Persepolis Blog #2

"In spite of everything, kids were trying to look hip, even under risk of arrest." (p. 112) How did they do this? What do you think you would have done had you been a child in this environment? What acts of rebellion did you do as a teen? In what ways is Satrapi just a normal kid?


Despite the strict regime placed upon the citizens of Iran, the teenagers there -like teenagers everywhere, did what teenagers do and disobeyed the laws. (-It's kind of what we do.) They did, I suppose you call "normal", teenager things, like skipping class, smoking, having funky hairstyles, wearing things that elders may consider "inappropriate", "punk", or even "skanky", and all that fun stuff. -Of course, one could say that the laws placed were a little over the top, considering stuff like playing music, games, and painting your nails, were strictly banned, and wearing a veil (for the women) was considered manditory.

-Why don't you just suck the life out of teenagers everywhere while you're at it? Because no teen is going to be "cool" with laws that were pretty much made against their very being. (I mean, come on! No music? Seriously? Who doesn't like music?)

I'd like to say that I'd be a total rebel in that environment, like refusing to wear the veil, and walking around with the middle finger printed on my t-shirt and 'fuck you' written on my forehead, for the world to see. But, honestly, I'd be scared shitless at the actual possibility of being stoned to death (-and not the smoking pot kind of stoned either; not to say that that sounds any more pleasent, just saying), or put in jail. That's also not to say that I'd always follow the rules either, because, really, who wants to beat themselves (on the chest -or anywhere else, for that matter)? I'd also probably skip bullshit classes like 'religion' (-I can't believe that's actually a class. Yuck.), and I'd go out and buy music when no one was looking, like Marji did.

As for my personal rebellion history, there's not much to say. I can't say I've done anything cool, like vandalizing property, or pulling a prank, or getting caught/searched by the cops, as my form of rebellion. (-Yes, this bothers even me that I haven't done anything of the sort.) I guess you could say that the only real form of rebellion I've demonstrated has been through speaking my mind. If I think something is complete bullshit, I'm going to say something, and I'll fight it. -Now, how much I fight it is all dependent on what it is I'm fighting for (of course). I choose my battles; and the others I fight in my head. (-The one advantage to fighting in your mind is that you always win.)

-I think that pretty much applies to everyone though. We fight for what we want, or for what we think is fair/deserved. I suppose you could say it's human nature.

Take my parents for example. I suppose you could say they're "normal" parents, meaning that if you really fuck up, they're going to come down on you hard. But I find it sadly humorous that even when you don't completely mess up and ruin things, they still come down on you -and for the dumbest, randomest shit, at that. Like, for instance, last week my mom yelled at me for not turning in a 5 pt. assignment (that no one did anyways) for Chemistry. Um...it was 5 points -seriously, chill. In the same night, my dad yelled at me for hanging out in the dark. -Yes. For walking around and listening to music in the dark. (Wtf?!) He thought it "weird" and "depressing" and acted like I was doing something other than just simply hanging out in the dark. (-What kills me is that I've done that a lot with very little said to me about it, and then he randomly decides that I should stop it because it's not 'normal', or some shit. Just, don't even ask..) My point? I thought it was stupid how they were flipping out about it and basically, in a summed up version, told them to get a life, and that I'd fix it.

Now, I know what you're thinking. That's not exactly "rebelling", but it's definitely not giving into what you're told, yes? (Lame, I know. But it's true.) That's a bad example, I suppose, but that's my life. I don't sneak out (cause where the fuck would I go?), I don't go to parties (keggers -call 'em what you like) for many reasons besides the fact that it's 'not advised' (i.e. I hate people, I hate loud (distasteful) music, I hate alcohol, and I hate people acting stupid/stupid people). I don't graffiti, I don't vandalize, I don't pull awesome pranks (as I mentioned before). Yeah, lame, but I'm not into that. -Besides, I think rebelling verbally is more the way to go from the start, considering it always seems to get there one way or the other anyways. (-Not to say that 'getting even' or 'making a statement' isn't effective, or humorous, because it can be.)

And Satrapi was kind of like that too, I suppose. She expressed her opinions verbally (usually), and tried to fight with her words. That's pretty powerful, if you think about how those words came from a kid/young teen. She went to a protest, once, and even though she got in trouble, she still seemed to be firm about what she believed in, and saw, even in her own naive way, that some (if not most) of the things going on in her country were/are pretty messed up. And I think that her recognition of those things, and her sticking up for what she thinks and expressing her opinions, and showing a bit of individuality here and there (-which is hard to do with so many rules/laws to obey), makes her really similar to kids everywhere. -Great minds think alike, I suppose.