Marjane Satrapi quotes

Marjane Satrapi is an Iranian-born graphic novelist, illustrator, and filmmaker, best known for her autobiographical work "Persepolis." Her art and storytelling explore themes of identity, culture, and political upheaval in Iran. She has received international acclaim for her creative contributions to literature and cinema. Here are 100 of her quotes:

Life is too short to be lived badly.

Marjane Satrapi

It is dangerous when you start calling people from one part of the world terrorists or fanatic, and you reduce them to some abstract notion. If evil has a geographical place, and if the evil has a name, that is the beginning of fascism. Real life is not this way. You have fanatics and narrow-minded people everywhere.

Marjane Satrapi

I think animation is like running a marathon, and making a movie is like a 100 meter sprint. The question is: are you a marathon man or are you a sprinter? I realized that I was more of a sprinter than a marathon man. With a long, long project, I get bored easily.

Marjane Satrapi

Life is complex. You don't have any person who is nice from the beginning until the end. You don't always have the notion of redemption. The bad people don't always pay.

Marjane Satrapi

Teacher: What do you want to be when you grow up? Marji: I'll be a prophet.

Marjane Satrapi

The words are not the same and the feeling is not the same. You know, they say in France that translation is like a woman. She is either beautiful or faithful. So it's better when she's beautiful because when she's too faithful it might be very ugly. This is French people. This translation, though, is very well made. This is my American editor, who knows me very well who has made the translation. But in any translation you lose a little bit.

Marjane Satrapi

One can forgive but one should never forget.

Marjane Satrapi

It's fear that makes us lose our conscience. It's also what transforms us into cowards.

Marjane Satrapi

We can only feel sorry for ourselves when our misfortunes are still supportable. Once this limit is crossed, the only way to bear the unbearable is to laugh at it.

Marjane Satrapi

When we're afraid, we lose all sense of analysis and reflection. Our fear paralyzes us. Besides, fear has always been the driving force behind all dictators' repression.

Marjane Satrapi

I had learned that you should always shout louder than your aggressor.

Marjane Satrapi

You know, they say in France that translation is like a woman: she is either beautiful or faithful.

Marjane Satrapi

Once again, I arrived at my usual conclusion: one must educate oneself.

Marjane Satrapi

In every religion, you find the same extremists.

Marjane Satrapi

Anyway, that's how it is! Either they obey the law, or they're expelled!! And make sure they wear their veils correctly..." - "If hair is as stimulating as you say, then you need to shave your moustache!" My father actually said that.

Marjane Satrapi

I was a westerner in Iran, an Iranian in the West. I had no identity. I didn't even know anymore why I was living.

Marjane Satrapi

Human beings have a lot of problems identifying themselves with other human beings who don't resemble them exactly. But there's something about drawing that means that anyone can identify to a drawing. I mean, people can identify themselves with Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse.

Marjane Satrapi

A Muslim fanatic and a Christian fanatic, a Jewish fanatic, a secular fanatic, an atheist fanatic, a communist fanatic - all of them are the same. The thinking that, 'If you don't think like me, that if you are not with me, then you are against me;' this is something to condemn.

Marjane Satrapi

The real war is not between the West and the East. The real war is between intelligent and stupid people.

Marjane Satrapi

All big changes of the world come from words.

Marjane Satrapi

My culture comes from everywhere. I'm sick of this notion of nationality, that if you're brought up in the same city or same country you're the same. Even three kids brought up in the same family with the same genes, they are not the same. Just consider a human a human.

Marjane Satrapi

My mother always told me I had to do 100 times better than a man. I had to work hard at maths, and learn four languages.

Marjane Satrapi