More History

Hello my wonderful people!
Wow. I learned so much today; I really hope I don't forget too much of it! I must write it down! So after Anam and I gave the quiz, the rest of the class period was filled with student presentations. 
The first one was about Barefoot Gen, a manga on Japan during WWII. I remember the extremely graphic anime scene where people melted from the A bomb. At first, when Austen said it was pretty graphic, with people melting and stuff, I thought he was just using the wrong word. People don't melt! But then the clip showed otherwise... It started rather peacefully, with a little Japanese boy and girl walking on the street. The boy dropped something and bent down to pick it up when the American fighter jet dropped the A bomb. The scenes flashed black and white as the bomb hit. The drawings of the people turned red as their eyeballs and skin melted. It was SO DISTURBING. I don't understand why the U.S. thought this was appropriate at all! Why did we think it was okay to do this to people? They must have known it wouldn't be pleasant dropping an A bomb, and yet, they went through with it! Huh, how can educated people support such horrible treatment?
At least I learned a little more about what the bombing situation was like... It wasn't very enjoyable to watch, though.
So then a few people gave interesting presentations on Pedro and Me, which was about AIDs awareness. I feel so bad for Pedro! I can't believe how intolerable people can be, treating him differently just because he was gay! Ugh, why can't people just enjoy each other's differences? If we were all the same, life would be SO BORING. All the stories would be the same! This situation of homophobia reminds me of Lily Allen's song. I'll post the censored one, but you can click here for the uncensored one (which sounds way better).
I can't believe Pedro died at 22! Life is so unfair. He didn't do anything to deserve this fate! People should have educated him more! Why does disease even exist? It should all be terminated >:[
Go go Terminator!






It was also interesting to hear that comics were not popular back then. I always thought since old people always liked comic books, comics must have been super "in" back then. But then the presenter said that when the U.S. tried to use comics to gain support for the Vietnam War, they weren't very successful. I feel like that may have been because people were very against the war. I mean, it's understandable. Nothing can be solved by killing people! Jeeze, why has humanity even resorted to this horribleness?!
That kind of leads to the next thing covered--torture. Man, listening to the brutality of humankind was torture in itself! I can't believe some people think it's okay to put people through pain to get them to do something. Even if the person contains knowledge that could potentially save some people from dying, I don't think he or she should suffer! Well, actually I don't know. Those other people have a right to life as well. That is a tough question.
I really enjoyed listening to Hok and Miguel though! Their personal stories were really engaging! Since Hok had to go through training, he shared with us what he had to learn. I'm really glad that they teach the military that their prisoners have human rights as well! 
I hope the soldiers have enough integrity to follow those rules, so the other side won't be tortured or abused if they're caught! 
Miguel had such a powerful voice! I didn't know he wanted to become a pastor! I'm sure he's going to make a fabulous one some day :) Anyway, what he said about torture really enlightened me, especially when he defined it as anything that makes you lose hope. Hope is really a powerful force. I guess you could say it's what gets people through their days. I think hope is even needed when people aren't going through tough times. If nothing is wrong with my life, personally, I still need hope that other people's lives are going well. I need hope that problems around the world are going to get solved soon. Otherwise, if I accept that problems are going to constantly exist and worsen, I would be very depressed. So when I get up every day, I hope that people are making an effort to better the lives of themselves and others! 
It was also interesting to listen to Miguel emphasize mental torture, especially when he gave the example of taking away our phones! He has the best sense of humor! I guess that makes him rather intelligent, according to Marjane! 
I always thought of torture and physical, but when he explained the other methods of torture, I realized that everyone goes through torture. We just don't realize it! If we realize that our mental health is just as important as our physical health, then I think we would be able to pin point problems faster and feel much better!
Another shocking presentation was about Iran's execution rates. Every 8 hours, 1 person in Iran is executed, in 2011, at least. That's ridiculous! And the reasons for the public hangings were bogus! Jeeze, we must end all this injustice! I truly hope something is being done. Amnesty International is supposed to be heavily against torture and has demonstrations, which perhaps helps spread awareness. That's good. At least more people are finding out about this situation.
Even though the presentation topics were a bit depressing, they were incredibly interesting. That reminds me of the quote about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. All my classmates are just normal people and they produced such wonderful work! I was truly amazed.

'Till next time!
Angie :)



Wow, what a deadening period of presentations. I don't mean the presentations put the class to sleep or anything, but they kind of killed the mood. I guess when you talk about torture and AIDs, not much happiness can come out of it.

Atomic Bomb Victim

I don't know if I agree that dropping the A bomb was the best idea. We'll never know if more lives were saved by dropping it. I don't know if more lives would have been affected if it hadn't been dropped, since those affected by the radiation faced so many problems afterwards. They had organ failure and unhealthy children because of it. However, if we let the war play out, then more people probably would have been killed or tortured. It's a tough say. The video in class was highly disturbing, but I'm glad it was made. People should know the effects of what the U.S. did and plans to do in the future. Making it an anime probably de-emphasized the visuals, since people could distance themselves from what they were seeing, but it was an appropriate start. Maybe they can make more realistic interpretations in the future and spread the word that way. Of course, it may be better to keep the public in the dark about some things. What if it really was better to use the bomb and save the soldiers who would have died? Then many more would have had to suffer because the public didn't think killing a few so brutally would be worth saving the rest.
From the Pedro and Me presentations, I learned that people are ambitious enough to try to spread the word about sexual education. It amazes me that individuals believe they have the power to significantly affect others. So many times, people handing out fliers to spread awareness and ask for donations are ignored. They stand outside of Target and grocery stores, but 99% of people turn away and avoid eye contact. No one likes to give money. People think that they worked hard for it and they deserve it, so why should someone else take it away from them? I guess that's like the fundamental U.S. value of property. We all have the right to what we make or own. So I find it hard to believe that these people trying to raise money or spread awareness will affect anyone in their community. So rarely do people give strangers the time of day.
I wonder why that is. Is it only now that people are more kept to themselves? Or has it always been like this? I think now since we're so focused on creating the best lives for ourselves through making money, we don't care about others. How lovely.

Then there's this whole business about torture again. Honestly, people are just monsters. All these things that people disagree about are really just so trivial. It's all just because people have too much time on their hands. When it used to be that all people could think about was getting enough food to eat and fending off predators, they wouldn't kill and torture each other! There was no time for it! Everyone was needed to do their part in the community just to get by. But then humans just had to "advance" and develop new technology to make life "easier". Really, it's just making people lazier. Now that the internet lets them look up anything instantly, all the hard work and effort that went in to figuring out that information is not acknowledged. Sure we can know a lot more now, but half of it isn't even true! In addition, since it's so easy to get the information, that it becomes quickly forgotten.
Right, back to torture. Well, I can see why it might seem necessary at times. If you can save more people by torturing a few, it seems more humane. Of course, torturing in itself is not humane at all. I guess it's all too easy for people to not think of torture and what the people might be going through, though. They might think that the person deserves the pain anyway, since he or she is keeping information and hurting others. However, everyone's image of justice is different. In Iran, what they might think deserves punishment is very different from what we think deserves punishment in the U.S.
So it is very difficult to find a middle ground.
Well, perhaps that wasn't the most satisfying end to this post, but situations rarely end satisfyingly.

Deb.

The Idea Behind the Book

Why hi guys!
What an interesting day today! In class, some people gave presentations which talked about the author and the movies of Persepolis. I did not know that some of the book was made up! I thought everything in it really happened! Now I wonder what was embellished and what really happened...
I found Marjane's reason for choosing to make a graphic novel kind of cool. She wanted to be able to address these tough issues without as much heaviness. I think she did a fantastic job! When I read, I'm not too brought down by the horrible events that happened in Iran, but I still get a sense of what it was like. She also wanted to be able to poke fun without seeming to think of everything too lightly. I think she was successful at that. When Marjane sat in the bathtub, trying to mimic what her grandpa had to go through, I thought it was kind of funny. I don't really know what she was poking fun at, though.
Another pro of using a comic book style to write is that her book would appeal to more people. At first, I was kind of reluctant to read about some depressing story about the history of Iran (sounds so uninteresting, right?). But then I saw how it was just a bunch of pictures, and I thought it might me kind of fun. It turned out to be a really easy read, and it didn't dampen my spirits too much!
By using so many pictures, I'm pretty sure younger people will be more open to reading it too, and then they'll learn about the untold stories of Iran! They'll see how false the stereotypes about Iran are and realize that they are people just like us!
I also laughed when Marjane said people without a sense of humor are just stupid. She said we're all going to die anyway, and if we can't laugh, then we're idiots. I can totally understand that! If we don't enjoy life, then there really is no point to living.
The movie trailers looked really interesting too and I hope to watch the whole movie when I finish the book!
Then we went on to some questions our professor thought of.
I do wish I knew the whole history of Iran. I learned a little bit of it in 10th grade history, but I forgot most of it. And I didn't exactly pay the best attention. How I regret that now...

I guess I do have relatives who had suffered. My great grandpa was one of the top 500 richest men in China, but then the Communists took everything he had and his family had to flea to Europe. My aunt says she visited the area her grandparents used to live in and said they owned a tremendous amount of land. Their house would be in the center and their servants' houses would surround it. It was like a rectangle with rectangles around it. Then the government took everything and they left. That's rather sad. At least my grandpa was able to get an education in London and end up a theoretical physics professor! Still my dad says he and my grandma had a really tough life when my dad and his siblings were babies. They were just scraping by.
Hm, there are many things I would protest about! If the government wanted to allow animal abuse, or restrict people from having a good time, I think I would make signs and shout all day long!
Wow, what a deep talk today.
Well, until next time!
Angie :)

Today was alright. We had a couple of presentations and a conversation about Persepolis. I wasn't surprised when I learned Marjane made up some of her story. Everything is about making money, anyway. People just do whatever to sell as much as they can. I guess it's kind of understandable. People don't want to read a boring book. Then again, if the most controversial parts to the book are made up, then people will be having false notions in their heads. If the thing that makes people change their minds about a certain situation is not actually true, then our world would be based of faulty notions.
I guess I can see why she chose to make a comic book. There are probably plenty of all-text books that describe similar events, so something different would attract more people. It might kind of take the situation too lightly, though. By acting like Iran's history can be covered in a few pictures and words, it's as if Marjane is saying that's all there is to it.
I agree that people without a sense of humor are stupid. Seriously, everything in life is pointless. All we accomplish in our lives don't amount to anything in the end, since we all just die. Why not laugh at the stupidity of it all while we can?
I don't think I have anyone close who has ever suffered for a cause. I guess they never saw the point of it. One person isn't going to change anything, anyway. If I send a letter to Congress complaining about some problem I have with their way of running things, nothing is going to happen. My letter is not going to get read. It seems like everyone I know just complains and does nothing about it. That's the way it goes, I guess.
Well, that's pretty much it.
Deb.

Manipulation

Goodmorning my fellow readers!
The weather was a bit chilly this morning, but it's nice and sunny now :)
So I just finished the reading for tomorrow in Persepolis and I could not put the book down! I liked the Monopoly reference, but when her parents refused to play, I felt bad for Marjane. Of course, it must be tiring to demonstrate all day; still, Marjane is just a little girl and losing family time because of the revolution must be tough.
Her dad's story was so cool! I wonder what it felt like to find out that a great grandfather had been an emperor! I guess he wasn't that great, though, since people wanted to set up a different government. I am very disappointed in the British who took advantage of Reza. They could have become partners with Iran instead of controlling it and they still would have received help when they needed it!
There was one thing I didn't get: When that intellectual Marjane's grandpa spoke to said, "That is really the problem of our country: Only a prince can allow himself to have a conscience" (23). Why does he say this after her grandpa revealed how oblivious he was as a prince?
Anyway, I was shocked when her grandpa was arrested so much, since I thought he was prime minister! Why didn't the police respect his title?
Marjane is so mature for her age! She really seems to sympathize with whatever is happening. Like when she took that really long bath instead of choosing to play Monopoly. Man, she is too cool.
It was really funny how Marjane didn't understand why everyone was laughing about people just jumping on the bandwagon during the revolution. 
I can't believe how much ambition she has, reading all those tough books. I doubt I can even comprehend what she read at my age!
It's touching to see the relationship with her maid as so sisterly. I wish everyone would think like Marjane, so all the inequality in the world would just disappear. What's the difference between someone in poverty on the streets of India as compared to a person with an expensive place in Atherton? How can that house sell for $33 million? Goodness this is outrageous. Maybe the person who buys that place worked their butt off, but they could give that money to the impoverished in India! Social classes suck.

And that neighbor is such a jerk. How can he lose interest in Mehri just because she isn't the daughter of a Cadillac owner? Hah, Cadillac, that reminds me of  White Walls by Macklemore. It's a little inappropriate, but fun to listen to! I think it's kind of making fun of how much rappers indulge in wealth...
Well at least the Shah left. I guess it's nice to have friends, since no one but Egypt would take him. It's also nice to have so many friends because then you can go a ton of places and always have people to hang out with! :D

I couldn't believe Marjane wanted to beat that kid up with nails! It would be so horrifying to witness all that blood and pain! How could she even consider that? Oi, just thinking of what it would have been like makes me cringe!
But I was proud of her for forgiving the child. She knew it wasn't his fault that his dad killed so many people.
The descriptions of the torture was unbearable, though! Why does this exist in the world?! Who gives these people the right to cause others so much pain? I wish these bad intentions would just disappear. Our world would be so much more pleasant! Can't we just focus on having a good time?
Seeing Marjane want power by torturing her friends was also very unsettling. Ew, eating garbage?
I'm happy that she had a hero figure in her family, though. Hopefully, with her uncle having gone to prison, Marjane feels better about being part of the revolution!

Goodbye my friends!
Angie :)



Well that was an interesting read. It wasn't surprising to see that the Shah spread propaganda saying that he was chosen by God. I remember reading about divine right in history a couple of years ago. Jeeze, these ego maniacs really disgust me. At least Marjane's parents know otherwise and were willing to teach Marjane the truth.
You know, we are always taught that the "Western" countries are all good and everything because they're democratic, but here it says the British manipulated Reza to get money. Sheesh, all this hype about wealth is really disturbing. I guess it's unavoidable, though. It makes sense why we've evolved to be such greedy pigs (no offense to pigs). Only the ones who fought for food and shelter survived when it wasn't so easy to get by. Well, that sucks.
People always want to keep the innocence of children, but this really does not seem beneficial. I'm sure Reza had been an innocent little boy with no exposure to con artists and people with bad intentions, so he wasn't able to fight for his republic. Although parents say, "Finish your food! There are kids in Africa that are starving!" kids don't know the reality of it. They just hear it and think, It can't be that bad. These kids have never been hungry.
I was glad to see Marjane try to experience what her grandfather went through, though. Perhaps sitting in a bathtub for a long time isn't equal to being tortured in a room full of water, but she might get some idea of what it was like. Then again, she may just think that it wasn't that hard sitting in a bathtub, and so her grandpa didn't really have a bad time.

It's really sad how everything about life is comparing everyone to everyone else. Marjane's grandma had to pretend to cook just to not lose face. Social acceptance is just absurd. Again, from an evolutionary perspective, it's clear why people developed the need to fit in. Living in groups was much more beneficial than living on one's own back then. I guess it still is now, since doctors can heal us and all these institutions make life easier. But this equates to social standards and those have become so arbitrary!

Seriously, for a person to be rejected because he or she doesn't follow the latest trend of wearing skinny jeans or having the newest phone just disgusts me.
Social standards leads into the next sad point in the book. Merhi being rejected for being a maid made me so annoyed. That neighbor is such a butt.
Was he really just into Mehri because he thought she was from a rich family? Money can do such horrible things to people. I guess affection can, too. I mean, Mehri's own sister ratted her out.
Then when Marjane wanted to beat up Ramin because of what his father did...Boy, that was brutal. Using nails as iron knuckles? Clearly she doesn't connect consequences with her action. That reminded me of Kite Runner with Hassan getting raped by Assef. That jerk.
Well anyway, Marjane's quickness to forgive was surprising. It's really easy to distance oneself from a problem I guess. Like, you hear about all these horrible events around the world and you can just ignore them. I remember my neighbor talking about this 8 year old girl having to get married off to a 40 year old man in Yemen because her family was too poor, and on the wedding night, she died of "internal injuries." That is just unacceptable. She probably didn't even know of sex and then died from it.
Then there was that case where a preacher in Saudi Arabia continuously raped, beat with canes, burned with electrical cords, crushed the skull of and ripped the nails off of his 5 year old daughter until she died. He was only sentenced to 800 lashings and 8 years in prison. Sure 800 lashings isn't so great, but only 8 years in prison? Then what's going to happen when he leaves? Torture the rest of his family? What is wrong with the world?!
Okay, back to the book. Those torture descriptions were nasty. It's funny how the C.I.A. taught the Shah's people how to find the worst methods. People think America is super wonderful, but then we go off torturing others. Great!

There was nothing I haven't heard before, though. It's surprising how many torture methods I have learned of over the years. I remember that the back of the knee caps have a ton of nerves so people would shoot at people's knees.
I was disappointed in Marjane for hating that her dad wasn't a "hero," though. So what if he didn't go to jail? He still took pictures and tried to spread the word! That's probably more important than getting sent to jail and getting tortured. The media is so powerful. 
I wonder why Fereydoon didn't run away. He must have faced hell when he was arrested. Or maybe he gave up names and was let off the hook.
Anoosh made a hasty generalization when he described his wife, though. Just because she wronged him, it doesn't mean that all Russians don't know how to love. Attraction has so much power over people. It's really difficult to get priorities straight. Is it best to become successful and rich by putting every ounce of effort into school and work, or is it better to find someone that makes you happy that you can start a family with? The situation is a bit of a paradox. The ones with the best genes who have the most ingenious ideas tend to focus too much of their lives on their work and ignore their evolutionary goal of producing children. So the next generation won't include their wonderful genes. Or, they wait until they're older to have kids--after they make all their money--so their gametes won't be in top shape when they're needed. How unfortunate.

Deb.

Other First Notions

Hello everybody!
Today in EWRT 1A, after editing our own/each other's essays--Victoria's of which was absolutely fabulous--we discussed Persepolis. I loved hearing what everyone had to say! Most people were very surprised at how Marjane was so sure of what she wanted. I realized that I don't even know my passions yet, which makes Marjane's personality so incredible. Then again, I may have been as confident as she when I was ten. Like Michael Franti's song, "Say Hey"

 it may be that "The more I see, the less I know."

They also admired how supportive Marjane's parents are, which I noticed while reading the book, too! It was so enlightening to see that not everyone in Iran is so closed minded and extreme. So it was an enjoyable class period since I got to hear everyone's thoughts :)

Goodbye!

Angie :)

The class discussion wasn't anything special today. People just pointed out the obvious points of what we read, talking about what a sweet little girl Marjane is. The only interesting part was when the teacher explained Hegel, Descartes, and Marx. But she thought people wouldn't be interested their philosophies very much, so she only briefly went over everything. I only remember hegemony comes from Hegel and Descartes believed that reality is only a projection of the mind. Although, I kind of recall that from Myth/Folklore last year when we covered a few different philosophies. 

I think Sophism refers to people who studied rhetoric in order to manipulate people. They often argued for the fun of it, or for the money. I guess lawyers could be considered sophists. 

Existentialism was the most interesting. It really seemed to depress Grendel, but it makes sense. What's the point of making any decisions if nothing matters? There is nothing human or individuals have to live up to. No task that must be completed. So life is rather pointless, which could turn some people off. That's probably why religion was created. People don't want to accept that their lives are just clouds in an infinite sky. After they disappear, nothing changes. If there is nothing people need to accomplish, they can do whatever they want. I guess too much freedom can get a little overwhelming.

Why should they have to finish their essay if there is no point of getting a grade? Why put in effort into anything? Sure you could say that they should do it to get good grades to get a good degree to get a good job. But all these "good"s are notions set up by society.

Why should they have to follow society? Who needs acceptance and approval? People can do whatever the heck they want if they don't need other people to accept them.

Anyway, I did actually read a few sentences on Hegel from Wikipedia. Apparently, he had to hide his atheism to stay employed. This religion business is so ridiculous. Some people just make up some absurd teachings and say everyone has to live by the same rules. Well, that's all well and good if these rules are merely to keep a society functioning smoothly, but if they are things like, "women can't show any part of their body" or "parents should decide their children's lives for them," then people are just blind. What has the world come to? Are people so unintelligent as to not see how unhappy they are? Knowing that you're unahppy doesn't even require intelligence! Okay, so maybe it's not the fault of those in oppressed countries who continue their traditional ways of killing themselves inside. Is there really just no hope for these people?

At least Prof. Patton went a little deeper into Marx's idea of dialectical materialism. She reviewed Marx's idea of the workers overthrowing the government and synthesizing to create a new system. So she compared this to writing, where new ideas come from taking the thesis and the antithesis, then synthesizing them. I thought it was all very interesting.

You know, communism is very practical in theory, but people are just too greedy to make it work. If people hadn't evolved to want everything for themselves, then we could be living in an utopia. But of course, this isn't possible with the fight for survival still in our DNA. Man, evolution just gets in the way of peaceful living, doesn't it?

Deb.

First Impressions

Why hello there everyone!
So I just read the first 16 pages of Persepolis, a graphic novel about a girl growing up during the Iranian Revolution. I had never read a graphic novel before and was so surprised by how it's just like reading a comic book. I have a feeling that I'm going to really love this book :) It's so easy and simple! When I turned the page after finishing the introduction, I was caught off guard at all the pictures, since I didn't know this was considered sophisticated literature. It's strange I haven't stumbled upon this book myself, since I always try to find things outside of my comfort zone. 
I never knew Iran has such an interesting history! It always just seemed like a poor little country that the US hated for some reason. Or maybe it was Iraq that people hated. Or both. Huh, why must there be so much hate in the world? Honestly, if we all have the same goal of being happy, we should all just put aside our differences and get along!

 

Anyway, I found it so terrible how Iran was taken advantage of so many times, just because it was rich. Couldn't it just share its money and avoid all the battles and conflict? Maybe if they shared everything equally everyone would have been happy and a revolution wouldn't have happened to cause such extreme conditions now. I can't believe how horribly Iranians have it--being forced to practice Islam and wear veils. It isn't fair at all!
The girls' reaction to the veils was pretty funny. To them, the pieces of cloth were just new things to play with. I couldn't believe how the girls and boys had to separate because of Islamic revolution. How could they do that? Not being able to be around the other gender is like losing a source of joy and excitement! I guess the girls still had each other, but going to an all girls school doesn't seem that fun. I don't mean to be sexist, but I feel like guys tend to be more funny and lighthearted. Of course, girls can be hilarious and carefree too, but it seems to be less common.

Mmm...decadent desserts...

It was also crazy how all the bilingual schools had to close down because they represented "decadence" ( Satrapi 4). How exactly does speaking two languages mean decadence and why is that bad? Since when was it bad to be a little fancy? I know my friends and I love to get all dressed up for a nice night. It's so fun to splurge a little on yourself once in a while. I mean, some companies use decadence as their slogan, so it should be a good thing, right? 
So then I read on about her dream of becoming a prophet and was so touched! This little girl wishes to end all the suffering and inequality in the world at the age of ten! She was even able to understand the social status in her house, with the maid in the kitchen and her dad with a Cadillac. It was kind of sad to see her family have a different view, since she wasn't able to express her love of God as much as she wanted to at home. But her parents were still so supportive! I love how they stood up to the teacher and claimed there was nothing wrong with their child's dream.

It was a little unnerving to see her and those two little boys with machine guns, marching on their lawn. I don't really get what happened after that, though. It seems like Marjane says the religious revolution failed, since, like a bike with wheels that don't turn, it fell. But then she says the revolution awakened the people. Which suggests that the revolution succeeded! Huh, I'm confused.
I also wonder who bought Marjane all those sophisticated books. I certainly didn't care about philosophy when I was ten. I'm pretty sure 99% of it would have gone over my head anyway! In fact, I didn't even know some of the people she mentioned, let alone their references! What does Marx mean when he exclaims, "Says you!"? Man, I thought this book was going to be easy!

Also, when she compares Marx to God, I wasn't sure whether that was offensive or not. I'm not religious, but I thought God is supposed to be this high and mighty being that can't be compared to anything because he is so great. It seemed like she was battling between her faith in religion and Marx's philosophy. I don't know what Marx's philosophy is, though, so maybe they don't actually clash. Maybe they are really in line with each other and everything is actually fine!
I couldn't understand why God was talking about the next day's weather, but I thought it was funny. 75 degrees in the shade is very nice weather indeed! But then the talk about the burning cinema kind of killed the mood. Why were the firemen so late?! I wonder if there was another situation the required the firemen. Huh, they need more firemen!
And why does God leave Marjane? Isn't God supposed to always be there for everyone? This is so sad already!

I'll see you next time!
♥Angie♥

Well that was an interesting start. Very reflective of the ridiculousness of people. Seriously, why are people so crazy about power and money? Iran has had so many dictators and war, with no help from other countries. "Oh! Iran has money? We must possess it!" "Oh! Iran has oil? We must own it!" I'm glad Marjane Satrapi is trying to stop people from just thinking Iran is a messed up country that doesn't matter.
I have never read a graphic novel before, mostly because I never considered it literature. Sure some people say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I feel like pictures just dumb things down. I mean, children's books are just pictures with a few words. What's the difference between that and this graphic novel?
The start of the novel was relatively engaging. Clearly the girls didn't know the point of the veils. Isn't it more disrespectful to play with the veils than to not have them at all? What's the reasoning behind giving children something they don't understand how to use? This new group saying they can decide for everyone in Iran is completely unjustified. What makes them think they can just push their crazy views onto unknowing children? Their ideas seem completely made up too--I mean, bilingual schools being considered a "decadence"? Oh no! You can speak French and Persian? What a disgrace to humanity!

It's great that Marjane's mom protested and everything, but her paranoia after getting her picture taken further displays the absurdity of the world. How can the government be so messed up as to strike enough fear into a peaceful protester to force her into hiding? I don't understand how these types of people get enough power to do this. Maybe they just get enough guns and torture devices to consider themselves legitimate.

Wanting to be a prophet so young is a little strange. She knew she wanted to be a prophet at 6? Didn't she say her family was progressive and not super religious? How did she even get exposed to prophets then? I can see why such a naive girl would want to solve all the little problems that she sees around her, but thinking the only way to do so by becoming a prophet is absurd. Well, the notion that she could even do anything to help the world is absurd. But anyway, she shouldn't have been taught that religion can solve everything. That just sets unreasonable expectations. When she realizes that God doesn't exist, she's going to see that there is no predetermined path in life. She's going to see that people's greed is what dictates what happens in the world. Sure it was cute to read that she wants to cure her grandma's arthritis, but it showed that if she became a prophet, she would only help the problems she sees around her. All the suffering elsewhere would continue just because Marjane is oblivious to it.
Then when the teacher asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, I was slightly annoyed. What's the point of asking children this question? Their goals undoubtedly change as they get older, so to ask is really just a waste of time. The laughing classmates only added to my frustration with people. Children are so cruel. Well, no, I take that back. Children are only so cruel because of what they are exposed to. I'm sure their parents must have told them how ridiculous it must be to want to be a prophet. Even the teacher thought Marjane was disturbed. Sure the idea was radical, but she's the teacher! How could such a closed minded lady get hired for an elementary school teacher? I'd have expected the parents to be a little more practical. Hearing about their daughter aspiring to become a prophet should have provoked them to talk her into something more profitable, no pun intended. I guess Marjane is only 6, so they probably weren't too concerned about her dream job.
Still, her wish "to be justice, love and the wrath of God all in one" strikes me as odd. Was religion pushed on her that much to even know of all this at such a young age? Religion shouldn't be forced on kids so little--they don't even know what to think of it! It's just like adding more sheep to the herd. Of course if a kid grows up his or her life being told that God is almighty and his word is the only thing that matter, then he or she will be as easy to manipulate as a piece of clay! People say the kids can decide later in life to continue or not, since they'll have understood the truth behind the teachings, but this is unreasonable. How can you expect a child to go against what they have been taught for so many years? Honestly, children are so impressionable that whoever gets to them first basically determines their futures.
So of course it makes sense that Marjane would be on board with the Islamic Revolution. Perhaps the people who participated really believed in the ideals of Islam, but I'm sure many of them just followed because they grew up with Islam as life. The leaders had so much power because of this thing that united them all--this thing that the people didn't really have any control over. I think it was just a bunch of power hungry maniacs looking for some factor that everyone could relate to in order to gain control of the country. Maybe it didn't start like that, and the Shah really was just an oppressive jerk that needed to go, but after he was kicked out, Iran seemed to go into some deep trouble.
One thing I enjoyed was Marjane's fascination with philosophy. I loved that a young girl would enjoy and understand the theology of all these different people. It was also quite humorous to see her joke about Descartes and Marx. She clearly understood their differing views and what conflict they might have had. When she compared Marx to God, I knew there was going to be conflict. While, yes, there are philosophers who are deeply religious, philosophy tends to question the reasoning behind thought and can get rather technical. Marjane's old view of religion seemed to be that she could magically solve all problems by becoming a prophet, but once she learned about reality through all those books, her view must have been questioned. Putting Marx and God side by side made it seem like a battle between faith in God and faith in interpreting the world. 
Apparently, interpreting the world started to win, since she paid less attention to God.
When her parents talked about the cinema burning down, most likely because of the Shah, I was reminded of the saying "power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely." I was actually surprised that there was going to be a demonstration because of the fire and the firemen arriving late. Generally, I see people as very passive. I mean, even her mom disguised herself to hide. 
It's sad how long people have to be taken advantage of before they rise up, though. According to the book, Iranians have been oppressed for 2500 years and only now they revolt. Of course, life after the revolution hasn't been great either. Life is so depressing.
I do wonder why God didn't show up when Marjane wanted to participate in the protest. Did Marjane think she didn't need him anymore? I thought she was participating in the religious revolution, so shouldn't that mean she still believes in God? Or maybe it's supposed to symbolize that the religious revolution really didn't have anything to do with religion--it was all about power. Well, I don't know.

Alright, bye.
Deb.

A Couple of Introductions

Hi everyone!

I'm Angie, an optimist. I seek the good that comes out of any situation, even the tragic ones. I wake up every morning refreshed and grateful for all the opportunities life has to offer. I love getting up to the sun shining in a perfectly blue sky, with cheerful birds celebrating the new day. Everything about life is just so invigorating--the brilliant green leaves in nature, the excited barks of carefree dogs, the deep bass playing at crowded clubs. Oh! I should tell you some of my hobbies! I love to bungee jump, sky dive, play/try any sport, cook, paint, scuba dive, party, dance, sing, shout, and anything and everything that lets me meet new people. I love being with my friends--they make everything so much more enjoyable :) Everyone is just so interesting and exciting! I hope everyone has a good time seeing what I have to say!

♥Angie♥

Hi.

My name is Deb and I guess I'll go ahead and say something about myself, although, I don't really see what the point of doing so would be. People shouldn't have the time to waste on reading other people's blogs. In fact, blogs are really rather pointless. Only people with big enough egos to think that they are important enough for other people to care about would blog. But I figure if spread my philosophy, other people will stop making such a big deal about every trivial thing that happens. Really, we're focusing way too much on these unimportant events to see that there is really no point to life. Oh right, something about myself. I don't really have many hobbies. I guess reading the news can be considered one. Alright, bye.

Deb.

Oh, here's something I thought was humorous about video bloggers: