A Hovercraft Full of Eels

Hiroshi Yoshida 

Persepolis (2007) dir. Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud, based on Satrapi's autobiographical graphic novel of the same name.

The success of Persepolis established Satrapi as one of the most widely read Iranian authors in the world, and her role in co-directing the film led to Satrapi becoming the first woman to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature.

When Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) was travelling on the road with his cousin, Al-Fadl ibn Abbas, a woman stopped him to ask him a question.  The woman was very beautiful, and Al-Fadl couldn’t help but stare at her.

Seeing this, Prophet Muhammad reached out his hand and turned his cousin’s face away.

He didn’t tell the woman to cover her face.

He didn’t tell her to change her clothing.

He didn’t tell her that her appearance was too tempting or indecent.

Also, credit where credit is due. This GIF set is a clip from the wonderful animated film version of Persepolis, directed and based on the graphic novel by, Marjane Satrapi, a French/Iranian cartoonist and animator, along with her collaborator Vincent Paronnaud. I recommend the graphic novel to anyone. It’s the second best graphic novel I’ve read (after Maus by Art Spegelman). The film was nominated for an American Academy award for best animated feature, and it is beyond excellent.

It’s rare that any adapted screenplay is written by, adapted by, and then actually directed by the original author. Even rarer that the person in question is a woman. Even rarer that this a woman raised in an Islamic culture.

According to her family, Satrapi died of a broken heart following the death of her husband, Swedish-French filmmaker Mattias Ripa.

They will be remembered through the Mattias and Marjane Ripa-Satrapi Cinema Foundation which provides financial support for foreign students who intend to study filmmaking in Paris.

Here is that same building today, with the trashy 1970s facade removed. Robert's Shoes sadly closed in late 2014, and the building on the corner was removed following the events in response to the death of George Floyd in 2020. This is just a little ways north of East Lake Street on the west side of Chicago Avenue South.

Torre Helea, San Andrés Cholula, Puebla, Mexico,

Also called 'Helea', this tower is residential building, 142.5 meters tall and 33 stories high.