Persepolis: Becoming A Hero--Film to Book Comparison

           There are many scenes in both the movie and the novel Persepolis that show acts of heroism. Heroism is laced throughout the entire story, because terrorism is a constant theme in the life of the author, Marjane Satrapi. Although some scenes from the movie differ from the book, heroism and terrorism are never mutated. A scene of terror that was almost as identical in the movie as it was in the book was directly after Marji’s family attended the party where the electricity went out. The family is being pulled over by the police. In this scene in the novel, Marji learns from her grandma how to be a hero in the face of terror.

            On the way home from a forbidden party, Marji’s family comes face to face with the police. In the novel, the only objects in sight in this scene are the car, and the characters. There is nothing in the background to distract my attention, as a reader, from the conversation and the faces of the characters. At first the only things that can be seen are silhouettes of the policemen running at the car at night. In this panel, Marji is clearly snooping by looking over her father’s shoulder with wide eyes, full of terror. The policemen are dressed in all white: stark contrast to the dark night. The brightness of their uniform interrupts the dark. Darkness allows you to cover your secrets, but the luminescent white of the officers uniform shows that nothing is private anymore. Once the policeman has ordered Marji’s father out of the car, Marji’s eyes are suddenly visible: peering over the backseat—observing with a look similar to that of a deer’s in headlight. The policemen are angry. In every panel of the scene the policeman is frowning, with his eyebrows arched. His features are over exaggerated, so that we know in what tone to read his lines. The face is not friendly, nor does he look negotiable, and Marji is terrified as she watches this man interrogate her family.

            On the contrary, Marji’s family is frowning in all panels, and look as if they’ve been caught red-handed. Their eyebrows are high; their eyes are wide, like scared little kittens. It’s not until the car pulls up to Marji’s home that her expression is visible, and she is completely terrified. Her eyes are huge: her mouth is quivering. Her grandmother is guiding her into the house. She has put all of her faith in her grandmother’s experience. She knows that these men could decide her entire future, and she has anxiety over doing something illegal.

The irony of the entire situation is that earlier in the novel, Marji so badly wanted to defy the government to become a hero. Now that she is faced with the opportunity, she looks sick to her stomach. When the policeman asks Marji and her grandmother where they are going, the grandmother says—with what appears to be a shaky voice, to match her shaky mouth—that she has diabetes and needs some syrup. Immediately the man’s face softens as he mentions that his mother also has diabetes. Marji’s grandmother has successfully humanized herself in the eyes of these brutal men. Suddenly Marji no longer has a look of fear, but of appreciation. This change in Marji is apparent as she walks ahead of her grandmother to their apartment, with a look of determination in her eyes. She knows that taking care of the alcohol is her duty in the family, and that she will be regarded as a hero for saving her parents. However, the end of the scene is very anti-climactic, for the people at the door are not the policemen she had anticipated, only her distressed father who had learned how easy it is to pay off a noble member of the government force.

            There are only minor differences in this scene in the movie. The facial expressions are not as big because you can now hear the tone of their voice. Here the only face visible in the car when her father gets out is Marji’s. She’s just observing, as her eyes did in the book. Her father gets mad at the officer, after he is accused of drinking. His tone with the officer is unclear in the book, because his mouth is hidden under his moustache; he looks more afraid than angry. On their way home, the grandmother smiles and tells them that she has dealt with this kind of behavior before; she knows how to handle it. In the scene where the officer questions Marji and Grandma on where they are going, Marji’s eyes go wide, giving away her terror, while Grandma keeps her steady gaze and smile. She calmly explains that she has diabetes—not with a quivering voice, like the book—but with confidence. Notice that throughout this entire scene the grandmother has a smirk on her face. She has been here before; she has lived through revolutions. She was a rebel. For this reason, Marji is always looking up to her grandma.

            According to the linear novel, this is the first scene in which Marji is confronted with the terror of an oppressive government. Her entire life she had believed that heroes are people who stand up and fight the government. It is apparent in the beginning of the scene that she is apprehensive, and completely terrified. In both the movie and the novel, there is a definitive change in her feelings towards the policemen, after she watches her grandmother stand up to them. Her entire life Marji has been looking up to her Uncle as the hero in the family, without even realizing that it is her grandmother she takes after.