032 Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

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Marjane Satrapi prefers to call her seminal work Persepolis (about her life growing up in Iran in the 1980s) a Comic Book rather than a Graphic Novel, as we hoity toity Americans like to describe our more “serious” books, which is a perfect example of how Satrapi is always determined to buck the status quo.

During a period of political upheaval and war in her country, Satrapi read comic books about Karl Marx, and listened to Iron Maiden, and stood up for her beliefs at political rallies or at school. She’s so punk, it’s incredible. So dive into Persepolis with us to learn more about the history of Persia and to spend some time with a young Marjane, the heroine the world desperately needs.

Mentioned in the Episode:

• Free online classes with Harvard

• Persepolis Film adaptation

• Chicken With Plums film by Satrapi

• The Voices film by Satrapi

• Radioactive film by Satrapi

• History of Iran/Persia

• Prince of Persia game

• Iron Maiden

• Kim Wilde

• Action Philosophers! Comic Book

• Diary of Anne Frank

• US Support for Iraq in Iran/Iraq war

• Gulf War

Recommendations:

• Persepolis book 2

• The Best We Could Do by Thi Bui

• Lois Lowry’s books: The Giver series, The Willoughbys

• Embroideries by Satrapi

• Craig Thompson graphic novels:

Quarantine Recommendations:

• La Casa de Papel on Netflix

• Harry Potter at Home (people reading Harry Potter)

• Cleaning Your Closet with Mari Kondo

• Legos

Next Week:

• Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets by J K Rowling

• Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi