Since we were unable to thoroughly discuss Thomson in class last week- I find writing about it still difficult. Thomson’s piece of writing called Extraordinary Bodies was not an easy read. I found my self rereading parts over and over again. Although I do agree with what Thomson said on page 44, “..the limitations disabled people experience result more often from interaction with a social and physical environment designed to accommodate the normate body. In other words, people deemed disabled are barred from full citizenship because their bodies do not conform with architectural, attitudinal, educational, occupational, and legal convections based on assumptions that bodies appear and perform in certain ways.” I completely agree with this statement. All over the world we have limits set for people who are disabled in our community, work, schools, and cities. I am actually appalled now that I think about it. Now that I have that part understood, I want to talk about something that I don’t quiet get, the part where Thomson says on page 29 that, “In almost ever case, the disabled woman figure functions as a symbol of otherness, either positive or negative…in the account of freak shows for example, exhibitions of disabled women of color introduce race, gender, and ethnicity into freak discourse, which seems initially to turn upon the simple opposition between “normal” and “abnormal” bodies.” Why does Thomson have direct attention displayed on women who are disabled, and makes no reference to men who are? Is Thomson saying that if a woman is disabled than that woman, can no longer be looked at as feminine? I feel like I should reread this document a couple more times, and then finally I would get it!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Monday, November 15, 2010
Blog 4 Graphic Memoir
Graphic Memoirs are something that I was not introduced to until this class. It is interesting new way to read and interrupt stories. The idea of a graphic memoir to me, can sometimes take away from the creativity of the writing or enhance it in certain situations. In the graphic memoir Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi she uses a unique way to tell her story. At first when I opened up the book I was a little annoyed- I read a lot and I really look forward to reading descriptive words and making my own story in my head. As I continued to turn the pages I started to get into the memoir. I started to enjoy the idea of mixing words with images. At some point it gave my mind a nice break from trying to create my own images- Not to mention (I didn’t day dream as much). Before I knew it I had sailed right through the memoir in one sitting! Although, in the graphic memoir called Fun Home by Alison Bechdel- I was a little more intimidated while reading it- Bechdel’s piece. The reason why- was because her pictures were so much more detailed! My mind was constantly flashing from the picture to the words, from the picture to the words- and it was hard to take it all in. Bechdel’s pictures were much more detailed than Marjane’s. Marjane had pictures but they weren’t as detailed, so you could just skim over them and get the idea. I don’t exactly know where the idea of graphic memoirs came into play- or who exactly started them, but I do this that this is a nice new way of telling ones story. Since the author provides pictures for you- your idea of the characters are made for you. Is able to picture the characters as exactly as they want me too. So, for telling a memoir I think the graphic memoir is a good idea! I am sorry that I did not include any quotes- I feel like if anything I would want to include a picture to demonstrate the differences, since I feel like they had more of an impact to me than the words. So I am including one page from Persepolis and one page from Fun Home, between the two images you can tell the difference between, the amount of detail they want to get from each character. Graphic Memoir’s was a unique way of telling a story, and I would like to try and read another one in the future. - Thanks for introducing that type of work to me! J
Emma
Monday, October 25, 2010
Feminism in the Real World!
Here is a link to the New Paper Article if you are interested!
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/world/europe/12iht-fffrance.html?_r=1&scp=7&sq=Feminism%20Still%20In%20france&st=cse
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Post #2
After discussing the missing links that can appear in one’s biography- I began to further understand the meaning at which one might write. Following the works of other biographies it has interested me to see that some might not hold all the truths. The “missing links” or “fissures” missing I feel have an underlying reason as to why they are incorrect or not posted. After looking at some of the author’s works I can begin to understand why that can sometimes happen. They might recall an event that might not have happened in that particular way, or as we get older we may lose the “detail”. In bell hooks written biography she says this “the longer it took me to begin the process of writing autobiography, the father removed from those memories I was becoming. Each year, a memory seemed less and less clear. I wanted not to lose the vividness, the recall and felt an urgent need to begin the work and complete it.” The plot, characters, summary, and even purpose of the story can all change over time. And it is important to understand this before you begin to read an autobiography.
To answer the question as to how someone might find promise or opportunity to one’s gapingly “holey” (not in a religious way) written autobiography, is that they might find hope, meaning, guidance, and support to their own problem. Many people read autobiographies to understand that person, get their history, maybe they looked up to them, or maybe they just wanted to understand their own feelings.
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