She believes stories about family, fear, love, rebellion, and loss resonate across cultures. Satrapi uses minimalistic black-and-white drawings to let emotions and narrative take center stage. Her autobiographical storytelling avoids idealizing or sanitizing her experiences. She views the graphic novel format as an accessible medium that bridges literature, visual art, and lived experience. Because she has lived in both and Europe, Satrapi occupies a unique position as a cultural mediator.
Her work challenges the stereotypes often presented in Western media by offering intimate and nuanced portraits of society. This ability to humanize and contextualize has earned her respect among scholars, readers, and filmmakers worldwide. Her interviews and speeches are often as impactful as her creative work. Before Persepolis, autobiographical graphic novels had already existed, but Satrapi’s work dramatically expanded global interest in the genre.
