Tate Volbrecht
Dr. Ivey
Comm 160
31 March 2017
This month felt like it flew by! Spring break took a lot out of class, but I
still learned some super interesting things over the month. Specifically, the “Family Bullies” reading
and the concept of autoethnography were particularly intriguing. I thought the use of personal narratives by
Berry and Adams, along with the critical assessment of each story was a very
effective mode of scholarly inquiry. In
Tony’s story specifically, drawing on experiences of being closeted in youth
and being ridiculed help the reader and researcher to understand the gravity of
these experiences and what could be done to draw awareness.
Autoethnography narratives make me think of the comic
Green Lantern/Green Arrow Vol. 1. In the
start of the story, Hal Jordan saves a wealthy man from being attacked on the
street, but upon saving him, receives ridicule from Green Arrow. Why?
Well, the man Hal saved was, in actuality, a ruthless landlord leveling
buildings for parking lots. Green Arrow
brings this to light by taking Green Lantern on an impromptu tour of the
building, showing him each individual and what the experiences have done to
their lives. One tenant even criticized
Green Lantern’s lack of protection for disenfranchised groups. In the end of the comic, Hal tells Ganthet,
one of the Guardians of the Universe, of the horrors on Earth and takes him on
a cross country trip to see America and its hardships.
Bringing this back to the reading, similarities can be
drawn between the comic and Family Bullies.
Using personal experience can highlight the importance of an issue and
open up paths of resistance for all involved.
However, we still run the risk of trivializing the issue by using
anecdotes. It is important that the
problem is impacted through critical lenses, either race theory (in Green
Lantern) or communicative theories (Berry & Adams). If we do that, we can continue exploring
modern world issues and assist others in combating them in the future.
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