Hi everyone! A few people have suggested shifting the assignments to being posted/due on Mondays, so the weekend is closer to the due date. This is fine with me. So, all of this will be due Monday 3/13. Also, some of you still have missing work on Twilight. Go through the past assignments to see if you posted/ commented on everything you need to.
Also, I'm going to start making Friday lunches a regular thing. I know not everyone will be able to come every week, but come when you can, and we'll talk about what we're reading and other topics related to class and this idea of Changing the Narrative.
ASSIGNMENT #4:
This week, we begin our study of Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. Before we begin, it will be
helpful for us to gain a broader understanding of the world and historical
moment she lived in.
Watch:
Iran's
Revolutions: Crash Course World History 226. This video talks about the
background and lead-up to the 1979 Iranian cultural revolution, which is where Persepolis begins. Satrapi sort of
describes these events, but does so from the perspective of a child, so having
a bit more background information will probably be helpful.
When Marjane Satrapi released the film version of Persepolis, she did an interview with
Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report. If
you’re unfamiliar with the show, it was satirical news, so if some of Colbert’s
comments seem weird and offensive to Iran, that’s intentional. The interview,
however, gives you a nice sense of Satrapi’s personality and some context on
her approach to the story.
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/07hrs5/the-colbert-report-marjane-satrapi
You might also find this reference useful: https://satrapi1.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/iranianhistory4.pdf
Write: As a
reply to this post, answer the following questions:
1)
How much of this information was familiar? Did you
learn this in other history classes or elsewhere?
2)
As Americans, what do you think are our first
associations with or about Iran? What do you think contributes to these
perceptions?
3)
Anything else you want to share about these
viewings?
Respond to at least one other person’s post!
Read: Start Persepolis: pages 1-39
(Next week’s work will be more reading and discussion questions on Persepolis)
A lot of the information in the crash course video was familiar. I learned some of it in 20th Century World History, but I also learned some on my own. I didn't know about the Communist involvement during and before the revolution. I find it interesting that at the time period Communists were all over the place. As Americans, I think that our perspective of Iran comes from the government unless we inform ourselves about it. I feel that the government just makes all of the Middle East look like a violent and dangerous place that hates America. The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Iran is oil and I'm sure that's true for most Americans. I don't think that the general public really cares to change their views on Iran, especially now with how the current presidential cabinet is dealing with Iran. I feel that the way Americans view Iran won't change much because it's not a Western power and there is not much formal education about the current or past situations in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteThere is no denying that the current president has exhibited unprecedented bigotry against muslims, but I think that American wariness of the Middle East has gone on far longer than the Trump administration. That is to say, I am not so sure that it is the government driving American mistrust of Iran. I think the larger fault lies with the media. What even is "the government" that is telling Americans to hate Iran? The media has a far greater reach into the homes of everyday Americans than the government. I urge you to be thoughtful of where you place blame.
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ReplyDeleteReading Persepolis and watching the video, I could continually note things that I had at some point been taught or read. There was not much that I learned that was entirely new to me, but I was not familiar enough with the subject to be able to tell someone much about it, only recognize what I heard.
ReplyDeleteI think both Hank Green and Stephen Colbert made very telling comments about American perception of Iran. Iran is deeply associated with the Islamic faith which, unfortunately, these days is very closely tied to terrorism in the minds of many Americans. Colbert's closing remarks "warning" his audience that they might see the Iranians as human beings after viewing this movie just further accentuates the point of American mistrust and enmity towards Iran and the middle east in general.
The crash course video was a great introduction for me. I didn't really have much information prior to the video on the subject of Iran, and the video provided some great background for Persepolis. I personally have not encountered many people with violent views of Iran, but I know that some of them carry this prejudiced perception of the nation. Some Americans have this prejudice because they refuse to look past the crimes that were committed in Iran and look at the nation as a whole. This is due in part to the news about Iran that is exposed to them, which portrays Iran as a violent nation most of the time. What we see on the news and media overall heavily influences our views on Iran and the Middle East as a whole, because the content being shown does not usually shine the nation in a positive light. I think that Persepolis so far does a great job of showing people that Iran is not just what the media portrays it as.
ReplyDeleteI feel very ignorant when it comes to world history in general. I can't say I know much about the Iranian Revolution. Like Janea, the message I generally seem to get about Iran is that it's a part of the middle east which is in constant violence and turmoil and destruction everywhere you go due to corrupt governments and terrorism. I know this generalization about Iran, and the middle east in general, is false. However, I think my ignorance about these countries leaves me without a very strong counter-narrative. I can say that the countries in the Middle East are not at all the same and crazy violent everywhere, but I can't say what Iran is. And that's where Persepolis comes in for me anyways. Its provides me with a story and a life to imagine not only what the Iranian revolution wasn't, but what it was to the actual people living through it.
ReplyDeleteI think this idea of dehumanizing the Iranian people is especially utilized in the United States because we played such a role in creating the incident to begin with. This happens all the time. One of the most frequently discussed ways this tactic was used was when African people were described as "non-human" to justify taking them from their country and enslaving them. Dehumanizing Iranian people not omly allows us to see the conflict as much simpler and more straightforward than any conflict ever, but it also justifies our destructive involvement, and allows us to blame the revolution on merely violent and oppressive people.
On a separate note, I think it will be interesting moving from Twilight, examining narratives among different groups of Americans, to this book which is aiming to change the narrative about a completely different country for Americans in general.
I really liked the point you brought up about dehumanizing Iranians because I didn't even think of that. I feel that it's something that many people in our society do. I don't think that it's as blatant as it was with African slaves, but it does happen. It's more subtle in the way that the country and the people are portrayed. I think that since Iranians can often be seen as only terrorists easy to support the bombing of Iran if you think that the people there are all violent and dangerous.
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ReplyDeleteUnless there is a designated class on the middle east then most high school history classes barely talk about Iran or any of the information that was presented in the videos. I was vaguely familiar with a few of these events as it appears randomly in life. If there is something that happens that could be linked to Iran’s revolution, then those informing the population will provide a short history along with that link. I wasn’t familiar with the details of the revolutions, only that it had existed. I think to most Americans, Iran is a “scary” country as it supports terrorism and the fact that there have been many threats against the US. Though an average American probably knows nothing about the country or much of its history, the images that our society provides and the actions of certain people who belong to that nation apparently seem to speak for the whole country. Iran isn’t a full democracy or a full dictatorship so it leaves some Americans suspicious about “goodness” of the country along with many other reasons. When I think about how Americans first perceive the nation my mind jumps to “don’t judge a book by its cover” because before an American makes perceptions about Iran based on the bad that is highlighted in our society, they should first explore for themselves on what exactly the country is. Some books have bad covers and are actually bad books but others with bad covers are good or mediocre. I feel like keeping an open eye and not letting the actions of one person represent a large group of people unless stated. In the interview with Stephen Colbert I found the conversation about separating the youth from the revolutions interesting. Marjane Satrapi mentioned that the description of the youth didn’t quite match or exist which I found interesting.
Before reading this and the other articles, I had very little knowledge of Iran or any of the events happening there. I thought that the perspective of a child offered an amazing view of the situation. The childhood naiveness and optimism of the character's voice makes it eem much more real. I also found the struggle between her religious beliefs and her need to do what was right interesting. I think that many women, adults and children, went through a similar struggle.
ReplyDeleteI think the average American thinks of Iran as simply "that place in the middle East with terrorists." That is certainly not true and needs to be corrected. What s happening in Iran is typically brushed over in classes I believe partially because it is such a weighted topic with many different possible pins of views. Obviously, this is a problem. We should not avoid talking about something because it is difficult or because people can have different opinions on it.
I'm so excited to read the rest of this book to learn more about what happened in Iran. I also think the author's use of pictures and the fact that it's drawn from a child's perspective add a layer of depth.
Your point about the media shaping what we see is interesting. If you think about most news sources, especially today when there are so many options and people have such short attention spans, they are choosing what to report to a certain degree based on what they think will grab more viewers. If you think about which story would get a larger audience - one about a "terrorist country" getting bombed vs one that discusses the many layers and aspects of the Iranian revolutions, the former, simpler (albeit it is less accurate) story will undoubtedly do better and thus the circulation of these simpler, extreme stories persist.
ReplyDeleteI do think the media plays a severe role in creating and changing narratives, and the question as to how we ensure the best narratives are being circulated is very difficult.
At Roeper I find that the only formal education we get on Iran is in Max Collin's 10th grade history class. Outside of that I feel as though there are many different perceptions that people have about Iran, and the middle east in general, within our community, mostly being very negative. A lot of this comes from the media, as it is very bias and we often hear very violent and negative portrayals of these countries. I have learned more then just what was in 10th grade history I think through my education on Israel and so that also gives me a very biased view, so getting some of this basic history was very helpful.
ReplyDeleteI think that as Americans we immediately have a negative view on these countries. We consider them to be suppressive and extremely violent based on what we hear, instead of taking the time to learn and educate ourselves that way we can not only know more but also think more critically and have a better understanding of the conflicts and issues that are taking place.
I really am loving Persepolis so far! It is so festinating to hear this story through a young girl and I think that it makes it that much more compelling and interesting.