Thesis and Outline: Argo and Persepolis

Argo movie trailer

Persepolis movie trailer

Introduction (rough draft)

The Islamic Revolution was in full blast in 1979. Iran has strict censorship policies, which

limits the people of Iran to be able to express themselves freely whether it be music, name 

brand materials, movies, and numerous other activities. These limitations are still active today,

but two stories in particular occurred directly in the middle of the revolution and the stories 

live on today.

Persepolis, first a graphic novel, then was turned into an animated biographical film. The

story follows author and director, Marjane Satrapi throughout her young childhood years, 

into her life as an adult during the Islamic Revolution. This movie has been translated into 

three languages, but the original was made in French.

The second story is Argo. This thriller drama 2012 film is directed by Ben Affleck. The

movie was based off a true story of a CIA mission named Canadian Caper. This real 

mission, transformed into a film of the Islamic revolution hostage situation at the United 

States embassy in Iran closely follows many situations that happened during this time in history.

The purpose of comparing these two films set during the Islamic revolution of 1979 is 

examining who is telling the story, and how the story changes based off who is telling it. We 

will be finding similarities and differences amongst an Iranian born Islamic female 

Marjane Satrapi and Ben Affleck/former CIA agent Tony Mendez. Interviews, scholarly

journals, and examination of filming techniques will assist in finding the similarities and 

differences between the two.

Thesis

The purpose of comparing and contrasting the films Argo (2012) and Persepolis (2007) 

is to find how the events of the Islamic Revolution in 1979 changed based off who was 

telling the story.

Outline

Introduction (see above)

•          Thesis clearly stated in the introduction

Marjane Satrapi’s side

•          Details of her national Iranian pride
•          How the world views Iran, but how the people of Iran really are (secondary source: Frames and Mirrors, Elahi)

Other Iranian Graphic novel authors/ directors

•          (secondary source: Marjane Satrapi and the Graphic Novels from and About the Middle East, Chikuma and Lazreg)
•          Talk about two different authors and what happened to them in Iran during the Islamic, and how their work was inspired from these events in history

Ben Affleck

•          Why he chose to do this movie topic?
•          What he learned as an actor/ director by making this film?
•          (secondary source: Ben Affleck, Van Sant)

Former CIA Agent Tony Mendez and Ben Affleck

•         Tony’s version of how the Islamic Revolution played out
•         How he feels about the result of the Argo film
•          Importance of Hollywood and CIA missions
•       (secondary source: Spies Like Us, Nashawaty)

Differences

•          Significant differences from each side of the people’s story that stand out
•          Differences between the movies (settings, mannerisms, actions of Iranian people)
•          Animation vs. Not animation

Similarities

•          (further research needed for this section)

Conclusion

•          Restate thesis
•          New significant findings
•          Restate the importance of the purpose comparing Argo and Persepolis

Scene Analysis: The Magnificent Seven (1960) "Testing Chico"

If video does not play, video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yh3GgjFpxw

Context

This scene occurs within the first thirty minutes of the 128-minute-long movie.

The scene includes five characters: Chico, Chris, and three villagers (Hilario, 

Tomas, and Miguel). This scene takes place inside a single room, most likely 

someone’s hotel room. The three villagers in the scene prior had asked Chris to 

gather men to fight in their village and protect them against Calvera and his men.

Summarize

The scene begins with Hilario, Tomas, and Miguel sitting at a table and Chris Adams 

standing and then they hear a knock at the door. Enters Chico a young, enthusiastic, 

and proud hopeful gunman. This is not the first gunman the audience meets, but the first 

one to enter for the “tryouts”. Chris gives Chico a test on his speed by clapping his hands 

together three times trying to stop the gun in between his hands. Chico fails, he is embarrassed

and leaves unhappy. Chris appreciates his enthusiasm but expresses that his young proud 

personality will get him killed.

Three Structural elements

11.     Camera Movement

“Testing Chico,” includes various shots. The shots in the scene are using 

spatial technique. First, shot/reverse shot, this type of technique is used 

when people are having a conversation so the audience can see both sides. 

This shot is used when Chris and Chico are closer to each other doing the

clapping test. Next, close up shot is used, only showing a character’s face

in entire frame. This shot happens once, zooming into Chico’s face. The 

audience sees and feels his dissatisfaction with not being able to complete

Chris’s clap test.

22.     Mis-en-scène (meez on scen)

This is a French theatrical expression meaning, “put into the scene,” 

simply the basic things in a certain scene. This includes props, setting, 

lighting, etc. For this scene, the five characters are in a small old time hotel 

room with a bed and a table strategically placed for all three villagers to be 

sitting at like judges at a performance. A three-point lighting technique is 

used, the audience gets a sense of depth but not too much depth which would

include intense shadows.

33.    Music

This scene includes no music. I believe the lack of music in the scene 

has a great impact on the scene. The only noises the audience hears are, 

clapping, character dialogue, and footsteps on the dirt floor. With a distraction 

of music in the background the audience would’ve not caught the emotions

on Chico’s face when he failed the clap test. Music is played in majority of 

scenes in this film, this scene did not need music.

Pivotal Moment

I believe this scene was a pivotal moment of this movie for two reasons. First, it was

the beginning of the “tryouts” for finding the seven gunmen. This scene was showing 

the first step in trying to stop Calvera. Next, the audience gets to officially meet Chico 

and see his enthusiastic and young personality. The one of seven personalities the audience

gets to know.

Annotated Bibliography: Persepolis and Argo

What am I writing about?

How does the perspective of the Iranian Revolution change based 

off who is telling the story?

The Texture of Retracing Marjane Satrapi

In this specific edition of Women's Studies Quarterly, the author Hillary

 Shute goes into detail about Satrapi's life growing up in Iran before, 

during, and after the Islamic revolution. Shute expands greatly on the 

importance of female's roles in the graphic narrative world. Though this 

article focuses on Satrapi's novel, not the movie, the audience gets

important information for Iranian female perspective.

How people should view Iranian People 

This interview with Marjane Satrapi from Bitch magazine goes deep 

into her emotions of how people outside of Iran view the people of 

Iran. She highlights Iranians are humans too, they have the same

hopes, dreams, and aspirations as the rest of the world. The importance 

of this interview for my research paper is the emotional aspect it 

holds. She realizes the radicalism of he home country but the people 

of Iran are just like everyone else.

Graphic Novels From and About the Middle East

This academic article begins focusing on Marjane Satrapi and her

graphic novel journey. It then brings forward additional authors

from the Middle Eastern region and has them explain their version of 

the Islamic Revolution through their eyes. I believe this article will be

the basis of my research paper because revealing different aspects from 

other Middle Easterners is great material that most people do not know 

about.

Ben Affleck: Director and Actor 

This interview with Ben Affleck explains his journey in choosing 

the topic for his movie Argo, and why this part of history stuck out

to him. He emphasizes the importance of storytelling in the movie 

industry. He believes his version of the story "touches a certain place 

in our collective consciousness."

"Spies Like Us"

This interview includes Ben Affleck and former U.S. CIA spy, Tony 

Mendez, the interview begins talking about the movie Argo focusing on

filming concepts with how the movie came together as a whole. 

However,most of the interview is directed towards Mendez and his 

specific plan that he came up with as a CIA spy in getting hostages 

out of Iran. For the sake of my research, having inside to a U.S. CIA 

spy working during this time in history, adds great value to his version

of the Islamic Revolution.

Bibliography

"Ben AFFLECK." Interview, vol. 42, no. 8, Oct/Nov2012, pp. 60-157. EBSCOhost, proxy.kennesaw.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=82717482&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Chute, Hillary. “The Texture of Retracing in Marjane Satrapi's ‘Persepolis.’” Women's Studies Quarterly, vol. 36, no. 1/2, 2008, pp. 92–110., www.jstor.org/stable/27649737.

Elahi, Babak. “Frames and Mirrors in Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis.” Symplokē, vol. 15, no. 1/2, 2007, pp. 312–325., www.jstor.org/stable/40550774.

Nashawaty, Chris. "Spies Like Us." Entertainment Weekly, no. 1227, 05 Oct. 2012, pp. 52-55. EBSCOhost, proxy.kennesaw.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=81284060&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Reyns-Chikuma, Chris and Houssem Ben Lazreg. "Marjane Satrapi and the Graphic Novels from and about the Middle East." Arab Studies Quarterly, vol. 39, no. 1, Winter2017, pp. 758-775. EBSCOhost, proxy.kennesaw.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=fth&AN=121396501&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Prospectus: Persepolis and Argo

My Topic

For my comparative paper this semester, I have chosen to examine 

Persepolis (2007) and Argo (2012). Both films are set in the same time 

1979-1980, in the middle of the Iranian Revolution. Persepolis is a French 

animated biographical film, and Argo is an American historical drama. 

These two stories are told from divergent viewpoints, in Persepolis 

a young Iranian girl and in Argo an American CIA agent, brings forward

numerous questions that are answered in both films being compared.

Course Concept and Critical Question

The course concept that will be discussed in my paper will be 

transnationalism. The two movies have variety of settings taking place

in multiple countries with great contrast in language, culture, and 

values. 

The critical question being researched for my paper is: How does the 

perspective of the Iranian Revolution change based off who is telling the story?

Plan of Action

I plan on completing each section of the comparative paper on time and to 

the best of my ability. To begin, I have written the five deadlines for the paper

in my academic calendar. To guarantee I give myself enough time for each 

section, I will dedicate thirty minutes to this assignment every other day until 

the final paper turn in date of May 2^nd.

For the annotated bibliography, due March 21^st, I plan to use the 

Kennesaw State library database to find academic journals to guarantee 

accurate information for my research. The thesis and outline due March 30^th, 

will be simple and straightforward with majority of information being 

brainstorming ideas. I struggle most with turning outlines into rough drafts.

I plan to visit the writing lab on campus for this portion as guidance to assure 

my paper is error free.

All portions of the comparative paper, including the final draft, will be posted to

this blog.

Machete: Review

Plot

Machete takes place along the border of Mexico and Texas. Main character, 

Machete (Danny Trejo), is a former Mexican Federale who is given an 

assassination mission to kill the corrupted Senator of Texas, John Mclaughin

(Robert De Niro). 

During a political rally for Senator Mclaughin, Machete aims to kill and

notices a rifle pointed at him from afar, he realizes has been setup.

Machete is injured, but angrier than anything. With help from his two

sexy sidekicks, Sartana (Jessica Alba) and Luz (Michelle Rodriguez), 

Machete is sent into a frenzy to seek revenge upon his former boss.

Background of Film and Cast

Machete premiered September 1, 2010 at the Venice Film Festival in California.

Though Machete is a mexplotiation film, it was released through 20^th 

Century Fox making the United States the film’s origin. This film has an 

enormous list of easily recognizable actors featured throughout. 

This is Danny Trejo’s first lead role in a feature film as Machete, then later 

starred in Spy Kids the movie along with various television series including 

Breaking Bad, Bones, and The Cleveland Show. 

Robert De Niro also featured in this film, has been in countless blockbuster

movies Meet the Parents, The Godfather, The Goodfellas just to name a few. 

Machete also includes our Hollywood favorites, Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Alba,

Cheech Marin, Cheech Marin, Michelle Rodriguez, and Shea Whigham.

Machete was originally written in 1993 after director, Robert Rodriguez, 

did his casting for the movie Desperado.

Rodriguez said “There weren’t any action movies with a Latin flavor that 

could play to a broad audience.”

So finally, 17 years later Rodriguez casted his well-known actors and 

actresses. People working on and off screen speak highly of Rodriguez 

about how filming with him is not work it is truly a joy waking up and 

spending the day with him.

Genre

Machete is an action, crime, thriller mexploitation film. Before Machete, I

have never seen a mexploitation film. Granted, knowing this movie included

action and crime I had an idea that there would be some plot-line of Mexican’s

crossing the United States border along with some guns.

Mexploitation and my Evaluation

As a rookie viewer to mexploitation films, I had no clue these movies 

had a basic outline that almost all follow. There is a male lead, counter-macho,

with chicas modernas who are of course beautiful and exceptional in their own 

way. This is then followed by countless action scenes, and soap opera esc 

dialogue. As well as including a scenario of transnationalism, which in 

this film involved Mexico and the United States.

Knowing more about mexploitation movies after watching Machete 

made the evaluation of the film simple. It was honestly just checking off 

the boxes and Machete got them all. The cheesiness factor of course masked 

the underlining message of corrupt Americans and the Mexican-United States

border, but sure did have its own personal charm attracting blockbuster stars

and making millions of dollars.