mandi

The idea of a minority imposing its ideas and ideologies on a majority is often the cause of culture shock and then backlash. In Perseplolis by Marjane Satrapi, she spends a majority of the first book just recounting the revolution that took place during her childhood. Much of what she was experiencing as a child was in response to the oppression that began during her grandfather’s younger days. She lived under the rule of a government that asserted it was divinely chosen and its style of ruling was Godly. However, the people did not agree and so protested, frequently, against an oppressive and blasphemous tyranny. I’ve tried to highlight effect in the photos that I took and edited in Adobe Photoshop. Using only black, white and red as the color scheme for this photo, I’ve attempted to juxtapose communist ideas with the Islamic reality that was Iran during this time. In this  photo, the girl is completely tinted red while wearing Hijab to reference the idea of freedom from government that communists believed in along with the unity in religion and modesty that Islam preaches. Marjane, for the most part, experienced this battle every day from the day that wearing a Hijab to school became mandatory. This level of pschological and emotional oppression resonated deeply with me as I was thinking of different ways I could represent Marjane’s struggle in the frame of a picture. In the end, I felt that this rendition would serve a wonderful mix between the power of resolve and rebellion.