The first time I thought about writing this blog post was after the reading of “The Resistance: An Adele Henry Adventure.” I held myself back though, because I knew that my immediate response would likely be too passionate and uncontained. I also wanted to give Big Machine and LaValle a chance at redemption. I was unfortunately disappointed. Continue reading “Sex Work is not a Crutch: How Big Machine Falls Short”
My Experience With Blogging
As this being my last of the ten required blog posts for this course, I find myself reflecting on my blogging experience. This was my first experience with public blogging and to be honest it was very intimidating at first. I took me a couple tries to get comfortable straying away from the formal version of writing that I have been used to. As an English major I, of course, have been used to, as well as comfortable with, writing formal analytical, research, and argumentative essays. This resulted in myself having a hard time transitioning into writing in a casual conversation style. Continue reading “My Experience With Blogging”
Still Here, Still Doubting Faith
Wow. I have so much admiration for Victor LaValle’s story-telling in Big Machine, and so I constantly keep it in conversation wherever I am, and whoever I am with. Every time I raise a question or make a point about the book in regard to where I am in my reading at the moment, Lavalle addresses that same point again later on in the book. What I am thinking about here is faith.
Perfect? No. Honest? Yes.
During my time as an English major, I’ve become well acquainted with my strengths and weaknesses as a student. The long research papers? I love those. PowerPoint presentations? Eh, not my favorite. Blogging? It’s pushed me to not be so formal. Reading out loud? That’s been the hardest for me.
Possession of reality
According to The America Play by Suzan-Lori Parks, withholds two definitions ” 1. the action or fact of possessing or the condition of being possessed. 2. the holding or having of something as one’s own, or being inhabited and controlled by a demon or spirit.”
Parks explains how she possesses her writing and who she writes for. Her answer was herself. Her second answer is the question, “Who am I?” To me, I understood this to be that she writes for an audience who reflect herself and her own experiences as an African-American woman and her past. I was able to relate The America Play to Toni Morrison’s book The Bluest Eye and her explanation about why the book was written and how it was written in the Afterward of the book. Toni Morrisons states, “With very few exceptions, the initial publication of The Bluest Eye was like Pecola’s life: dismissed, trivialized, misread.”
The Bluest Eye is an African-American fiction book written to prove that the book Dick and Jane: fun with dick and jane does not represent the perfect family and in most cases whether black or white, the book proposes a story that is unrealistic unless you come from a middle-class family, with a perfect home and perfect parents. Toni Morrison possesses her writing by sharing an experience that may not be hers exactly but, there are experiences that she can relate to and actually understand, which is why she did not write for a specific audience but for herself. Suzan-Lori Parks also says, “Through each line of text I’m rewriting the Time Line— creating history where it is and always was but has not yet been divined.”
In The Bluest Eye, Morrison has the exact same setup. She rewrites a story that doesn’t exactly exist but in a way has existed. She incorporates scattered experiences and historical realities that still prove another fiction book that is supposed to be doing the same thing.
When I say, “doing the same thing,” I mean that Dick and Jane was written to propose a reality; but it does not. It is not relatable for any ethnic group and children who grow up under different financial circumstances. Even without the topic of social class and ethnicity, it does not represent all families because Dick and Jane’s parents play with them and seem perfect. Realistically with or without money, being or not being white, there is no such thing as a perfect household. Rather, the book proposes a household and family that you can aspire to live and be like but does not exist. The Bluest Eye, on the other hand, is a fiction book that proposes a reality that has existed for African American children and in some circumstances, other ethnic groups throughout history as well.
Just as Parks “creates a history where it is and always was…” Morrison creates a history where it is and always was and still is. Racism still exists and many Americans still their lives just as Pecola lived, feeling “dismissed, trivialized, misread.” Morrison possesses her writing by relating it to herself and for those who relate to her and Pecola’s experiences.
Jump In!
Oh, how we love to listen but not have others know we are listening. Hey, we all do it sometimes, but why?
Growing up in New York City I was fortunate enough to be a short train ride away from many plays on Broadway. Interestingly enough, I never read a play until I stopped watching plays. Before I read A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry, I had gone to Broadway about 3 times where I had the opportunity to experience Matilda, BRING IT ON, and The Christmas Spectacular. And while there is a big difference between reading and watching a play, we seem to have the same role each time: the fly on the wall.
Thinking about a discussion we had in class in regards to Suzan-Lori Parks, The America Play, where we discuss the fly on the wall and “the splat“. For those who are unsure, the fly on the wall refers to when one would like to hear what will be said, or see what will happen while not being noticed. So as the audience we tend to be the fly on the wall. However, imagine sitting through a play and during an act, one of the actors looks at you straight in the eyes. As the audience we are sure our role is to stay as an audience member and not interact with the actors, or “the splat” (being caught, interacting with the actors) happens.
One other way to look at this is to that of being on a glassboat; it allows you to watch the sea creatures below you without having to get into the water. While looking at this in terms of plays i think we as passengers do not want the sea creatures to notice us. However, are we not invading their space? We are watching them, tracking their moves, and we somehow expect them to not notice?
Considering other scenarios where we can be a passenger and others are the sea creatures can be those in which those who are not oppressed view the oppressed. For example, there may be a group of White people sitting on a glass boat. They observe how the Black community is being oppressed, but how can the Black community communicate that with them with the boat in the way. Of course, it is important to recognize these problems (being able to see them through the glass) but that is not enough. Why can we not simply submerge ourselves in the water and see the problem in order to get an actual sense of what it is rather than just getting the surface view of the problem. We do not enjoy being caught. We know that the big shark (oppression) is coming for the fish (Black community) so we rather tell ourselves, “Yes, there is a problem” but now what?
I know it might be scary to jump out of the boat or to be the fly on the wall. But the risk is still there whether you jump in the water or you do not. Look under your feet, the shark is there.
White Psychology…and Course Concepts?
In some further reading suggested by Dr. McCoy one a prior post of mine, titled “Intellectual humility: the importance of knowing you might be wrong“, written by Brian Resnick, I found more engaging content than I could fit into my last post alone, so for those of you following what I write, consider this a continuation, but down a different road. The main thought striking me now about this article is this: in psychology, there are many who encounter evidence that disproves foundational psychological knowledge when those foundations are studied rigorously. Why are the psychologists responding with comments like this: “I will stand by that conclusion for the rest of my life, no matter what anyone says” when their research comes under scrutiny? My thought on course concepts pertain to Suzan-Lori Parks’ The America Play And Other Works and Ron Eglash’s African Fractals who discuss “repetition and revision” (8) and “fractals”(3) respectively. These concepts relate to an idea of going back over what we already think we know to achieve a deeper understanding of the concept in greater detail, which I believe to be intellectually responsible. I think that the quoted psychologist, who isn’t named, could pick up a few beneficial notes from our class. As a note of caution to myself, though: I don’t know this psychologist, nor their study, nor the study that is proving them wrong, but I think the concept fits more than just a single case study. Continue reading “White Psychology…and Course Concepts?”
The Beauty in The Aging
Last class Dr. McCoy asked us to share our favorite line of the assigned reading from “Big Machine” by Victor Lavalle and I immediately knew what that line was:
“Men grow handsomer over time; women just mature.” Continue reading “The Beauty in The Aging”
Faith and Doubt
Growing up in a Greek Orthodox home, religion was and has been a huge part of my life. We did the typical things you would expect of a religious family; go to church every Sunday followed by a brunch with the family, pray at night, take communion, kiss the icons and drink holy water. I was never encouraged to ask questions, I just did it all. However, like every middle school adolescent, we are built to ask questions about everything. Thankfully, my parents let me ask these questions but never really provided me with answers; now I know it’s because there really aren’t answers, just faith. At 20 years old, my religion is still a huge part of my identity- although I’d like to stress that it isn’t my only identity. It has and always will bring me a sense of comfort, safety and remind me of home. Although I consider religion to be an important part of my life, questions have and always will circulate.
Recursive Memory
After thinking about my previous blog posts, I realized that I unintentionally kept returning to art history. I alluded to Hopper’s and Motley’s paintings and the concept of the anchor (it’s also worth noting that art history came up in group conversation when I thought about tenebrism in Victor LaValle’s Big Machine art allusions). Looking back on this, my blog posts’ content itself aligns with a course concept: recursion. But in my thinking about this recursive process, I began to realize that this was no mere coincidence, rather, it highlights how interconnected recursion and memory actually are. Continue reading “Recursive Memory”