Persepolis

March marks Women's History Month, and while I wasn't previously aware that such a month existed, the Fed has done a great job scheduling activities and events to recognize and celebrate women's history. For the month, the Fed is bringing in speakers, presenting film screenings and hosting an art show. Mad accolades are due to the people responsible for programming.

I don't strongly identify with the feminist movement, and am generally more cognizant of issues involving Asian rights and racial discrimination because that is more central to my identity. Moreover, the feminist movement itself is diverse and fractured, while having the unfortunate characterization of being full of "white, upper middle-class bitches" who whine about Hillary Clinton's failed presidential bid. But the last couple weeks have provided me some food for thought. In a semi-provoked outburst at lunch, Katherine gave a stern lecture to our cohort of mostly male AEs after someone made a remark that lightly trivialized women's rights. "In many ways, women are still second-class citizens in this country and the situation is worse around the world," she said. "If you removed the word 'woman' from your comments and replaced it with 'black,' that would have been extremely out of line. Considering many of you will spend the rest of your lives with a woman, it would behoove you to give some thought to the state of women's rights and be a little more sensitive about the issue." The rest of the lunch table sat back looking rather shocked and wounded. Katherine went on to mention other instances of misogyny in the news, like the school shooting in Germany that targeted women. Ironically, someone who shall remain unnamed then said, "But that's because women can't run." I shot him an arresting glare before he could continue.

I like making insensitive comments as much as the next person, and there is certainly a culture of inappropriate remarks at the lunch table, with the understanding that we are not going to report each other to HR. However, there is always a line that should not be crossed, where edgy becomes offensive and kills Fun. Personally, it is irksome and offensive for me to hear people using epithets like "pussy" and "grow a vagina." I would argue that calling someone "ho" is less offensive because it is obviously not true, where as the former phrases attack and cheapen women's bodies and their social status. In the same way, it makes me uncomfortable to hear people calling things "gay" or "faggoty". [end soapbox]

Anyway, the Fed sponsored a screening of Oscar-nominated and Cannes prize-winning film Persepolis yesterday, and Katherine and I decided to swing by. The movie is based on a graphic novel series by Marjane Satrapi and is heavily autobiographical. In a bildungsroman set against the Iranian Revolution, Satrapi chronicles her childhood in a time of war and ever-increasing societal repression, where simply wearing Westernized sneakers can result in harassment and jail time. To protect their outspoken child, Satrapi's parents send her to Vienna in her early teens while they stay behind. Navigating the cultural divide is not easy for Satrapi, as she struggles to come to terms with her Iranian roots while far from her family. Nor is returning to Iran the solution, as Satrapi finds out when she goes home to find a changed country.

The choice of medium for the subject matter was intriguing, given that comics, erm, graphic novels are generally used for lighthearted, fantastical topics, and this movie discussed issues that are very much real and serious contemporary problems. The cartoon violence helped soften the edges; rather than seeing the vivid, bloody carnage in the aftermath of a missile strike, we see a cartoon arm sticking out of a pile of rubble. For a narrative with so much potential to be painful, the film is surprisingly whimsical, never straying far from the its original perspective of a child's eyes.

Overall, this is an eye-opening, quirky and very French movie. I would say it is less about women's rights, and more about cultural differences and historical events. I highly recommend it, particularly if you are curious about the development of modern Iran or enjoyed Amelie. A trailer follows below: