Here is a link to the site for American travel writer and documentarian Rick Steves, specifically his series on Iran.

http://www.ricksteves.com/iran/iran_menu.htm

I thought that it would be good to get some kind of background on Iran while reading Persepolis, especially in light of the fact that most Americans – just by accident of the media in our country – have a poor understanding of the country. Steves’ documentary is decidedly non-political and will present a side of Iran that most non-Iranians probably had no clue even existed. (Biggest surprise? A lot of Iranians actually like Americans.)

I think that it’s important to balance the picture of the political Iran – the Iran of the Revolution, the Iran of the recent electoral coup d’etat, the Iran of Evin prison – with the Iran experienced by the millions of Iranians actually living in the country day in and day out. I think you could easily compare current day Iran to the late Brezhnev-era Soviet Union – the vast majority of the people know the government is corrupt and illegitimate, and a growing number are openly challenging the ruling regime. Persepolis is a great story of how that current regime came to be, and I think one of the most interesting things about reading it is seeing how some of those absurdities / inconsistencies that Iranians today have to deal with originated in the first place.

(Incidentally, Satrapi herself, currently living in France, is unsurprisingly a supporter of the Green opposition movement around Mousavi.

http://www.adnkronos.com/AKI/English/Politics/?id=3.0.3433629806

I think Marjane Satrapi – forced into exile, where her most important creative works enjoy much more support outside of Iran than within – is a great example of the Iran that could have been, if only the Revolution had turned out differently.)