ashamed to admit it took me this long but i am very happy to learn that everyone was, in fact, right about this album. was particularly impressed at how eclectic and psychedelic this was. almost an instant 10 for me
Most people dismissing Persepolis as “orientalist westen caricature” have not experienced fundamentalist & religious authoritarianism firsthand. The film accurately captures (Islamist) moralized policing + is based on her lived experience (which is not necessarily generalizable)
It’s a contender for the most horrific moment in any film, ever. Sheryl Lee’s reaction is so guttural. You feel Laura’s surprise & her terror. The fact that FWWM isn’t considered a horror film by some & Sheryl Lee didn’t win any awards for the film will both always blow my mind.
The west always needed to define itself through constructing an oppositional other. Orientalism is an extension of perceived western exceptionalism. Despotism is seen as a characteristic of the orient, leading to the belief that the west is somehow immune to it.
Egypt is a military state that imposes draconian limits to free speech on a population in chronic poverty. The vast majority of Egyptians do not want the 'Egypt model.'