okay, I can’t figure out what to do with the currently non-functioning link for this Thursday’s notes, so I’m going to post what I have here as a place holder of sorts.

Before Presentations:

-briefly discussed final project options

-topic will be covered more in the future

Presentations:

Presentation # 1 — Alexa — “Try to make the best of it”

-analyzed p. 299, The Socks chapter head

-change — nude vs. covered

-gutter role — change in thoughts of Marji and classmate
-tried the impossible task — just learned to draw drapes
-more black in frames as mood darkens and page progresses
-without frustration, Marji would not have sought a creative outlet with friends (p. 304)
-becomes an adult and makes the best out of of everything, and prof. congratulates her and her friends actions in drawing each other in private

Presentation # 2 — Leon — Duality in Persepolis
-analyzed p. 305 (with the two large “schizophrenic” panels) in conjunction with several other instances of duality in the book
-p. 5 — modern vs. traditionalist
-p. ? — veiled vs. unveiled — protestors
-p. 102 — impoverished vs. higher social class
-p. 189 — growing up — beauty mark — physical change — still same inside
-p. 210 — Marji’s reaction to anarchists playing in the forest vs. her childhood
-p. 262 and p. 54 — goes to see friend in wheel chair — wanted her father in that situation so he would be a hero
-p. 279 — comparing Marjane and her husband
-p. 318 — who he wanted to marry vs. who he really married
-p. 299-300 — cultural differences with painting the veiled vs. unveiled

After Presentations:

Discussed questions 4 and 5 of Zen Scavenger Hunt
4. a confrontation that reveals the outermost limits of authority
5. the most meaningless death in Persepolis

Discussed the ending (or absence of an ending) of Persepolis and the class’ reactions to it
-twitter feed showed a lot of confusion and unsatisfaction with the ending
-discussed the confusion in actually ending a memoir when your life is not really over yet — nor the conflict and turmoil that your memoir focuses on

Thought about how reactions might vary if we had read the book in two or four segments
-decided that the experience might be different, but it would be very hard to make an entire class actually stop reading where they were supposed to if it was read in segments throughout the semester

Watched Satrapi interview on the Colbert Report
-Satrapi mentioned that a large reason for the comic and the movie was to humanize the Iranian people

Watched a few minutes of Persepolis movie for style contrasts between the movie and the comic book
-made the veiled women seem serpent-like and creepier
-movie left out several scenes in the comic book in order to better focus on Marji and her reactions
-the music soundtrack lent to the film’s suspense and overall effect