Comments on: Persepolis: Explaining Iran in Black and White

By: Forsoothsayer

Forsoothsayer — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:31:00 +0000

just saw film and enjoyed it (did not read book tho). i’d be interested in reading more about this concept of native informer and new orientalism. i’m far too close to being tarred with that brush.

By: Henry

Henry — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 17:19:00 +0000

Looks interesting. Any idea if the animated feature will be playing in widespread release, or just a limited run?

By: Forsoothsayer

Forsoothsayer — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:22:00 +0000

really good post. you’ve pinned down the danger of the exile as cultural expert.

By: Zeynab

Zeynab — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 22:27:00 +0000

Shirin Ebadi’s memoir is also a good one. Lipstick Jihad has several criticism of it, mainly that it looked at only the upper classes and only focused on their “Decadent” behavior. (shrug) I am a raving fan of Jasmine & Stars because it’s so different than all the other Irani memoirs out there, and I actually think it’s more a necessary guide for reading those other memoirs.

By: Latoya Peterson

Latoya Peterson — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 20:10:00 +0000

Interesting.I like to read memoirs because to me, they are a more human aspect on history.I think it was the way I learned to think – to define the ideas behind the events, the events themselves, then the people who were involved. Things like date and place fall to the wayside as I try to understand why things happened.With that being said, I understand Tasnim’s point – memoirs are personal takes on a life lived, occasionally involving historical events. They aren’t going to replace historical fact and shouldn’t be used that way.I am still looking forward to reading more memoirs (just finished Lipstick Jihad, moving on to Jasmine and Stars) but I will be sure to suss out the historical facts…after someone has set the scene.