Essay # 5

When we read about the early public readers, I asked what made “reader” an acceptable profession for a “lady.” After reading the Gilbert article I ask, what makes “comedian” an acceptable role for a “feminist?” What does this say about the state of gender-based prejudice in the United States today?

Comedy and feminism have not always been hand-in-hand, as Gilbert noted the early female comics regularly recited ‘I’m so ugly…’ jokes. However, in modern times, women are more able to express their inner thoughts through the medium of comedy than ever before. Comedic expression allows the female comedian to break the social boundaries that are erected and sustained outside of the performance space without the repercussions that would normally be instituted, because the humor attached to the feminist rhetoric deems the message funny and, therefore, acceptable.

Here is a video of Wanda Sykes' stand-up comedy that follows this perspective:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8FfFwtL91Q&feature=PlayList&p=53EB3611F8F3BD32&playnext_from=PL&index=0&playnext=1

A detachable vagina? Really? This humor would seem to be ridiculous anywhere else than on the stage performing in front of people who are expecting to laugh. This clip is an example as to why comedy is a great outlet for feminists, because of the surrealist thoughts, but also because a detachable vagina would be rejuvenating and enlivening in the woman by not having to worry about a male's dominance.

The way that stand-up comedy has been moving is liberating towards women and has a positive effect on how women are viewed in society today. The expression of feminist thoughts brings up new perspectives that were not present in previous time periods, because of the predominantly patriarchal societies of times past. I think that this comedy, not only makes the performer feel a 'truer' sense of self, but also emotes that sense into the audience. Through this humorous, feminist rhetoric, the audience is introduced into a new perspective that might not have been known before such performance. I believe that the more information a person has, the better of a decision they can make; and this is still applicable to comedy, because between all of the jokes about pussies and dicks, there is a belief, a thought, a vision of the future where feminist ideals won't be social taboo, but accepted as common place.

Expression and Romanticism Essay

In his article, Edwards briefly alludes to a connection between “expression” and Romanticism. What linked these two movements? What sort of view of class did each implicitly promote?

The connection between expressionism and romanticism is the suggestion that an artist protrudes during performance. The romantic aesthetics of art were in the artist’s feelings and sensations, while the expression of a piece of art could only suggest such emotions. Walter Jackson Bate claimed that “expression strives, through suggestion, to disclose what is beyond the formal quality of the object. . . The romantic employment of expression seeks to awaken an inference or feeling of the undetermined or undeclared.(1)” Through expression, an artist produced more of an organic, original, individual performance that was an expression of his/her soul.

The expression of art was something that most people agreed was best achieved through classroom teaching and public lectures. Hiram Corson’s motifs of romantic theory suggested that students study poems as complete organisms in order to cultivate the student’s imagination through the emotional associations of the poetry (2). The training of one’s soul to protrude pure, emotional expression through poetry was inherently romantic because of the transcendence of the ideal over its form.

The ability to study vocal expression inherently created a class division. Only the moderately wealthy would be able to study this, because only the moderately wealthy people found honor in the art of expression. The use of artistic expression found its niche in formal performances that limited the audience by the price of admission.

I view the art of expression in a very similar way today as when it was first realized and taught. The ability of an aspiring artist to be taught how to focus on and protrude emotional expression was and is a quality that is not available to everyone. Some in our society are just as fine not needing or wanting to know proper methods of expression, because they won’t use them. Others find these qualities necessary for public speaking events and traditional performances.