Stacey and I went to watch Persepolis last night. It's a story of an Iranian woman about my age. The overthrow of the Shah and the religious extremists coming to power. Really good film. I'd particularly recommend it for Jon.


I think what I was most struck by in it was some of the parallels between her life and those of myself and other people I know. How do you preserve your sense of self in a world that wants you to be something else? In her case, a shrouded meek woman who submits to men. I was totally cheering when she's wearing her "Punk is not ded" jacket on the streets of Iran. Awesome.

The other thing that really really struck a chord was that just as I was starting to feel like, "Geez. I had it easy compared to her." she says basically the same thing. Her parents had sent her away to France. She'd escaped a lot of the oppression other women in her country were facing and she's feeling the same as me. "I've got it easy.."

Of course, I know we can't really compare the suffering of any two people. Even if the worst you've ever experienced is a hang nail, you have no basis for comparison so it is the worst thing you've ever experienced. Most of us find a way to survive.

Persepolis isn't a film that really goes anywhere. If you boiled it down, it would be nothing more than, 'Stay true to yourself', but it's a fascinating story of the life of someone who is totally alien and yet very familiar at the same time. I think in this case, it being an animated film also helps with that. Where some people might find it hard to identify with an actual Iranian woman, the simplification that a drawing provides lets them see past that to just 'a human being'.

Well worth watching before it slips out of the theaters entirely.