We Must Keep You Afraid Because When You Are Afraid, You Are Not Free

Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis covers a large period of time following the Islamic Revolution in Iran during the later 1970s. While the memoir traces Satrapi’s journey as her and her family navigate the authoritarianism that followed the revolution, her own experiences and insight provide us with insights into the psychological impacts of authoritarianism and the ways that it works to essentially squash any form of self-thought and protest. Satrapi highlights the weight of authoritarianism throughout Persepolis, through her parents sending her to Austria to escape the oppressive regime to her live back in Iran after school. While I cannot explore each instance where Satrapi exposes the ways that authoritarianism and religious fanaticism oppress individuals, I will focus on a few specific instances in Persepolis that provide a good overview and showcase the importance of not becoming complacent in the face of systems that seek to control you.

Following the revolution, Satrapi and her parents sit and watch the news as what appears to be a government official talks about education. He tells the reporter, “The Ministry of Education has decreed that universities will close at the end of the month.” The official continues by telling everyone that the system and the textbooks, “at all levels, are decadent,” leading children “astray…