1) Relate what was discussed in class or the text to the screening.

This week of class had to be one of my favorites. Inspirations for movies can come from

anywhere and everywhere. Motivations to write and film can come from personal experiences,

emotions, nature, current or past events, culture, and literature. Book adaptions have been

popular over the years, but something that has stuck out are graphic novel adaptions. It is so cool

to see a comic turned into a live animation. For this week, we traveled to Iran discussing the

French-Iranian animated biographical film Persepolis following the writers, Marjane Satrapis,

journey. This story is about a young, spunky, and outspoken Marjane growing up during the

Iranian revolution. The film broke barriers for the international film industry even earning a

nomination for the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature.

2) Find a related article and summarize the content. (on the film, director, studio, actor/actress,
artistic content, etc.) You can use the library or the internet. Cite the article and copy the link to
your journal entry. Summarize in your own words the related article but do not plagiarize any
content. Make sure your link is a true hyperlink that will connect to the article you are
referencing.

Identity Formation

This article provides knowledge about ones identity formation and what influences

help to structure it. The development of an individuals identity is created by psychological,

structural, and sociological factors. These are intersectional influences that are important to

look at to help understand a person. Even though sometimes we think that a persons identity is

an individualistic process, it has a lot to do with their sociocultural environments.

We as people construct the image of ourselves based off our understanding of the world

and how we want others to view us. This stems from the individuals knowledge and

perspective of social categories such as ethnicities, expectations and stereotypes. Introspection

and self-exploration of culture is vital to acknowledge when examining or encouraging our

individualistic process. This can be the case with various religions, races, what is in, labels,

and the rhetorical vision we buy into. Sometimes we choose to fit or break these molds and

labels depending on if we want to assign ourselves to a category or make up our own.

Experiences and how we feel on the inside translates on the outside, shaping our identity.

3) Apply the article to the film screened in class. How did the article support or change the way
you thought about the film, director, content, etc.?

This article supports the film because it supports the emotional content of the film. In

Persepolis, viewers are given an inside look on Marjanes life journey. We get a deeper

understanding out how she turned into the person we see in the beginning of the movie because

afterwards, we are taken back in time seeing her upbringing. She had to go through various

changes due to cultural and societal changes.

While growing up during the Iranian Revolution, we see Marjane having to comprise her

identity and behavior because it was deemed inappropriate after the new leader of Iran was voted

into power. In addition, her family was quite modern with their ways of thinking and living.

Women are forced to wear head scarfs and act more conservative. They were not allowed to

speak out or voice their opinions or concern. Couples on the sidewalk were not allowed to show

affection; there was an exception for some people who were married. Alcohol consumption was

banned and families risked their lives having wine bottles in their homes. There were raids if a

person or family was in question of going against the rules the new leader had put in place.
 We see this take a toll on Marjane. She is brought up to love her culture but is placed in a

predicament when she cannot match her outside appearance and identity. When she is not to say

a word while walking down the street, she is putting on a rock and roll performance in her room.

When she is to wear a head scarf in public or in the presence of men and women who follow the

strict regimens, she is wearing a jean jacket or tee with her favorite band at home. Viewers get to

see the internal battle she faces when she moves to France.

When Marjane makes the move, we see her let go of the head scarf and dressing the way

she wants to. However, she feels ashamed of her culture and identity because those around her

are not the same. They think of stereotypes and make incorrect assumptions based of their lack of

knowledge of Iranian culture. Marjane feels torn and lies about her identity until she is faced

with an epiphany. As she grows older, she learns to embrace where she comes from and the

person she truly wants to be. She shows us the courage it takes to love our true selves and to

embrace everything that makes us, well us.

 4) Write a critical analysis of the film, including your personal opinion, formed as a result

of the screening, class discussions, text material and the article. I am less interested in whether

you liked or disliked a film, (although that can be part of this) than I am in your understanding

of its place in film history or the contributions of the director.

I really enjoyed this film. I think it speaks volume to viewers been two decades after its

release. It is important to note that our individualist processes that help shape us are always

changing. There is always going to be a need to improve or develop because we change and

grow along with everything around us. Similar to the themes in The Wedding Banquet, we should

never be afraid to be the person we want to be. We decide how we want others to see us and the

lives we want to pursue. In circumstances, like Marjanes, we have to make tough decisions that

in the long run will be for the better.

There is always a voice that is lacking due to the societal pressure. We always feel the

need to live by society standards. Similar to social proof and the principle of liking, people feel

the need to associate themselves with people who are just like them. In addition, people
determine what is correct by finding out what others think is correct. This is why we must learn

to act for ourselves and be ourselves. We only get one life to live.

Eisen, D. (2014). Identity formation. In M. Y. Danico (Ed.), Asian American society: An

encyclopedia (Vol. 4, pp. 481-485). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications Ltd. doi:

10.4135/9781452281889.n158

Plagiarism Checklist
CHECKLIST FOR PLAGIARISM

1) ( X ) I have not handed in this assignment for any other class.

2) ( X ) If I reused any information from other papers I have written for other
classes, I clearly explain that in the paper.

3) ( X ) If I used any passages word for word, I put quotations around those
words, or used indentation and citation within the text.

4) ( X ) I have not padded the bibliography. I have used all sources cited in
the bibliography in the text of the paper.

5) ( X ) I have cited in the bibliography only the pages I personally read.

6) ( X ) I have used direct quotations only in cases where it could not be

stated in another way. I cited the source within the paper and in the
bibliography.

7) ( X ) I did not so over-use direct quotations that the paper lacks

interpretation or originality.

8) ( X ) I checked yes on steps 1-7 and therefore have been fully transparent
about the research and ideas used in my paper.

Name: Jailene Burgos__________________ Date:

4/24/17_________________________