American Culture In Persepolis

In the novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Satrapi’s childhood was highly impacted by American culture. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the affect American culture had on how Satrapi viewed the Iranian Revolution. Kim Wilde. Iron Maiden. Denim Jackets. Michael Jackson. Four essential aspects of American pop culture. All have played influential roles in numerous lives, including Satrapi’s. While many have been affected by the aforementioned, perhaps few have had their personalities shaped as much as Satrapi. Growing up in the suppressive environment of the Iranian Revolution, Satrapi turned to American culture to help get through the difficult times. After the culmination of the Iranian Revolution in 1979, society and culture became

Taking her lessons by heart, Satrapi followed her parents lead by rebelling in her own way: through her obsession with Western culture. Her love for Western culture, specifically American, survived despite the risks and possible repercussions. While returning from a vacation in Turkey, Satrapi’s parents smuggled in several items for her, including a denim jacket, a pair of Nikes, a Michael Jackson button, an Iron Maiden poster, and a Kim Wilde poster. While to the American public the objects seem like nothing special, to Satrapi they were fundamental to her views. The pieces symbolized rebellion. Through the smuggling of them by her parents, Satrapi’s desire for nonconformance grew. Soon after receiving the contraband, she ventured to the “black market” to purchase additional items (Satrapi 130). Because her parents were lenient enough to let her own the illegal American items, Satrapi was exposed to a culture that most Iranians were not. Objects such as those mentioned above not only presented her with an opportunity to rebel, they were responsible for demonstrating an alternative way of life; A way of life with more leniency and freedom to be who she