Multimedia Narrative: Persepolis by Marjaneh Satrapi

My first experience with Persepolis was through an animated adoption of the book. However, reading it was different. The book (comic) is from the author’s point of view. Marjaneh Satrapi tells us her personal experience and interpretation about the political and social changes in different stages of her life. Her story is interesting even for someone like myself who lived in Iran. I usually avoid the stories, books and movies that address recent or current issues in my country knowing that they would only leave me with depression but Persepolis has a different approach. The main character (author) simply shares her experience without any direct political messages or complaining. It is relatable and comforting. In addition, the honest way she narrates the story makes it even more desirable. She sounds different when he character is in each stage of life. However you can still hear a mature voice throughout the story. This is one of the details one can easily miss while watching the animated film. The advantage of a comic book over a motion picture is in the amount of attention to the details of the story from the audience/reader. It is obvious that more time is spent while looking at illustration and reading the captions compared with when you watch them in motion and hear the story. This is what makes multimedia narrative so effective.