Introduction
One person is unlikely to be able to do something against a strict system, a well-oiled mechanism that inspires horror, especially if this person is a little girl. The main characters of Little Miss Sunshine and Persepolis have their own goals and fears; each girl has her dreams, but not everyone can get what they want. They will understand that life can be free from social pressure, fun, and enjoyable, even without fulfilling cherished dreams. The serious themes of both works are hidden behind a light drawing or a comedic frame. In the movie Little Miss Sunshine and the graphic novel Persepolis, the little girls strive for freedom and oppose the system that oppresses them.
Little Miss Sunshine
Little Miss Sunshine was one of the major film releases of 2006. The low-budget comedy film from directors and screenwriters who wrote their first screenplay and made their film debuts became a box office record holder. They received enthusiastic responses from audiences and critics. This film was filmed for 5 years, as funding was very problematic. However, Fox Searchlight eventually bought the rights to the film for $ 10 million, which brought the company more than $ 100 million in profits (Osborn, 2022).
The film was nominated for Best Picture of the Year, won an Oscar and a BAFTA, and won over 70 other film awards (Osborn, 2022). Little Miss Sunshine tells a fairly simple story that conveys complex ideas through everyday scenes. It is a road movie about a family’s trip to a beauty contest, which their seven-year-old daughter plans to participate in.
It is an incredible story with unforgettable original characters, each of which is a whole universe overflowing with vivid emotions and personal characteristics. The whole family rests on a completely ordinary girl who is a connection for her not-quite-ordinary family. Olive’s father tells them to “pretend to be normal” (Dayton & Faris, 2006). She has a grandfather who sniffs coke in the morning, an uncle who tried to commit suicide because of an unrequited love for a student, and a brother who has been reading Nietzsche and has not spoken to people for a whole year (Dayton & Faris, 2006).
The directors use uncomplicated soundtracks to maintain the comedy effect and reduce the tension of the moments (D’Adamo, 2018). Even at Olive’s most crucial moment, when she and her family are late for the competition, the film is dominated by quick cuts and camera movements, which are as chaotic as the whole situation. The emergence of problems on the way is the theme of liberation from social opinion.
It is notable how the directors ridicule the pursuit of the American dream. In the eyes of the audience at the beauty contest itself, which acts as an image of society, Olive and her family are considered losers, and the girl defiantly stands out from the crowd. Despite the problem raised in the picture, the film captivates with the ease of presentation and the simultaneous versatility of content.
The film first gently, ironically, speaks about the American dream and how important it is not to be a loser in the modern world (Macuno, 2021). It then puts the question squarely and exposes the reverse side of ‘successful people’ (Macuno, 2021). That is just a format invented by someone; it is far from suitable for everyone and has nothing to do with happiness.
The film presents freedom from rigid social standards, which are metaphorically passed through beauty contests. More and more space in every modern person’s life is occupied by competition: one needs to earn more and be the most beautiful, slim, and funny. It is worth dancing better, thinking faster, and breaking the ribbon at the finish line; winning is happiness. However, Olivia’s grandfather convinces the girl that “a real loser is somebody who is so afraid of not winning they don’t even try” (Dayton & Faris, 2006). Thus, seven-year-old Olive shows that participation is a win in itself.
Persepolis
Persepolis is a graphic novel created by Marjan Satrapi to tell the story of her experience as a woman, a little girl, in Iran after the Islamic Revolution. The reader sees how little Marjane dreams of becoming a new prophet; in her dreams, she sees God and communicates with him, thus, she is sincerely religious (Satrapi, 2020). However, like her other peers, she “does not understand why” her usual way of life is changing so dramatically and “didn’t like to wear the veil” and other changes (Satrapi, 2020). Revolutions sweep through the streets of Tehran, and the girl is forced to listen to them. A few scenes later, she already hates the Shah and listens to her parents’ instructions about the danger of such phrases (Satrapi, 2020).
Marjane’s parents are from the elite lineage, fully aware of the regime’s horrors, but the revolution strikes them with its bias. Soon, the country falls under Sharia law, and instead of democracy, people get tyranny under the guise of the law of Allah, and a year later, a war begins between Iran and Iraq. Marjane calls the conflict “a war for nothing, millions of victims for nothing” (Satrapi, 2020).
Against the backdrop of ongoing events, Marjane grows, but her freedom-loving language does not find a haven in Iran, so her parents decide to send her to Vienna. As a result, Satrapi returned to Iran and left again to write a graphic novel, which she called “Persepolis” (Korosi, 2020). The name refers to the ancient city, the nest of Persian traditions, so Marjane wanted to contrast the bright cultural past with the dark present.
In addition, Marjane brings up the theme of feminism in her story, as throughout the comic, the main character and the women in her family do not accept the new veil laws. Moreover, in the comics, the girl’s dreams, such as to “become a prophet,” to go to university to become like Marie Curie, to travel, and more, are destroyed more than once (Satrapi, 2020). The reason is in politically severe events and a change in attitudes toward women (Ezzatikarami & Ameri, 2019).
The autobiographical language of the novel, the subjective narration, allows us to move as close as possible to the hero and give her feelings. Marjane does not focus on politics; the picture seeks to show the thoughts and feelings of a person in the flames of growing up. At first, it happens in her native but traumatic country, and then on the alien soil of Austria, where she never became her own.
In addition, Satrapi used a black-and-white comic style with minimal mise-en-scène and emphasis on the characters’ actions (Shakiba, 2021). She explained the lack of color by the desire to create a story devoid of color, universal in its message (Shakiba, 2021). Moreover, most of the film does not take place in Iran, but the artist does not refuse the chosen path.
Conclusion
Both in the film and the graphic novel, the differences between the two worlds are presented: in the first case, it is the ‘elite’ of society and the family of ‘losers’; in the second, these are the differences between conservative Iran and other more liberated countries. Both girls are different from the others around them, just like their family, but each has a dream. Each work shows the heroines’ challenging path to what can make them happy and give them a sense of freedom. They have the message that, despite the many social standards, everyone should strive for their own goals and be free from public opinion, which can lead to internal destruction.
References
D’Adamo, A. (2018). Character vs. emotion: How music and sound define space in the films Little Miss Sunshine, 50 Shades of Grey, Twilight and Secretary. Empathetic Space on Screen, 85–106. Web.
Dayton, J., & Faris, V. (2006). Little Miss Sunshine [Film]. Big Beach Films.
Ezzatikarami, M., & Ameri, F. (2019). Persepolis and human rights: Unveiling westernized globalization strategies in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis. International Journal of Applied Linguistics and English Literature, 8(5), 122. Web.
Korosi, M. (2020). “I again put on my veil” – autobiographical narrative, feminism, and the emergence of border thinking in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis books. Geographies of Affect in Contemporary Literature and Visual Culture, 139–160. Web.
Macuno, C. (2021). Less is more: The poverty in wealth. Medium. Web.
Osborn, J. (2022). Limited release movies that got the widest expansion. Stacker. Web.
Satrapi, M. (2020). Persepolis. L’Association.
Shakiba. (2021). Persepolis: An analysis of the role of identity during the Iranian Revolution. Shakiba. Web.