book does as you read it. The movie is shown like a comic book should be shown. The comic book feel makes the movie much more “cartoony” and the author can do much more with the cinematography. The movie used no flashy special effects and really made me feel like I was back in time in the Iranian Revolution.
Overall, the movie is a good representation of the graphic novel. The movie’s beginning differs from the novel in that it begins in present day represented in color. The novel jumps right into the young girl’s life in a less dramatic fashion. The movie adds more scenes and makes other scenes from the novel shorter. This makes it easier for the reader to imagine what Marjane was going through using easier images. The grandma plays a key role in both works because she is the anchor for Marjane. She is always the person that Marjane goes to for advice and is always on Marjane’s conscience. The movie and the novel greatly represented the moments when the feeling was somber or happy through sound or the lack of sound. By the overall demeanor of the dialogue the reader knows what the tone is supposed to be. Marjane is known to not hold back her feelings.
Both the graphic novel and the film inform the reader about the Iranian Revolution in a different perspective from that of the history books. Marjane achieved her purpose to show people that all Iranian people aren’t crazy radicals. She showed a different side of a Revolution that had many world-wide influences. The film accurately portrays what the novel was trying to do. Even thought the film left a few elements out, it still accomplished the overall purpose.