Historical Context
Historical Context
Persepolis takes place against the backdrop of some significant historical events. Whilst, you're not required to apply a socio-historical lens to this text, learning more about these events could strengthen your interpretations.
Iranian Revolution
Looking for a crash course on modern Iranian history, specifically Iran's Revolution? Then look no further than this Crash Course video.
The Iranian Revolution is a very significant historical event in Satrapi's graphic memoir: it is the catalyst for the entire plot.
Whilst you do not necessarily need to know this information for your Individual Oral (IO) assessment or the HL Essay, it might help with your reading.
Britanica Article that explores the Iranian Revolution
A clip from a documentary titled "Crisis in Iran" by the History Channel with Mike Wallace
Check out this remastered footage of Iran before the Revolution.
Iran-Iraq War
In Satrapi's memoir, she depicts her memories of not only the conflict within, as Iran saw a revolution, but conflict outside. In particular, Iran was also at war with Iraq, and understanding this conflict is similarly important to fully appreciating the historical and social context about which we can analyse via reading the text.
An article about the Iran-Iraq War from HISTORY.COM.
What Happened in the Iran-Iraq War?