In this blog I will be discussing how a person’s experience can be seen as a firsthand source in history and its importance in a community in which their voice can be ignored or can be “hidden in history.” I will also be speaking of these topics in terms of the autobiographical film, Persepolis (2007).
Joan Scott’s, “The Evidence of Experience” explains experience as a first-hand primary source and emphasizes the importance of a firsthand experience especially in a community in which it is invisible. As a historian, Scott believes that an experience in a particular topic is one of the best and only ways to account for a history of a particular place and time. A personal narrative is a more crucial and substantial piece of information that gives historians a much clearer perception of the people they are researching in terms of history. However, in terms of visual perceptions and experience, Scott thoroughly indicates that like Cleary, what he saw in the bathroom he will take with him as an event that only he saw and one that he went through as an individual. He is a gay man that ultimately went through many things having to do with invisibility and being silenced. However, his vision consisting of masses of different bodies made him believe that this would help other people understand that gays should be accepted in society. A quote that stands out to me says, “When experience is taken as the origin of knowledge, the vision of the individual subject…becomes the bedrock of evidence on which explanation is built.” (Scott 399) Someone who lives through something so personal helps them to get across what they account for as something called experience. Scott’s main focus is experience and the relevance of experience depending on particular people; invisibility in history is a very difficult thing to get around because many people are ignored in history.
In terms of Persepolis, the main character, Marjane, is speaking of her Iranian past in this autobiographical film and is fighting against others and herself about her identity and what she has gone through. Many people believe that since they have gone through a lot more they deserve a lot more attention or that perhaps depending on the people listening to their experiences then they will or will not get the attention they deserve. Marjane was a young girl when the revolution occurred in her home and when everything changed; her identity was not fully formed, she was listening to the adults and basing her perspective on that of others. She grew up confused and resentful for many things that she knew she couldn’t change. The mere fact that the film made it to where it is now is very spectacular in terms of how this history has been ignored. Personally, I had never heard about the severity of this war until I saw the film and it made me question why it has never been given the fair amount of publicity it deserves. It made me question in whose hands this is; who decides what is in power of the things that are given attention? Persepolis, in particular, had a history as mentioned through the eyes of a young middle to upper class girl that seemed to be silenced if it weren’t for Marjane. As Scott mentions, “these conditions enable choices” (Scott 409) The choice Marjane had in expressing her experiences through these novels enabled her to get rid of herself and her experiences from the category of “hidden from history.” Marjane explicitly states her experiences and what she and her family have gone through and thoroughly talks about things that people wouldn’t expect her to talk about.
The film also explicitly criticizes different visual mediums throughout the film. However, the ones that we most explicitly recognize are those in Western societies. The one we saw in class was very funny. I remember watching both of the clips and seeing the similarity between Rocky and Marjane. They both take a while to “train,” or better said “make themselves ready” before they're metaphorically “back in the ring.” There is also a scene in which she and friends are looking through their music and Western music comes up between them. People sometimes assume that if some societies aren’t as Westernized as theirs, they are completely foreign. In the critique it says that they are “dying” to be Westernized, but they don’t have to even admire the Western culture in order to have similar tastes in music or films (the Godzilla movie scene). These scenes are incorporated in order to bring about that everyday aspect I like to look for in films. They attempt to reach out because of everyday things we, the audience, see or experience in life. This attempt grabs our attention more and makes their point very clear.
http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/his135/Events/Iran79.htm
In terms of Persepolis as a visual medium, I missed the connection to Rocky in the scene where Marjane gets off the couch and back in the ring as you put it. I like the connection in terms of television and it is similar to the western publicity I menchened in my blog regarding, The Terminator film being used. It is interesting how the western films played on television keep Marjane or others occupied in a negative manner while the song in reference to Rocky is played with motivation. All together both of these sources are used in general terms of western publicity.
ReplyDeleteI was very interested by something you mentioned in your blog regarding which histories get told, and which get silenced. While I raised a similar question, your entry went on to relate this to Marjane's history as a "young, middle to upper class girl" as being remarkable. While I did briefly discuss the history of young girls as one that is conspicuously absent from societal texts and retellings, your mention of Marjane's socioeconomic status really got me thinking. It occurs to me that if, as you say (and I believe, as well), Marjane's story receiving the visibility and accolades it has thus far is remarkable- and she was a fairly privileged individual- what does this say about the chances for a less privileged individual to have his/her part in history known? I consider the fact that Marjane herself was behind the project, which was based on her book, as further evidence of Scott's entreaty to consider which stories are deemed worthy of being made visible, and thus become history.
ReplyDeleteIt is really interesting what you said about Persepolis being an autobiographical film that portrays a fight not only against the others, but also about Marjane herself. I believe that the struggle of identity is found in many aspects of the film. For instance, using French is a sign of an identity struggle. The autobiographical film portraits the struggle in a very particular way. She is speaking from exile, and that has to be taken into consideration at the moment that we are analyzing the construction of her identity.
ReplyDeleteAnother remark that you made seems really interesting. You said: “These scenes are incorporated in order to bring about that everyday aspect I like to look for in films.” The juxtaposition of mundane, every day scenes incorporated with very strong positions on war makes the movie interesting and easy to look at, regardless of the hard message against war.