November 11 Post

1a)  "But the instant the criterion of authenticity ceases to be applicable to artistic production, the total function of art is reversed.  Instead of being based on ritual, it begins to be based on another practice - politics (Benjamin, 1237).

1b)  "As if my natural deformity wasn't enough, I tried a few new haircuts.  A little snip of the scissors on the left and a few weeks later, a little snip of the scissors on the right.  I looked like a cosette in Les Miserables."  So I coated my hair in gel, I added a thick line of eyeliner, a few safety pins, which were replaced by a scarf.  It softened the look.  It was beginning to look like something (Satrapi, 190).

2.  The idea of authenticity of art and the quality of its reproduction, I believe, perfectly embodies the relationship between Marjane's changing appearance and her personal conflict with the perceived  betrayal of her culture due to this change.

3.  These two quotes makes sense when you look at the word art from the first passage as Marjane's appearance.   She herself becomes the canvas on which she is trying to create something.  She changes her appearance from her ritualistic veil and overwhelmingly modest clothing to a more politically Western wardrobe.  The second passage describes the new rebellious look exactly, which I believe is important when taken into the context of the novel itself.

Marjane changes her appearance to fit in with her Western peers, who come from a completely new type of lifestyle than she does.  It is an attempt to discover herself and fit in, a small rebellion of her own really.  Her peers are delighted by her new look, however, in the ensuing conversation with her parents, she reveals that she feels lesser than what she used to.  Marjane believes that her new Western look is simply a poor recreation of the other people.  More importantly, she feels that what she has created herself to be is a rejection of her own roots and rituals and an acceptance of her new environment's politics.

This is where the idea of authenticity seems to crawl into the conversation.  Benjamin goes on in his article to discuss the idea that recreated art is a depreciation of the original.  This non-authentic recreation of the original is less than that which it seeks to recreate.  This is how Marjane feels.  Her new look seems to make her feel like less than what she used to be, an authentic Iranian.  Because she changes, she loses her authenticity, which causes feelings of guilt and isolation from her original life and family.