Immigration from Homeland

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Immigration
A lot of factors might trigger one to vacate their original homeland. Political and economic instabilities, wars and conflicts, search for better education and living conditions, and even adventures are just but a few of the most common influencers of immigration. The films “Persepolis” (Paronnaud and Satrapi) and “The Other Side of Hope” (Kaurismäki) highlight some of the triggers in a more realistic way and with some aspect of modernity that is likely to feature in any kind of modern film. In addition to the central concept of immigration, I found that the films address some other social and cultural problems that those who flee their original homelands for one reason or the other are bound to encounter. On the other hand, the reading, “Imaginary Homelands” (Rushdie) is an array of essays from an Indian writer with a rather peculiar belief from the native Indians. Nonetheless, I gathered that Rushdie's essays seem to feature mainly on the central aspect of immigration, socialism, and politics which seem to coincide with the central themes of the films.
The film “Persepolis” narrated via animations depicts the story of an Iranian girl unfortunate to grow up in a period when the country was facing religious and political convulsion. The protagonist in the film, Marjane Satrapi, possessed the very same attributes of her family lineage who were strong believers of social activism (Paronnaud and Satrapi). Marjane's uncle, in particular, had much influence on the young ambitious girl to an extent that she was severely hurt when the uncle, who had mentored her on matters of social activism was executed by the oppressive regime. I could not help but sympathize with her situation. The story paints a picture of a country overrun by tyrants, conflicts, and wars that becomes unfavorable for nurturing young ones. This is in concurrence with the major cause of immigration and the search for asylum. Also, Marjane flees to Vienna in search of better education and enjoys the privileges of civilization and literacy that did not require women to wear full-body covering veils. Elements of male chauvinism and gender inequality are also depicted in the film.
Marjane denounces the influence that religion had on the ideology of governance, arguing that religion can be run independently of politics (Paronnaud and Satrapi). In Iran, Marji’s ideas seem to be a mere imagination and the country has for a long time been dominated by Islamic and oppressive regimes, which as I gathered from the film, made it the subject of ridicule by other nations. Another theme conversant with the contemporary world that is portrayed in the film is corruption. Marji’s father was able to evade a routine search by the authorities by bribing them. The ...