Written By a Man

VERSE 1

I got no experience, so I got no soul

Not enough broken bones, not enough bullet holes

Not enough time spent behind steel bars

Not enough time trapped in subway cars

So I do my very best to pass the Bechdel Test

But my only point of reference is The Man Show and Wrestle Fest

I got a pile of mistakes higher than a bird’s nest

Learn my lessons from some, set fire to the rest

 

CHORUS

Manic chick from a magical land

Written by a man

Did I write it with one hand?

Written by a man

Manic chick from a magical land

Written by a man

Did I write it with one hand?

Written by a man

 

VERSE 2

I got no girl who could be my whole world

But it ain’t her job to launch me to the top

I got to pull myself out of this water slide pipeline

I got to be more than just a cishet white guy

I got to find out what the fuck is going on

Why the fuck is my maturity taking so long?

They call me late bloomer, ‘cause it couldn’t happen sooner

Got some gray in my hair, now they call me a gooner

 

CHORUS

Manic chick from a magical land

Written by a man

Did I write it with one hand?

Written by a man

Manic chick from a magical land

Written by a man

Did I write it with one hand?

Written by a man

 

VERSE 3

I got no baggage I can actually unpack

So I’m stuck in murder mode, ready to attack

It’s easy to blame the one who screams the most

Especially when she’s dead and floating like a ghost

I’ll get my shit together if it takes me forever

I don’t have to be an angel, I just have to be better

A lifelong process, because learning never ends

When you got no ego, you got nothing to defend

 

BRIDGE

Damn right this book was written by a man

Started as a fan who believed that I can

You’re not competition, I hope we all win

The new world is here, let the story begin

"Are You My Mother?" by Alison Bechdel

Here’s the deal, folks. I enjoyed reading this book. I really did. I could appreciate the themes of trying to get along with one’s mother, going to a therapist for comfort and answers, and looking for love in the strangest places. Still, given everything, I can’t say that I know what Alison Bechdel was going through in those times. Nobody really can ever know how another person feels since all life paths have their own degree of uniqueness. The multi-layered style in which Alison Bechdel wrote this graphic novel makes it even harder for her audience to understand her situation. In order to figure out what her dreams mean and how to cope with the stress of dealing with an overbearing mother, Alison checks out psychology books from the library and studies the different schools of thought that go into this science. There’s Freud’s method, which was all about the subconscious and the creative material lost within. And then we have a fellow by the name of Donald Winnicott, a psychoanalyst who specialized in relationships between parents and children. Alison becomes so engrossed in this academic reading material that she begins to see Mr. Winnicott as a mother figure himself. In fact, she sees little hints of her mother in several different people, from her therapists to her girlfriends (she‘s a lesbian, in case you couldn‘t tell). In the end, what she wanted was somebody to love her for who she is. She had to go through many emotional hardships to find unconditional love, but it’s all worth it in the end. Stephen Chbosky said it best when he claimed “We accept the love we think we deserve.” In terms of “Are You My Mother?”, the reason Alison Bechdel was experiencing so many anxiety attacks was because she was afraid of getting more of the same disapproval from the people around her, especially her mother. Her mother didn’t even want her to write “Fun Home” at first, let alone this graphic memoir. Things change drastically as the story progresses. Whether you can decipher the educated language and the psychoanalysis or not, you can still find solace in this book. If you’ve ever had a fucked up psychology at any point in your life, grab a copy and get lost in the ocean of despair. It matters not if you’re gay, straight, old, young, male, female, or anything else for that matter. If you can’t relate, make yourself relate. Alison Bechdel makes it easy to do that whether you understand her methods or not.

　

***COMEDIC QUOTE OF THE DAY***

“A father is a mother-fucker.”

-George Carlin-

"Fun Home" by Alison Bechdel

It’s Saturday afternoon and you don’t feel like getting out of bed. The skies are as gray as television static. A few cloudy tears might fall from the sky and freeze the air like a meat locker. For days like these, the first thing you probably want to do is grab a blanket and a book and immerse yourself in literature. In this case, you’ll want to grab a copy of “Fun Home” by Alison Bechdel, where the greenish-gray graphic novel pages resemble the rainy mood of that day’s weather. Unlike most graphic novels, there are no superheroes with heat vision and bloodbaths that empty into the sidewalk storm drain. This is a lesbian memoir. More importantly, it’s Alison Bechdel’s personal quest for knowledge as to why her strict and secretly gay father died the way he did. She has many theories. Because he wanted to escape from homophobic cruelty, because he wanted to escape from being married to a woman, because he wanted to take his secret to the grave with him, etc. But even more intriguing to Miss Bechdel is how her dad’s sexuality influenced her own since she too is a homosexual. She was fascinated by little nuances such as having short hair, dressing like a tomboy, engaging in predominately male hobbies, and so many others. In case you don’t have enough appreciation for how hard this personal mystery solving must have been for Miss Bechdel considering her complex relationship with her father, listen to this. Since the artistic style of the comic book is more realistic than what she’s used to, she resorted to taking photographs of herself in the corresponding poses and using them as reference pictures when she did her drawing. A lesser artist would have taken the easy way out and drawn in a simpler comic book style. But to go through all of this painstaking effort to put together a graphic novel about self-discovery? That takes not only a great deal of patience, but an even greater deal of dedication. All things considered, it’s no wonder why this wonderful graphic novel received so much attention from award-givers. “Fun Home” is also required reading for a lot of college classes. I know because I took one of those classes at WWU. Congratulations, Alison Bechdel, for creating something beautiful out of the complexity of your past. That’s the mark of a true artist.

　

***MOVIE DIALOGUE OF THE DAY***

LINDSAY: You know the thing about writing? People are always trying to give you advice, but sometimes you just have to go back to your own room and do it yourself.
GEENA: Sounds like my sex life lately.

-Playtime-