I was a little hesitant about this novel when we first started because I had never read a graphic novel before and I was not a comic book fan as a child. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the layout of the book. It was entertaining to pair the dialogue with the pictures. That is definitely a major thing I have gotten out of this class; expanding my book genres. Although I was not as big of a fan with the content of the novel as the format, it was still an engaging read.

Alison's relationship with her father was definitely the main pillar of this novel to me. She seemed to have a love-hate relationship with him. For one thing he was the same as her in a way. They shared this bond of homosexuality, that however present it was in her mind, always seem to exist there. For example, they shared a love for men's clothing. It was quite entertaining to see Alison and her father picking out his outfits together. Alison's hatred for female clothing was apparent as well. Interestingly this is the one thing they really discuss when they have their conversation about Alison "coming out" in their car ride. Her father admitted to dressing in girls' clothes as a child and she exclaimed, "I wanted to be a boy! I dressed in boys' clothes!" This is a funny way for them to relate. Do you think this was because it was a concrete, tangible example that they both could bring up?

Alison's father's love for books was ever present in this story as well. He literally based his entire life around them. For some reason it made his character more likable I feel. Did anyone else feel this way? I mean in the real world if you heard about a man engaging in activities with underage boys it would be very difficult to find him at all a likable character. His disillusioned love for these fictional characters though gave his craziness a breeding place at least. It also gave Alison and her father another reason to bond. Even after Alison was annoyed with her father's interest in her English class in college, she later admitted to missing it. Also, it was Alison's father who gave her Colette to read. She later asked him if he did this on purpose, which he said he was not conscience of.

Another thing I just wanted to throw out there for opinion was Alison's relationship with her siblings. I found it so odd that she did not mention her siblings more. Most children are highly influenced by their brothers and sisters. They typically share a lot of memories with them and they form each other's character. Alison hardly mentioned them though. Do you think there was a reason for this? Were they just not important figures in her life?

Last I want to touch on the end of the story. The very last page ties back to Alison's relationship with her father. I think this last page illustrates what Alison's father meant to her. Yes, he did end up dying, giving up. At the same time though, while he was around, their stories intertwined and he was there for Alison. He grew up in a very different time, where going to Gay rallies and dances and meeting at the Union in college was not as acceptable. He hid his true self. Alison on the other hand was able to free herself and be who she really was. I think in a weird, twisted way he helped her do that and she is acknowledging this at the end of the story. Any thoughts?

Graphic Novel – Sexuality – Death

Is this a graphic novel or a comic book? Being a comic book geek while growing up, I was really excited when I realized that we had to read one for the class. Though once I started reading it, it didn’t exactly feel like a comic, but more like a graphic novel. Comics for the most part do not make you think too much, and pretty much spoon feeds the entire book for the reader without having to strain the brain. Graphic novels such as Fun Home clearly do not qualify for such a description of a comic book, as the reader is forced to read between the lines to be able to figure the theme and story of the book. Additionally this book does not follow a chronological order. That combined with a difficult structure of the character’s conversations, makes this more of a novel than a comic book.

A major theme in the book is sexuality, especially around the concept of homosexuality. Sometimes it is difficult to see why the author illustrates very graphic sexual ideas and images which might be offensive to many readers. Is this really needed or what is Bechdel exactly trying to portray with these images? It almost seems like she is taking a risk by putting the readers outside of their comfort zone by utilizing these images, while the purpose may not be exactly clear.

Through sexuality, Bechdel does question and show how people discover their own sexual preferences. For example, the father is a closeted homosexual, as Bechdel found out later in her life, and the examples from his army and school days clearly portrays his homosexuality early. On a similar note, at a comparatively young age the narrator tries to figure out her sexuality, especially by reading books. It seems to show that it is during adolescence that most people figure or try to figure out their sexuality, but only some might be ready to openly accept theirs. Though in this case, the time period the father grew up in, was far more conservative than the narrator’s time. Also, Bechdel shows that discovering one’s sexuality can be very complex and is a mixture of many other things which might surprise readers. In this novel we see that loving art and literature, the way a home is made, and even the history of the family all can play into one’s discovery of their sexuality.

Another major theme of the book is the concept of death and irony. The readers are introduced to the “fun home” which is short for funeral home, a bit ironic type of statement. Funeral home is obviously related to death, but it is made into fun home. Also, the father works at the funeral home, and when he dies, the narrator thinks it is ironic that he will be having a funeral there. She is also trying to find the reason of his death, was it suicide, why suicide, was it artistic, was it because she told him about her sexuality and found out his, or was it a complete accident.

I Love Graphic Novels

I'm the resident comic book geek in this class. I took it under the impression that graphic novels were the focus. I was a bit disappointed that they weren't, but I adapted, and now my patience has paid off with this book.

Like many of the books we've read, the format of Fun Home has not been traditional. Most stories out there follow the buildup-climax-denouement formula that is generally built to hold the reader's attention. Fun Home, by contrast, starts out in an ethereal haze of buildup and stays there forever. Each of the seven chapters, rather than outlining a specific period of the author's life, cover the whole thing and emphasize different parts of it with the same theme. So the chronology jumps around quite a bit, but each new chapter you read casts the previous ones in a different light. It was fun for me to go over the previous chapters of the book in light of the new information we learned about the Bechdel family life, especially the first chapter, where the themes of sexuality and until the end, Bruce's death, are nowhere to be seen.

I found that the style of illustration fits the slice-of-life genre very well. The characters' expressions are subtle, and there's a gorgeous amount of detail in the backgrounds. It's also pretty amazing how much of her life the author has either remembered or estimated, and I'm not entirely sure her diary is entirely to thank for that, especially since she admits that it grew less reliable over time. People always compliment my memory, but it's nowhere near that good. Maybe the diary taught her to have a good memory, and the reason it got less reliable was because she didn't need it anymore?

Speaking of the diary, I couldn't help but notice how relativistic she made it by putting "I think" after every other sentence. I'm surprised that she was able to grasp relativism so early in her life, but I think she may have overused it. Unless she thought she couldn't trust her memories, I would think that there were some events in the day that she would be able to say definitely did or didn't happen. But then, I've never placed much truck in relativism, especially that of the moral variety.

Also, I can't help but think of Alice's brothers, who are so infrequently mentioned that I've forgotten their names. I think one of them was called Christian? Anyway, we never really get a good grasp of their personalities since the author puts the focus of the story on her father and mother (mostly her father). The only real hint I got was in the page where each of the family's artistic interests are laid out in silhouette; one brother is playing the guitar while the other is tinkering with model airplanes. I realize that her brothers aren't really important to the themes of the book, namely homosexuality, but it still bugs me that Alice didn't pay more attention to her siblings in here.

If you want to know more about how comic books can be considered art, go read Maus (another book about the author's father, except this time the father was a Holocaust survivor) or Watchmen. Oh, and see the Watchmen movie, too, since it's managed to stand on its own legs pretty well, even if it isn't a comic book.

Not so" Fun Home"

This was the first time I have ever read a story juxtaposed with drawings. I have never read a comic or a graphic novel so I had a difficult time not staring at the pictures the entire time, not getting distracted by certain images and finding out what I should read first. But once I was used to the format, I found the pictures to be very helpful in interpreting the novel. Through the text alone Bechdel is not very forthcoming with her feelings about certain aspect of her life; but it is the pictures that show what she feels about certain issues and moments. In the pictures, the way the characters bodies are positioned, their facial expressions and how the sequence of events play out explain what she was trying to say in the lines of text that she included with those pictures. Also I felt that the way that the comics were drawn, with the dark colors, worked to show the gloomy and murky aspects of her family life. The title is Fun Home but all the ideas that one has about this novel from the title are shattered when one glances inside.

When we look inside, we are introduced to a family with its share of issues primarily that of a homosexual man married to a heterosexual woman. Bechdel's father is the main target of her attention and scrutiny. It is not really clear how she feels about her father. It is certain that she feels animosity towards him but I could not figure out of that animosity was a result of him treating his family like figurines in his perfectly decorated home, or a result of his sissy cowardice that never let him venture out of the closet. Despite the ill will she harbors towards her father, we know that he is one of the few that she can identify with and who understands what she was going through. The father and daughter duo are able to form a simple relationship through the sharing of books and their mutual love for literature. We witness throughout their lives that the one thing they are able to communicate about is their book fetish. While they too share in common that they are gay, her father is still too closeted to speak of it to his daughter. The one time he does speak of it, it is very brief and about what he did in his youth. When her father dies, in her opinion a suicide, she is left with a feeling that it could be because she told him that she was a lesbian. I am quite certain that it had to do with his inner demons and the unhappiness in his life due to his inability to overcome the demons.

Sexuality and all its complexities is a very interesting theme of this novel. Bechdel does a great job of universalizing the problems of sexual discovery though she is speaking to her and her father's homosexual experiences. The sexual experiences she mentions are relatable to anyone, yes even heterosexual, who has gone through puberty and a first relationship. It is because she is speaking to her own insecurities and uncertainties about her sexuality and new found feelings of personal fulfillment and adventure that anyone can relate to what she felt as a new lesbian. Sexuality is more obscured when it comes to her father. Because he is so conflicted and straddles the lines between gay and straight that one is left confused about what to think. I was wondering what people have to say about the way her father carries out his life. It is justifiable or just understandable? Should he have divorced his wife? If you were him would you have been more open with your lesbian daughter about your own life experiences as a gay man? Do you feel his violent outbursts are a result of his anger toward himself or his anger at having a fake family life?

Junebugin'

I love a good independent film, and Junebug was definitely a good one with an excellent cast as far as I'm concerned.

The thing that I found most confusing throughout the movie were the family relationships. I was very baffled about who exactly was related to who. It seemed much more fitting for Ashley and George to be siblings, while Johnny appeared to be a distant outcast within the family. This was especially evident when George was comforting Ashley in the hospital. Honestly, this seemed like the most heartfelt "family" moment that occurred within the entire movie, because in that moment there were no contrived feelings. As typical in a Southern family, so many things are left unsaid in such a passive aggressive nature--making this meeting in the hospital a pivotal turning point, as I saw it, in our view of the family. Thus, I found it interesting that George and Ashley weren't actually related.

Overall, Ashley proves to be the strongest character. She maintains an amazing amount of energy that proves to be shocking from such a downtrodden and overwhelmingly tame family. Indeed, in many ways Ashley doesn't fit into the family just like Madeline doesn't. Ashley handles her situation much better. Obviously, she has known the family longer and has adapted to living in the Johnsten house. However, she is able to embrace her situation and the ways in which her life has turned out with an optimism and spirit that the rest of the family lacks. The culture barrier between Madeline and the Johnstens proves to greatly hurts her when trying to gain the same kind of acceptance that Ashley has.

Lastly, I found the cinematography to be excellent. The slow paced nature of each shot provides a real glimpse into country life. Scenes involving nature and drawn out transitions add to an overall effect of realism. The lack of any sort of special effects also serve to not interfere with the viewer's suspension of disbelief regarding the reality of the movie. I found the lack of effects to actually be the most powerful effect of the entire movie. This was probably a risk on the part of the directors, but I believe the realistic design choices made by the crew paid off in the final product.

Junebug

After watching the movie and listening to the discussion in class, I found it interesting how easy it was for viewers (including myself) to be overly critical of the actions of Madeleine and even George at the end of the film. At first, I disliked Madeleine for her decision not to accompany George to the hospital. Throughout the movie, she seems to remain somewhat cold to George's family and their way of life. Madeleine appears primarily concerned with the artist that she is trying to recruit and meeting George's family is somewhat of a secondary priority. All of these things made it difficult to like Madeleine immediately. However, after further thought, I started to consider how anyone would act in Madeleine's situation. She is entering a world that is completely alien to her. George's family would be hard for anyone to accept after meeting them for the first time. Peg's reception of Madeleine is not exactly warm and Johnny's first words to her was a request for cigarettes. George himself has not returned to his family for three years so why after only a few days would Madeleine feel a sudden dedication to the family? After thinking about it, I decided that she behaved similarly to how I would of acted in the given situation. As for George, his relief that he is finally leaving should come as no surprise. He has left a life in Chicago where he has a happy marriage and only his own problems to worry about. Upon returning home, he encounters nothing but problems. His relationship with Madeleine is suffering, he has a fight with his brother, and George is relied upon for emotional support during the tragedy that hits the family. For me, it is no surprise that he wants to return to his life in Chicago.

Another character who I found interesting was Peg. For me, some of her actions are much more baffling than either George or Madeleine. She is a character that I believe was a facilitator for much of the tension in the family. The relationship she maintains with Ashely seems to me to be more tense than I would have expected. Peg often talks down to Ashely and treats her as a nuisance rather than the mother of her grandchildren. I would have thought that Ashely and Peg would have had a better relationship given that they live under the same roof but Peg remains overly cold towards Ashely in my opinion. Peg's reception of Madeleine is also something that I believed created a lot of unspoken tension. Her conversation with Eugene where Peg reveals that she has yet to accept Madeleine as part of the family is an important indicator of her true feelings. She seems unwilling to accept that this woman is now a part of her son's life. When the whole family leaves for the hospital, Peg is the one who fails to invite Madeleine to join them at the hospital with George. While a subtle notion, I believe it says a lot about her feelings towards Madeleine. Also, I found Peg's decision to leave George at the hospital rather than staying herself as very intriguing. I would think that Ashely and Peg would have a closer relationship than George who hasn't seen Ashely in 3 years. Furthermore, I would think that Peg would be more sympathetic since she is a mother and should understand what Ashely is feeling better than George. What did everyone else think about her character? Was anyone else surprised by her lack of feeling towards Ashely?

A Junebug by any other name...

Now that we've all watched Junebug and had a bit of time to reflect, I'd like to discuss and seek opinion on the significance of the movie's title. The "character" was referenced by name only briefly in a single scene, and the writer's decision to name his masterwork after a miscarried fetus seems a bit strange. The story wasn't even about the child so much as inter-familial relationships, right? That was my general impression, but the more I thought about it, the more it seemed to me that the baby was a significant driver and explanatory source of character behavior.  Accordingly, I've constructed a character review from this perspective:

Johnny and Ashley:

Johnny clearly feels trapped in his current situation, evidenced by the fact that he's happiest at work, away from the family.  Living constantly in the shadow of his "golden boy" brother who escaped from the rural south, Johnny sees having a baby as a trump card, a means to restore balance in the family, and perhaps as a path to happiness.  This explains in my mind why he threw the wrench at George after the miscarriage: a physical manifestation of his frustration that George would remain "the better sibling." It also explains why he asks Ashley, in an incredibly insensitive manner, if she would be willing to try again immediately.

Ashley, like Johnny, sees Junebug as a means to achieving happiness.  Even the name is (besides just being "cute" to Ashley) symbolic: a June Bug is a beetle known for its timely hatching and flourishing during the late spring, a time of natural rebirth and the dawn of a new season.  For Ashley, the rebirth (as she confides to George) is that of her and Johnny's high school love.

George and Madeline:

George's relationship with the baby is that of metal drawn to a magnet: the baby draws him into his family.  George is actually a somewhat minor character in the film by virtue of his continual absence performing mundane errands.  Aside from singing the hymn at the church supper, the first real quality time he spends with the family as a whole is at the hospital for the delivery.  Not surprisingly, the trip to the hospital is the first real fight he and Madeline have, and it's not her fault at all.  Under normal circumstances, there would probably have been no question as to what George would have encouraged her to do.  Because of the baby, however, George had been momentarily transformed into a "family man."  This assertion is reinforced by his insistence on staying at the hospital with Ashley, leaving Madeline to fend for herself.  Once the baby is stillborn, George effectively "snaps out of it," demands that they return home the next day and expresses his supreme pleasure at being gone once they're on the road.  The George that didn't venture home for 3 years and was a stranger to his family has returned.  Roger Ebert, in his review of Junebug, asked "How important is Ashley and Johnny's baby to George?"  I would respond, "terribly."

Madeline's experience is reciprocal to George's.  While not being a blood member of the family, the experience naturally doesn't affect her as strongly as the rest of the family, but she still experiences the riff that develops between her and George as a result.  Unquestionably the most consistent character in the film, she assumes George will want to stay for the burial and is dumbfounded to discover that whatever spell transformed him had dissolved.

Eugene and Peg:

Peg obviously has a severe dislike and disapproval of Madeleine.  Though never explicitly mentioned, Peg does not find Madeleine's qualms about motherhood acceptable.  This is thinly disguised in her unfavorable description of Madeleine as "older," "strange."  Perhaps most telling is her comment regarding Madeleine's silver spoon baby shower gift: "Oh my...that won't go in the dishwasher."  Essentially, she's implying here that Madeleine is clueless and unsuited to child-caring.

Eugene plays a rather small but crucial part in the movie.  Besides his line which essentially encapsulates it, "She (Peg) hides herself.  She's not like that inside...Like most," all Eugene does is search for his long-lost phillips head.  Ultimately, it's discovered underneath the crib he constructed for Junebug using his woodworking skills.  Eugene declines to come to bed when Peg asks and declines to talk to Madeleine about Peg's disapproval of her and Johnny's relationship.  Ultimately, it appears Eugene just does what he wants.  Apparently, that's constructing a crib for his future grandchild.

The film did an amazing job, I think, in crafting believable characters and drawing on cultural stereotypes in a manner that did not judge them.  It seems only fitting to me that the scriptwriter would name a film about character interaction after its uniting element: Junebug.