Fun home for me was very enjoyable. I really enjoyed the fact that it was a graphic novel, being that i read a lot of comics when i was younger. What was actually kind of annoying was the reactions i got reading this novel. I don't know why..but people always seems to think graphic novels are immature. I usually follow there smirk reactions by asking them if they've heard about Freud's Screen memories..and how it plays a huge role in this novel...the answers are usually a no. Not that I have perfect understanding of Screen Memories....but that usually shuts them up,haha. But about the novel,one thing that I really connected to, is when Alison was taking like a pre-english trial i guess and she wondered whether the authors meant to connect their readings to certain philoshophers.I've always wondered about that but never asked. For instance we are reading all these novels and making connections to Freud but do you think these authors have actually researched these ideas and intertwined them with their work on purpose?? Another sad but true story that I related to,and we discussed in class is when the Dad tells Alison tough titties.My mom has said that to me way to many times as a child...I'm pretty sure i was about her age too...i thought it was pretty funny because I never thought other people said it. I was also pretty shock about the Dad having these affairs with young boys.. being that it was such a small town I'm surprised he didn't have worse allegations besides the whole buying a beer for a minor. What was interesting about that scene though, was that the older brother called the cops but the younger brother ended up apologizing to the father. I also wondered about the relationship between the dad and brothers..whether they shared the same sentiment or didn't get along...not too much about them but they look a bit more content then the mother,she seemed pretty miserable throughout the novel...which is understandable. But overall it was a good book, very funny....although i didn't necessarily catch on to any graphic meanings that added to the story as we begun to look at in class.
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I like your response to your "comic book" naysayers! There are so many interesting and serious works in this form---and have been in the US for over twenty years. In other places, notably Japan, this medium has long been seen as just another way of telling stories, any kind of story for any kind of audience.
ReplyDeleteAs for your question, well I think it depends. Surely writers like Shepard and Bechdel would be familiar with such a basic touchstone of psychology (and sexuality) as Freud and both of them are writing books explicitly about that topic. Henry James is a bit too early for Freud, but his brother William James was an early psychologist (and philosopher).
But really the question needs to be framed differently, I think. Does it matter if a particular author had a specific idea/philosophy in mind if it helps illuminate their work? After all, who is the work ultimately for? The author or the reader? (I don't think that has an easy answer, either).