Postmodernists’ thinkers in Persepolis 2 - Part 1 (Background Knowledge)

BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE

            “I will always be true to myself” (Satrapi, 151). That is what Marjie said before she departed to Austria. Marjie (Marjene Satrapi) is a name of a girl. Marjene Satrapi is Persepolis' writer sequel (1 and 2) in a graphic novel genre. Graphic novel is a new genre in telling literature stories in a form of comic that contains many issues like politic, gender, education, government, and many more. Therefore, in this Persepolis’ graphic novel is generally talks about someone who tries to find her true identity through many struggles, like war, new rule, new law, and new government happening in her country.

Persepolis 1 - Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis 2 - Marjane Satrapi

Furthermore, in the Persepolis 1, we know that Marjie (Marjene Satrapi) as a girl who still in a growth up process experiencing many unbelievable things that makes her thought always change. For example, she may agree with an A opinion, and then if she heard that B opinion is more reliable, she will change her thought easily. Although Marjie has a childish side, but actually she is a clever kid. That statement shows a little review of Persepolis 1. Therefore, in this article will discuss more deeply about the main points in Persepolis-Chapter 2.

Persepolis 2 is still about Marjie’s stories but the stories become more complicated then it was. In the Persepolis 2, the general idea is still about Marjie who tries to find her true identity, but the issues behind her stories are going more challenging for the readers. For instances, like her new life in Austria, new friends, and new thoughts that she never met before. In the Persepolis 2, the readers also can find some postmodernism’s characteristics that will be discussed in detail.

To review up, postmodernism is a new art movement in the 20^th and 21^st century, and the scope is wide (literature, music, drama, theatre, politics, etc) (Donelson-Sims, 2013: 1-2). Moreover, postmodernism is like unfinished questionable ending, where the audiences or readers have to guess what will happen next or they should conclude the ending by themselves. Postmodernism also like to make us think more critically since postmodernism also claims that we have to doubt the author’s work or the issues behind its story. Thus, the postmodernism is very suited to examine the Persepolis 2 because the story has the postmodernism’s characteristics that still doubted, debatable, and questionable.

Furthermore, in the Persepolis 2, it is found that some postmodernism characteristics are interesting to be discussed because they are debatable and questionable; and how those are related to our real life. Those characteristics that will be discussed are “Truths is relative, Each religion is legitimate, and Equality”. Those issues will be discussed deeply because those carry many issues and assumptions that not only from Marjie’s perspectives, but also from the others’ perspectives. Those characteristics are also helpful to the readers to understand and questions more about Marjie’s life, and might be about the mask that still covers up the Persepolis’ story that we have not known yet.