ENG101.12. Spring 2015. Emory University.
I am about to begin a live blog of the 2007 movie Persepolis. The movie is based on the memoir by Marjane Satrapi. I am going to do the blogging in the comments of this post! If anyone would like to add a comment of their own about the movie or my posts please feel free to do so!
After reading the graphic novel “Persepolis” by Marjane Satrapi, I felt like it would be interesting to analyze the differences between the novel and the movie. I will be posting my responses to the movie and basically just whatever comes to my mind while watching the movie (comparisons to the book, anything interesting, anything worth noting, etc). Stay tuned 
“I never realized how much they loved me.”
“And I understood how important they were to me.”
The last frame on page 149 conveys a major turning point in Persepolis. Marjane’s family is sending her to live on her own in Vienna, which is something she has never experienced before. She must say goodbye to her family and friends to start a safer and better life. This image demonstrates how important family is to Marjane in the large scheme of things. Because her parents love her, they need to send her off for Marjane’s protection. It’s only out of love. I’m also excited to see how the rest of the book will unravel, based on Marjane being in a completely new atmosphere.
The most important panel to me is the third panel on page 147. This is the panel that Marji’s parents tell her that they are sending her to Austria for school. This marks a complete change in Marji’s life. She no longer will be dealing with violence and a country at war. However, she will have new hardships such as not knowing the language, being along, and being a foreigner. Marji realizes that she will never live with her parents again.
The decision to send Marji to Austria came when Marji challenged her teacher on how many political prisoners were being held. Marji’s parents became afraid that if Marji stayed she would eventually be raped and murdered for being so outspoken against the Islamic regime.
Tonight (2/5/2015) Cheryl Ball gave a public lecture entitled “The Asymptotic Relationship Between Digital Humanities and Computers and Writing”. This title was very confusing to me as I’m sure it is to many others who did not attend the lecture. However, Ball uses this title as a segue into many interesting topics. She discussed the history of both the digital humanities and the computers and writing “fields”. For me, this was a very enlightening experience. Prior to the lecture I knew very little about both of these fields.
Ball talked specifically about the similarities and differences of the two fields. This is where the title comes from. Historically there has been what appears to be an “asymptote” dividing these two fields. However, as the years have gone by the differences between the two fields has decreased but not yet merged. The idea that they may never merge seems to be realistic. That is why it appears to an asymptote. The two fields may forever grow closer, but they may never meet.
, Greer Howard
Dr. Cheryl Ball’s public lecture called “The Asymptotic Relationship Between Digital Humanities and Computers and Writing” was very informative and really allowed me to understand the different areas of Digital Humanities: Electronic Literature, Media Studies, Rhetoric & Composition, and Literary Studies. Dr. Ball talked a lot about the pedagogy and emphasized the “evolution” of writing. Starting from the 1950s with writing as just a process and then going on to 1960s where they began student-centered teaching and then peer review. In the 1990s, people started using multimodels, visual rhetorics, and digital technologies as a way to teach students and for delivering presentations. I found it really interesting that the first dissertation on comps & writing was completed by Hugh Burns at UT Austin (yay Texas :D). I was able to learn about designing and assessing multimodal assignments from her presentations and enjoyed her humor.
I attended the lecture by Cheryl Ball titled “The Asymptotic Relationship Between Digital Humanities and Computers and Writing.” In her talk, she discussed the histories of Digital Humanities and Computers and Writing. The focus on the lecture was how the two separate fields in writing are actually similar and seems to be coming together, hence the “asymptotic relationship.” The lecture give me a glimpse of how large and diverse writing. I did not realize there were so many subfields within writing. It was interesting to see the histories of these fields laid out and how there have been defining moments in each that occurred just a few years ago. Ball made a point that I thought was particularly interesting that how over the years the so-called “generations” in writing have started to change a lot quicker. The lecture encompassed the categories in which this class falls in so learning about the history and how each shift has lead to where we are today was intriguing. Ball ended the lecture by answering a question on whether she thought this asymptotic relationship was figurative or literal. I can’t say whether I agree or disagree because I still don’t know that much about both fields but she said she thinks it is both.
The bottom panel in page 153 depicts a scene where Marjane is looking through the window at their parents in great distress. This panel stuck out to me the most because it was the scene where it shows the true depiction of her parents’ distress. This was especially emphasized as the previous few panels showed Marjane’s parents as normal, almost whimsical, to cheer up and assure their daughter whose about to leave Iran. It must have been especially as Marjane always looked up to their powerful person and always looks up to, and her view on her parents crumbles to see their parents absolutely devastated. It was also the climax of the reading, which shows the changing point of the plot, i.e. from Iran to Austria.
I believe the most important panel is the final panel of “The Dowry”. The scene shows the despair and sadness of Marjane’s mother and father as Marjane looks at them through an airport window. This scene is extremely important because it signifies a very pivotal in the story. The reader of the visual novel as this point realizes a start of a daunting and new future of Marjane. The panel evokes a lot of pathos with dark shadows cast over Marjane’s father’s eyes as well as her mother’s limp figure. What particularly struck me the most about the illustration is the figure of Marjane pressed up with her hands against the window. The window acts as if to represent a barrier that traps Marjane from being with her parents and her home, Iran.
In my opinion, the most important panel from today’s reading is the second one on page 151. While looking at her own reflection in the mirror, Marji is saying to herself, “I will always be true to myself.” She is already aware that she has to go to Austria, and what she says is the last piece of advice that her grandmother gave to her, as well as her father afterwards, before she left off. She has done what she believes was right such as calling out her religion teacher on teaching them lies. The fact that the “be true to yourself” was repeated may have been done purposefully. The moment she tells herself that encapsulates the moment since her life is about to have a drastic change so they must all make sure she must never forget who she is.