Lipstick Jihad

After our class on Thursday I found it very interesting how many people hated this book, and I really wasn't expecting such a strong reaction from people. Maybe I just have a different view on books or haven't studied memoirs as much, but I honestly didn't think that this book was as bad as most people made it out to be. I actually enjoyed the book with its flaws and all. I thought that because the book did have some problems that it actually made it more credible in a way. It made it seem more like someone telling a story about what they went through instead of being formal and writing this book like they were trying to tell the story perfectly. The way this book was written made it seem more like a citizen going through these situation and getting the truth from her instead of her maybe "sugar coating" it a little bit. I know that people didn't like that about the book, but I thought it made it seem more real even if it did take away from the quality of writing. I understand that the writing is the most important part, but some people would rather have their story heard for people to hear than worry about making sure that their writing is 100% perfect. I know that some people would disagree with me, but I do think that there is a better sense of reality in this book because it wasn't written perfectly. I agree that there were some things that were confusing in the book and she jumped around but sometimes people have to look past those types of flaws and realize what she was trying to get across in the book. I think she simply wanted to get her points across and get her stories out there. I know that for some not having this story be perfect takes away from the book, but for me I liked it. Sometimes people, and even myself, only look at the quality of a book instead of the stories and what is happening in the book and focus too much on the perfection of the writing. I like that she got her story out there and that she wasn't afraid to tell her story and let out her fears and everything, and many people would have a hard time doing that.

One of the most interesting things from this semester for me was having our Postcolonial Literature class at the same time that I was taking Images of the West in Arabic Culture class. It was very interesting to hear the opinions of everyone from one class and then compare it to what we were talking about in the other. It was actually surprising to see how the opinions and knowledge differed from one class to the other. It was also very interesting to compare the books that we had read for our class to the ones of my Arabic culture class. One of the most interesting comparisons I found was between the women characters in the books I have read from both classes. In my Arabic culture class we read the book Chicago which was about various different Arabic people living in Chicago and the identity problems and culture differences they were having a problem with. Each of the characters found themselves questioning their lives and wondering how they were supposed to fit into the American culture. That was definitely a topic of the book Lipstick Jehad. Moaveni had a hard time figuring out exactly what she believed in and what culture she felt she belonged to the most. Even though I read many different books in each class this same theme showed up in many of them. Arabs often times find it difficult to find where they belong when coming to America and trying to figure out our culture. It is interesting to see how different characters in the book deal with this issue. It is also interesting to see the stereotypes that are put on these characters and how they overcome the struggles here in America.

I loved going from class to class and seeing how the opinions and knowledge of the Middle East changed based on the class. In my Arabic culture class most people knew nothing about Arabic culture and had many stereotypes that they only seemed to get from movies and TV. It was kind of sad at first to find that people only really had a negative connotation of Arabs. Before taking these classes I didn't know too much about their culture, but I knew that many of the things that we see on TV are not exactly what goes on in the Middle East and many times the media puts a different spin on Arab culture. In comparison to our Postcolonial Literature class it was nice that people seemed to want to learn about the culture instead of thinking that what we all saw on television was true. It was nice to be able to learn about the culture in one class, and then come to our class and discuss deeper issues than what is on the surface. That is one of the most interesting things about our class was that the conversation was deeper and not only about learning the basics but having conversation about politics, culture, and the various books I learned more than I have my entire life watching TV or movies about the Middle East.

Lipstick Jihad

I have to admit that when I picked this book I wasn't quite sure what it was going to be about. I knew that it was about Iran but the title sort of threw me off. I don't know if it was because they used the word "lipstick" in the title but I thought that for some reason this was going to be a book about a love story and a tale of the good things instead of the negative. However, as I read further and further into the book I realized that my positive outlook about what the book was going to be about drastically changed. I began to realize that this book was about a struggle for someone who didn't feel as though they fit in, in both America or in Iran. I never quite realized just how difficult it was for someone from Iran to come to America and really try to fit in, and the problems they would face when they moved back to their own country. It was good to see Moaveni try to ignore the fact that there were so many cultural differences between Iran and America and I liked that she did try to fit into America just as everyone else. I didn't realize sometimes how hard people like Moaveni try to fit into our culture and not stick out. It was strange to see how hard she tried to hold onto her countries traditions behind closed doors, but wherever an American might see her she would act just like everyone else. I didn't realize either how hard it must be for someone to truly know where they belong or where they fit and even if they try hard to fit into American culture, Americans do not see Iranian's like we see every other American.

This book also shed quite a light on the condition of Tehran during this time. We got a good sense of what was happening last week when we read Persepolis, but this book helped show even more of what is going on in Iran. I feel that Moaveni really wanted to show her readers what goes on in Tehran and the struggles that her and her people go through everyday. I think it would be hard for many of the people living in Iran to not live with fear everyday and even the hope that they will one day be able to leave their country and find peace. I know for many the idea of leaving their culture and the things they know is scary, but for many it is the only hope they have for feeling safe and being able to have a positive future. This was another book that simply opened my eyes to the notion that there are people out there who just want to live a normal life and not live in fear that any day something could happen to them our their loved ones. It is hard for some people to understand the identity issues as well. For those who come to America, including Moaveny, many have a hard time finding their identity and truly figuring out where they belong and what they are supposed to do in many situations. This would be hard for anyone, but when the option is either not being accepted in America, or living in fear that you will be killed each day, most would pick living in America. It is hard for me to completely understand, but from what I have learned through the books we have read this semester it seems as though things need to get much better in terms of equality than what they are right now.

This is the second time that I have read Persepolis and I think it was very interesting reading it the second time as opposed to the first, simply because of the knowledge that I have obtained from this class. The first time I read it was in my Adolescent Literature class a year ago, and although we only focused on the literature standpoint and what teens reading this book would think, it was interesting to go through it again looking at it from the view of someone in that country and the things they go through not just what teens reading the book in America would think. In my Adolescent Literature class, we went through some essays that students wrote about this book and many of them included the surprise that Marjane had to wear the veil all the time and they were not up-to-date on all of the wars that were going on in the Middle East. And I think this could even hold true for many adults who have read this book who may not know anything about Middle Eastern culture or what goes on. The teens also said that this book was interesting because Marjane wanted to go against her parents and that the book seemed to portray her going through bad times once she got out of her country when the students thought that things would get better for her and she would have a better life. Many of them admitted that they thought she would be better off in a Westernized society as opposed to her own, but most said they wanted her to go back, even though she may feel oppressed, but it seemed that she was a better person when she was there. I found all of this very interesting in comparison to the things we have said in class about other cultures and people not fully understanding or maybe not wanting to understand the cultures and society of people in the Middle East. This was definitely a book that would be useful in teaching and allowing students to get an idea of what goes on in the Middle East.

I have always loved this book from the first time I read it. This was probably one of the first times that I ever read anything about someone from Iran and got to see the culture in a different way than what American culture seems to show. I found it very interesting and even intimidating when I realized that I may have the wrong idea about people of the Middle East and that I knew hardly anything about the way these people live and the customs they have. I found myself almost wanting Marjane to go back to Iran myself after seeing what happened to her when she was "Westernized". For Americans, seeing someone change their appearance and do things that are negative such as smoke, this may give us the idea that she is a bad child or that she needs to have some supervision and that she doesn't know how to act. But when you compare that with the things she went through and did in her own country it may not seem like such a bad thing. It is hard for Americans to put another culture and what these people go through everyday into perspective. We do not want to believe that there are places where war goes on all the time and people are oppressed simply because they are a women or believe in certain things. Books like this can help people understand and compare someone who lived in both Iran and in the Western society. I love this book and I think it is a great tool to help show students, and even adults what is going on in the world around them that they may not know.

There were many things in the chapter "The Eternal Forough: The Voice of our Earthly Rebellion" that I had a hard time agreeing with or even seeing as a valid argument. However, the author definitely made you think that maybe these ideas are reasonable. By the end of it I was almost questioning some of the things that I thought, but it really didn't change my opinion too much. The article was very well written and it was easy to read and understand. I thought her points were supported very well which is why often times I found myself almost questioning what I thought about the topics. I had a hard time trying to make sense of what the author was trying to get across and where they were getting all of their information from, and wondered from what perspective this was being written.

One of the biggest parts of the chapter that I had a problem with was when it walked about women and the opportunities they have in their countries and even the simply idea of thinking. In America as women we most times find it very easy to think what we want and even give our own opinions without being looked down on for that. In the article however it seemed as though the author was saying that because women do not have the chance or opportunity to think for themselves that they are "less intelligent". This was a very hard concept for me to think about. Many times we do not associate intelligence with the opportunity to think. Leaders of a country can definitely not control what someone thinks in their own mind, only harness what is said after. I do not think that because these countries do not allow women to speak their minds or only teach them the things that the society says are appropriate that they are not as intelligent as others. People have to realize that just because someone does not verbally explain what they are thinking or what they know, doesn't mean that they don't know it or have a valid opinion on the topics. I think people assume too much that the only people who are intelligent are those that make it known and verbalize what they know. I know that at least for me, I do not verbalize what I think in class very often, but that doesn't mean that I don't understand what is going on or have ideas of my own, I am just not a very outgoing person when it comes to being in class. I think that women in other countries who have their voice taken away from them do know a lot more than people give them credit for and people need to understand that.

When we were told to watch Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations I was so excited!! I absolutely love that show and couldn't wait to see how this was going to tie into our discussions and teach us about the Saudi Arabian culture. First, I was really impressed that he even chose to go there, I wasn't sure if that was because of things I have heard in the past or if that was really the truth of this culture. If I were him I would have been nervous going into the country knowing what I do about Saudi Arabia and how those who are not Muslim are viewed. I wasn't sure at first how welcoming and open people would be to talk about their culture, or even their food for that matter. Obviously, the food is available at restaurants and such but I didn't know if he would be able to get people to tell him about the types of food that the citizens of Saudi Arabia make and not necessarily only what is served in restaurants. We all know that food is often times different in a home than what a restaurant serves which always seems to be more of what the culture deems as it's food. It was nice to see this and get a feel for what the people of this country truly eat.

It was also surprising to me that a women would have been allowed to walk around with Anthony and that others wouldn't view that as a bad thing, especially for someone who is married. It doesn't seem like women have many freedoms especially walking around with a man who isn't her husband and talking about their culture. I would think that those seeing this would have a problem with it and that questions about it would probably arise. I think it was nice though that we could get the perspective of a women and not necessarily always from a man's point of view in Saudi. It isn't too often that people are able to hear what women think and their views on things and I think Anthony did a good job of showing what this culture is about not only with the food but with thoughts and beliefs as well. It was good to watch a show that didn't talk about all the negativity about women and the culture of Saudi Arabia, but a show where people were having a good time and enjoying each other's company without the stresses and problems that arise for people there, especially women. It gave me a totally new perspective on what the people not only eat, but their culture as well. Seeing all the food made me want to go there as well because it all looked so delicious!!!!

I loved the book, The Bastard of Istanbul, I think it helped to portray exactly what people need to know about the history and people of Turkey. Before this class I honestly knew nothing about the Armenian genocide or anything that it entailed or what it was about. After reading some people's blog and then reading this book I have a very good idea what it is about and also the feeling and emotions that people who live in Turkey and also those who live in America think about it. At first, I would have thought that the Turks probably view the genocide the same way that some people feel about those in Germany as something that happened in their history that they can't really get away from as hard as it is to face. This is not true for Turkey, as most deny that this even happened. It is hard for me to understand how someone can deny that something happened in their history. Of course, not everything that has happened in America has been perfect, but that doesn't mean that people can deny what has happened in the past. I know that in a lot of cultures certain books that have been viewed as too harsh in showing the history of the country have been banned. Maybe it's just because I don't have any ties to Turkey or its history but I don't think that this book portrayed Turkey in a light that people should be angry with. Shafak understands the problems that people have with this history and gives a good depiction of how some people try to get away from the history and others understand that they cannot run away from it.

I think that because Shafak showed people's views of the genocide from not only people in Turkey but also Armenians that are living throughout the world as well. This book teaches how being an Armenian in Turkey is different than being an Armenian in America and how the people in these different countries view the genocide. I think it is smart of Shafak to show the views from people living in different ways and not just various people living in Turkey, it shows readers that Armenian people have very different opinions and live their lives accordingly. Those who are living in America have to learn how to act in America while those living in Turkey must live close to the history and what happened in the past. Near the middle of the book I did find it hard to follow all of the different names and keeping the characters seperate. I thought it was funny that the girls never thought that they had to learn what others had to teach them because they thought they knew everything they needed to already. However, when it came to teaching someone something they always thought they knew what was best for everyone. I think this was an amazing book and taught me so many things that I didn't know before. I think it was beautifully written and I find it sad that people Armenians had a problem with this book because I don't think it depicts them too terribly but teaches people what went on and the feelings that people have.