Trauma, Comedy, and Identity
- Paige
- Nov 8, 2018
- 2 min read
While reading Juliet Takes a Breath, we have discussed the role of humor in telling stories that are about trauma. Gabby Rivera creates a witty, funny character in Juliet who faces real pain in the novel. Juliet is struggling to find her way in a world where she feels
constantly marginalized. What are some examples of this struggle throughout the novel and does Juliet ever find her place?
Sara Ahmed discusses feminist laughs and lesbian feminism in Living a Feminist Life. Can you read Juliet takes a Breath through the lens of Ahmed's discussion of humor and lesbian feminism? How do humor and support become a part of a feminist survival technique for Juliet? Consider the quote from Living a Feminist Life, "support is how much you have to fall back on when you fall" (219). When does Juliet fall and what are the support systems that she is able to fall back on?
In addition to reading and discussing Juliet, we were able to watch the season one finale of One Day at a Time where Elena comes out to her father and he subsequently stands Elena up at her quinceanera. Is this moment gendered? Do you think he chooses to leave his daughter's quinceanera because she wears a pantsuit? How does this sitcom use humor to mitigate trauma and also reinforce ideas about support systems?
Finally, spend some time reflecting on Nanette. Hannah Gadsby's stand-up special has been called an "anti-comedy." Do you agree with this assessment? Is Gadsby rejecting comedy as a form or pointing to the ways it is complicit in a culture that dehumanizes anyone who is different? Why is it important that Gadsby questions comedy that pushes
her deeper into the margins? Also, how is comedy and humor different? Are they the same thing? Can humor be a part of dealing with trauma and comedy be a way of reinforcing trauma?
Julia Lindley-section 6
Juliet is trying to figure out who she really is, which sparks this spontaneous move to Portland. She doesn't know who she is because she has all these people, mainly Harlow telling her who she is. Eventually she finds her place, by taking the first step of coming out to her parents she starts the journey to becoming herself. She doesn't find support from her mom, but her cousin, her girlfriend, and Harlow are the support she falls on in the task of finding herself.
I think humor is a huge part of any support system. Learning to make the best out of a bad situation.
The moment at the quinceanera is similar to Juliet's coming out…
Grayson Durham - Section 6
The conflict in Juliet Takes a Breath revolves around Juliet trying to solidify identity. Parts of her lie with New York City, parts with Portland, parts with her family, and parts with Harlowe and her friends. However, she never feels 100 percent comfortable in any one situation. She feels rejected by her own mother for not accepting who she is, even though they still love each other. And while she admires Harlowe, she constantly feels pressured to keep up with her seemingly progressive lifestyle, resulting in further questioning of who she is. The struggle to be enough consumes her, but she still tries to stay optimistic and humorous about her discoveries. Her aunts and cousin…
David Mathews || Section 0004
Comedy is a very important tool often used to discuss more serious subjects, and while that can sometimes be perceived as insensitive or as though one isn't taking a subject seriously, I think, when done well, it is really a way to make those topics easier to approach for both the speaker and their audience. That is incredibly important, because many of those subjects would then remain un-discussed, and would end up unchallenged and unchanged in our greater society.
Often times, it is specific examples of something which must be provided in order to create any sense of the larger problem. For example, you can talk about rape, and you can say it's a big…
Janine Roa
Section - 0004
In the book, Juliet struggles with finding her true identity. She constantly finds it difficult to know who she is and try to understand the way society sees her. In the middle of figuring out who she really is she also has to deal with the reactions from her family when she decides to come out to them. Her mom is not supportive of her at all and Juliet wonders if she will ever have a close relationship with her mom again. In order to try and escape from her family’s response she goes to Portland and hopes to find her true self there with the help of her favorite author. Throughout the book, she…
James Hurley
Section 0006
Juliet Takes a Breath is a great pseudo coming-of-age novel that explores Juliet’s journey as a young queer Latina and her adventure to find herself. This of course doesn’t go without as hitch as she travels from NYC and the Bronx to Seattle for an internship with one of her favorite authors. At first, she has this sort of fantasy version of Seattle as this wonderful liberal place where she will be accepted for who she is and has this idea of unity and community. This is far from what she finds as Seattle is all about labeling in the inverse. Juliet struggles and feels marginalized for several reasons from her sexuality, her race, and eve…