"La Perdida" Review and Reflection

First published April 26, 2012 at http://www.hercircleezine.com/2012/04/26/la-perdida-a-comic-by-jessica-abel/

LA PERDIDA is a graphic novel (comic or comix) by Jessica Abel (Fantagraphics Books, 2004). It tells the story of Carla, who travels to Mexico to explore her heritage and to escape her young adult life in the U.S. That apathy and lack of direction each generation likes to assign to the next is evident in Carla’s wanderings. She’s not sure who she is, or where she wants to be. She feels like she doesn’t fit in anywhere. At the same time, she has very human feelings and possesses a meta-awareness of her cliché situation.

We start part one of five with Carla reflecting on her reasons for going to Mexico. In hindsight, she attempts to make sense of her actions. She also sheds light on that very human experience of the relevance of places at certain times. When she writes of being in the Parque Mexico in Mexico City, one could apply her thoughts to any place she has visited and for which she has felt an inexplicable affinity. For me, a place like this is Provincetown, Massachusetts. I never fail to feel invigorated and inspired after a day walking the streets, hiking the dunes, exploring the galleries, the beaches or just sitting on a bench. Thus, in this way, the reader becomes close to our narrator, Carla, as she thinks of these kinds of places and how they affect the psyche.

Carla tells us about wanting to visit the home of Frida Kahlo. We see her adore the artist, even as she finds it difficult to understand much of her life and choices. This is classic hero worship, wherein we learn the humanity behind the person, the dichotomies in a single person, and we find imperfection, incongruity, something different from ourselves and have a hard time rectifying those differences.

We’re shown more of the difference of experience between U.S. citizens who live and/or work in Mexico, and how separate they remain from the Mexican people. Carla argues with Memo, a Mexican man who claims she cannot escape her capitalist, imperial nature. Carla seems to be unable to escape who she is, and to reconcile her life with that of Mexican citizens. At the same time, Memo, and his friends, are also unable to escape their own lives, even as they merely attack Carla for her own existence, blaming her for their situation.

Eventually, Carla becomes involved in the kidnapping of her former boyfriend, Harry. As a victim herself, she is never charged in the matter, yet feels responsible for Harry’s experience, as well as for the death of her boyfriend, Oscar, in the kidnapping situation. At the end of the story, Carla feels the girl she was when she went to Mexico is lost, and that she is still not sure how to come to terms, how to find a middle ground, between her Mexican heritage and her American life.

In LA PERDIDA, we see what it is to be in a liminal place, between cultures, not fitting into any particular locale or location. I think of Carla’s experience at the beginning of the story, in the park, and that moments like this are all we have to feel grounded, even if it is just for moments of time. Despite the turmoil of the story, and the personal turmoil we witness as Carla attempts to come to terms with the dichotomy of her experience, Carla is depicted as a strong female character who keeps her presence of mind. At the end of the story, Carla reflects on the loss of the girl who went to Mexico, her younger self, and mourns the loss.

KATE’S PUBLIC SERVICE MESSAGE: IF YOU WANT TO READ LA PERDIDA, LOOK FOR IT AT YOUR LOCAL COMIC BOOK SHOP. MOST WILL SPECIAL-ORDER ANYTHING YOU WANT IF THEY DON’T HAVE IT IN STOCK. IN MASSACHUSETTS, SOUTHWEST OF BOSTON, I USE FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD COMICS IN BELLINGHAM. THE SHOP IN NO WAY ENDORSES OR PAID FOR THIS PROMOTION. I MENTION THE SHOP BECAUSE IT IS WOMAN AND FAMILY FRIENDLY!

"In the Land of Blood and Honey" Review

First published April 23, 2012 at http://www.hercircleezine.com/2012/04/23/in-the-land-of-blood-and-honey-directed-by-angelina-jolie/

April marks the twentieth anniversary of the start of theBosnian War. Like writer/director Angelina Jolie, many people, especially in the Western world, were unaware not only of the conflict itself, but also the history of the region’s ethnic and religious strife. Jolie promotes awareness of the horrors of the war between Bosnian Serbs and Muslims using a relationship as the medium (and very obvious metaphor) in her film IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY.

Controversy surrounded the film. Rumors that the film depicted a relationship between a male soldier and his female captive abounded. While there is a relationship between a Serb military officer and a woman detainee in his camp, we know from the start of the film that the two were acquainted and dating before the war. That a boyfriend would attempt to protect his girlfriend in such a situation is not unlikely. It is not necessarily a stretch to believe they might continue their romance, even under such circumstances. This is not a tale of a woman falling in love with her rapist.

The film is fraught with disturbing images. However, there is nothing gratuitous about how atrocities are depicted. When the men are moved away from the women and children after an apartment building is raided, we are no less disturbed for only seeing the terrified faces and pained reactions of the women when we hear gunshots. The rape scenes are also not shown in detail, yet they are no less disturbing because we see the anguish on the faces of the other prisoners versus much of the rape itself.

All of this is significant to the war and the telling of its story since the Bosnian war entailed human atrocity the likes of which had not been seen since World War II. Not only that, the Bosnian conflict is the first for which courts viewed sexual acts as crimes of war, and perpetrators of these crimes were prosecuted. As such, the story IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY wants to tell is an ugly one, yet one worth the telling.

The love story within the film leaves us with no one to vilify and no one to idolize. We meet Ajla and Danijel when they are dating before the war. We are aware that she is a painter and he is a police officer. They are two people, a man and a woman, falling in love. A terrorist attack occurs, which blows apart the relationship in its aftermath, since Ajla is Muslim and Danijel is a Serb. Ajla and her sister attempt to flee the country. Before they can, their apartment is raided and they are separated. Ajla is brought to a detention camp where she and Danijel, now a military officer, meet again. Danijel saves Ajla from being raped. Even so, when Ajla is brought to Daniel later, she fears him. He treats her respectfully and affectionately, and attempts to win her trust. He protects her while he is at the camp, and when he is called to Sarajevo, he tries to help Ajla escape. Eventually, she escapes on her own, and is reunited with her sister.

With fellow Muslims, Ajla hears rumors that Danijel condones the behaviors of his soldiers, and that he is abusive himself. It is determined that Ajla might allow herself to be captured, and will then be able to help the Muslim Bosnians. She is kept in a secure, spacious set of rooms with a private bath. Danijel not only makes sure that Ajla has adequate foods, but also treats. His ruse is that she is his portrait artist, and thus she also paints to pass the time. Danijel and Ajla resume a passionate relationship that is full of doubt and distrust as both partners yearn for a different time, place and set of circumstances. Danijel eventually asks rhetorically why Ajla cannot just be a Serb. It is at this point when Ajla is ready to betray Danijel to the Muslim side of the conflict. The film lays bare how the political becomes personal and how dangerous and destructive this is. Danijel and Ajla are both destroyed by the war.

I don’t want to give away the plot, yet it will suffice to say the film is as violent at the end as at the start. The way violence is handled is interesting. We see a divide between those who “kill for sport,” as well as rape, and those who would not. We even see leaders overlook and thus encourage and condone such behavior, for it is viewed as the means to the desired end, which is what is now called “ethnic cleansing.”

On the surface, I can ask the obvious feminist question, “Who sets a love story in the middle of a war and has the love story be about a military officer and his captive?” I believe this very question might get more people to see the film than would otherwise see a documentary on the Bosnian war. The relationship between Danijel and Ajla is the microcosm, the personal representation of how ugly hatred due to religious and ethnic differences and past grievances can be. The war itself is, of course, the macro view. It is more a sad commentary on movie-goers in the Western world than it is a criticism of the film to say that some kind of intriguing plot, and especially a controversial one, is required to attract the attention of viewers. Since the relationship between Ajla and Danijel is so contrived, we can put aside what would otherwise be our horror at the idea of a military officer and his female captive actually being romantically involved, and focus on how the greater conflict of the Bosnian war plays out within this personal relationship. We see the divide not only between Ajla and Danijel widen, but also how the father/son relationship between Danijel and his father is altered.

War, of any kind, destroys love. It destroys families. It divides neighbors and turns friends into enemies. This we know, or should know. IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY wants us to relearn, as Jolie does not believe any of us are aware enough of ethnic cleansing policies as part of war. The film is effective in getting the message across. I believe it is also much less “war porn” than other films made with less romantic plots as the basis and more explosive battles and gratuitous violence. The violence in this film is not the plot, it is meant to disrupt our peace. It is meant to help us feel the jarring of love being rendered powerless to stop the forces of hatred in war.

Overall, the message of IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY is awareness of the Bosnian war, and its method of using rape as a way to destroy a people. While we are not protected from the horrors of this fact, we are also not shown rape or violence for its own sake. Awareness helps us become activists and advocates. A film with a story helps a wider audience become aware. In this way, IN THE LAND OF BLOOD AND HONEY is significant and timely.

Women: Drawn to Comics

First published April 19, 2012 at http://www.hercircleezine.com/2012/04/19/women-drawn-to-comics/

Several years ago, I read about the trend of six-word-stories. There are several books with very, very short stories now, as well as a website dedicated to the craft. I tried my hand at this craft and found it fun. As a fan of comics and graphic novels, I consider attempting my own graphic novel. In light of comics and six-word-stories, I came up with a possible six-word-memoir: Drawn to comics later in life. It seems that where women and comics are concerned, quite a few enter the field “later in life,” like Jennifer Hayden the author of Underwire (TopShelf, 2011). (Her comix will be featured in an upcoming post.)

Men dominate the comics/comix/graphic novel market not only as authors and illustrators, but also as consumers. This likely makes it even more difficult for women, especially those who would write about what are often considered “women’s issues.” This phrase covers everything from abortion and birth control, typically, to motherhood and menstruation and equal wages. I constantly question why issues such as these are considered the sole prevue of women. However, that is a discussion for another day. Regardless, it’s great to see the number of women entering the field of comics and graphic novels and getting accepted into the ranks in publishing this genre. Maybe it’s because those who stereotypically seek out comics and those who create them share the alienation women have felt for so long. I will also refrain from that tangent here.

What I’d like to do is feature some women comics writers and artists to expose InContext and Her Circle Ezine readers to this exciting genre. There is something to that “picture says a thousand words” axiom that lends itself to comics, and the ways in which the medium works for women. It’s a medium that allows for asides, asterisks, and tangents, much like conversations between my women friends and me. The way in which a text is illustrated by the author/illustrator often speaks volumes about the subject matter, and allows for long reflection and consideration, often even begging a second or third reading! The women graphic novelists/comic writers/artists I’ll feature begin with some I’ve found through the ACT-I-VATE website, a great place to initiate an appreciation of this amazing creative, communicative form!

The first artist I’ll feature is Laura Lee Gulledge, the author of SEALED: GROWING UP TUPPERWARE®. Gulledge’s memoir (an almost fan-zine for Tupperware®) explores her childhood, her mother’s life and the women’s movement with Tupperware® as the backdrop for all of it. It’s a unique blend of infomercial and advertising/recruiting campaign slogans, reflection on what these kinds of home-based businesses provided and continue to provide for women, and her own life in the present, far removed from even really needing Tupperware®.

CLICK IMAGE TO READ SEALED

Gulledge admits the seemingly “unfeminist” nature of all that Tupperware® might represent. She then goes on to deconstruct the myth of what is and what isn’t feminist, and what provides opportunity for women or ties them to a lack thereof. (My own mom sold Tupperware® for a short time during my childhood, and being “prone to organization” myself, I appreciate Tupperware® for its ability to hold pretty much anything in a very organized way.) The author/illustrator says that while she has a storage space with Tupperware® in it that was a gift from her mother when she moved away from home, she does not cook, and thus has little need to store leftovers. At the same time, Gulledge witnessed her mother succeed in business, which is a great example any mother might set for her own children. Even as Tupperware® may seem to symbolize the homemaker mentality, Gulledge gives it credit for being an opportunity for women to make money, run a business, support themselves, their families and other women. She says that it allows more mothers to be present in the childhoods of their children, and writes about how much she appreciated her mom being around. SEALED examines feminism, and how its efforts have almost made things like Tupperware® obsolete in the lives of so many women, even as things like Tupperware® paved the way for women in business in many ways.

Botox: Medicine? Cosmetic?

First published April 12, 2012 at http://www.hercircleezine.com/2012/04/12/botox-medicine-cosmetic/

IMAGE COPYRIGHT MARY AND ANGUS HOGG

In my article about Ruth Brandon’s UGLY BEAUTY, I asked questions about cosmetics and discussed the rise of pharmaceuticals that are touted as cosmetics. Today, I saw an ad for Botox as a cosmetic in the April 2012 issue of GOOD HOUSEKEEPING. The language used in the ad claims Botox is a “prescription medicine that’s injected into muscles to temporarily treat moderate to severe frown lines between the brows of adults 18 to 65.” Botox is being marketed as a “prescription medicine.” Not only that, it is used to “treat.” And, it is for people starting at eighteen?

There is something seriously wrong with claiming that skin lines or wrinkles are a medical problem in need of prescription treatment, especially starting at age eighteen! I cannot believe it is legal, actually, to refer to something like Botox as a prescription medication used to “treat” anything, and tout it as a mere cosmetic at the same time. Since when were wrinkles and lines in skin a medical problem that required treatment? Is aging skin really something that warrants a talk with my doctor?

Are we also to just ignore the mention of “botulinum toxin” in the ad? We’re talking about injecting a poison into our muscles. The poison’s action includes muscle paralysis. So, we purposefully paralyze muscles in our faces with poison. I’m dumbfounded. Not only that, the ad itself, never mind the two additional pages of fine print warnings, lists the “serious side effects” as “life threatening” such as problems speaking, swallowing or breathing. Talk about giving new meaning to the “seen and not heard” axiom! We’re supposed to be wrinkle-free our entire lives, and, like a cardboard cut-out of a person, we’re unmovable in our pursuit of a lineless face. Oh, and to achieve such beauty, we just might stop talking, or breathing. Maybe we will just have trouble swallowing. That way, we can be drooling, speechless, and wrinkle-free, but also thin because if we can’t swallow, we can’t eat, right?

The language we use, which I have mentioned in countless posts for InContext, says so much about us. We worry about lead or other harmful chemicals in cosmetics, yet we view a poison as a cosmetic as harmless, or in some cases, necessary. We start to view this procedure as a “treatment” for a problem that seems medically based. And, we believe that any variation from the plastic mold is in need of correction, when we just barely reach the age of maturity.

Feminist rhetoric claims a foundation of choice and of women having options. This translates into things like elective c-section, plastic surgery and a place at the board room table. Yet, when and how do we recognize advertising ploys as just that, and not actual “freedom” or “choice” for women? The old Virginia Slims ads seem tame by comparison to the insidiousness of this latest Botox ad. Virginia Slims cigarettes ads at least came across as celebrating the strides women have made over the decades. These Botox ads claim we have “problems” in need of “treatment.” Not only that, they’re not shy about the side effects, and they attempt to confuse the issue of medical treatment, and make illness out of natural skin processes while at the same time claiming their product is akin to wearing mascara. As my mind whirls with the bizarre implications of an ad that at once lightens one’s mood about injecting poison into one’s face and calling it medicine and makeup simultaneously, I see the ad hopes to make a potential customer of me since the incredulous look on my face is sure to produce some “moderate to severe frown lines between (my) eyes.”

"Dotter of Her Father's Eyes" Review and Reflection

First published April 5, 2012 at http://www.hercircleezine.com/2012/04/05/dotter-of-her-fathers-eyes-written-by-mary-m-talbot-and-illustrated-by-bryan-talbot/

DOTTER OF HER FATHER’S EYES is written by Mary M. Talbot and illustrated by Bryan Talbot. This spouse team creates a compelling combination biography of Lucia Joyce and memoir of Mary M. Talbot, whose father, James Atherton, was a Joycean scholar. This graphic-novel format uses color to demarcate the present, sepia tones with some highlights for Mary’s past and blue-grey for the life of Lucia Joyce. This helps the reader explore all three aspects of the book without any confusion. We begin in the present, when Mary M. Talbot comes across an identification card that belonged to her quite famous scholar of a father. Ms. Talbot reads a biography of Lucia Joyce and finds startling and somewhat disturbing parallels between their lives as children and even as young women.

Of course, being born in another generation, Lucia Joyce’s choices were limited significantly by her gender. Lucia is also victim to her father’s fame and whims as a writer. Mary Talbot shares her own troubled childhood as the daughter of a famous writer, one rather obsessed with the work of James Joyce. She, too, finds herself limited by her femaleness, as her plans for college are sidetracked when she becomes pregnant outside of marriage. Fortunately, Mary Talbot continued her education, and found more opportunities even for mothers in her own generation.

DOTTER OF HER FATHER’S EYES is part memoir, part biography in graphic form. It explores the father-daughter relationship, especially one in which the father is a strong character and well-known public figure. The dichotomy between the public persona and the experience of living with such a man, as a father, is portrayed vividly. We see relative strangers revere both men who were far from admirable figures as fathers. Each daughter had to contend with the admiration of those outside the family unit, even as each suffered for the demanding nature of her father, in both Joyce and Atherton. This duplicitous personality is emphasized when Talbot writes, “My father worked his charm everywhere, it seems. Just very rarely at home” (p. 87). Mary Talbot also writes about reading Sylvia Plath and finding yet another woman with a troubled relationship with her father.

We also glimpse the relationship between Mary and Bryan Talbot in several places. Ms. Talbot interjects that some of the books Bryan includes as part of Mary’s childhood library are ones from his own. In another section of the book, Bryan Talbot exhibits artistic license as he adds generous dashes of color to the sepia tone of Talbot history when he and Mary meet and fall in love. The significance is not lost on this reader, who sees Bryan as a young man, with many “old fashioned” notions of women’s roles. We are never directly told that his attitudes changed, yet we realize they must have, given the feminist scholarship of Mary Talbot over the years as she pursued higher education even after marriage and motherhood. The fact that the Talbots are married and working together to produce such a work of innovative scholarship is a testament to what must have been fundamental changes to their relationship dynamic.

While we know how Plath’s story ended, and in DOTTER OF HER FATHER’S EYES, we learn that Lucia Joyce was repeatedly committed to mental institutions, we can take some solace in the fact that Mary Talbot managed to express herself in a positive way through her work, including the text under consideration. DOTTER OF HER FATHER’S EYES is a gripping memoir and introductory biography of two women who are the daughters of famous men. Their stories are significant and important as we determine whom we revere, and why. DOTTER OF HER FATHER’S EYES shows two examples where men are honored and respected, even if they are not model husbands or fathers. When there is so much criticism of women who are drawn to careers to the supposed detriment of their mothering, such as politics, this text asks us to lift the veil of admiration and to consider the whole of a person. It reminds us think before admiring men for their work and for denigrating women who might pursue roles outside the home.

"Lots of Candles, Plenty of Cake" Book Review and Reflection

Anna Quindlen’s LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE (Random House, April 2012) is a treat of a memoir. The author examines and shares her experiences, yet each topic is set within a larger context. Quindlen tells us how she sees it, from a position of lived experience, and avoids preaching from the other end of the age spectrum. In fact, she takes on the issue of the very different lives women have in each generation in the section entitled “Generations,” in which she provides a bridge for each of us to consider.

Quindlen’s writing is honest and revealing. While segments are brief, like a blog or short column, each plants seeds of thought so the reader considers a particular chapter after closing the book. We’re not asked to measure our lives to the author’s, or to adopt her viewpoint. Rather, Quindlen seems to ask, “So, what do you think?” The tone is conversational and never patronizing. This is a perfect memoir for a book club or between friends.

LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE is a memoir with appeal for those who have lots of candles on their own cakes, as well as for women embarking on adult lives. While she says she’d be at a loss to say anything that would be meaningful to her twenty-two year old self if given the chance, Quindlen has something to offer young women, who can read her musings on work, career, marriage, friendship, parenthood and personal growth and use them to consider paths and options before them. Because she’s never claiming anything except for herself, the author makes us comfortable whether we’re nodding our heads in agreement or raising an eyebrow about a topic with which we have different thoughts or experience. For women in the same age group as the author, the book provides experiences one might relate to personally or that might help one relate to the struggles and joys of a friend going through a similar circumstance.

Even as women have so much more open to us compared to past generations, we find certain roles almost inevitable. Quindlen gets to the point of the modern conundrum when she describes the situation as thus: “the most liberated generation of women in American history, raised on the notion that they could be much more than caregivers, became caregivers cubed.” While those at middle age or older may resignedly recognize this, young women can take a statement like this and ask “why?” and consider how this situation might be changed. Sure, we’re in the boardroom, yet we’re on our multi-function phones simultaneously coordinating childcare and the health care of aging parents. Men in the boardroom have never done this; their wives handle all of that! In chapters that deal with these topics, Quindlen speaks to and for several generations at once.

Again sharing personal experience within a larger context, Quindlen writes about defining and redefining herself. Her young self loved the “question authority” bumper sticker, and her older self says we might “question who gets to be an authority in the first place.” These gems, presented without sententiousness, speak to women at every age and stage of life. With regard to women’s development, the author’s meta-view is evident when she writes, “the notion of what it means to be a woman, a mother, even a human being has changed so much during our lifetimes.” If we stop reading, and consider this a moment, we grasp the implications of this statement. Woman, as a sex and as a gender, has been deconstructed to singular elements inside the lab as well as within our society and across the globe. How we define mother is vastly different today than it was just thirty years ago. The nature of humans and humanity is discussed on radio talks shows, in magazines and in film. While adopting a wider view, Quindlen’s writing allows us to personalize the question and answer for ourselves, even as we see the larger picture.

Quindlen is sincere and yet does not beg our forgiveness or sympathy when she writes about the responsibility placed on her young self to leave college to care for her father, younger siblings and dying mother. She matter-of-factly admits, “I did not want to be there.” Most people would not want to allow themselves such a thought, never mind share it with others. It is this straight-forwardness that makes LOTS OF CANDLES, PLENTY OF CAKE an inviting memoir for women no matter how many candles their cakes may require.

First published: http://www.hercircleezine.com/2012/04/01/lots-of-candles-plenty-of-cake-by-anna-quindlen/