1. What are your thoughts about this Bechdel quote? “I remember being so excited when I read about Virginia Woolf getting her mother out of her head by writing To the Lighthouse. I felt the same after Fun Home. I had been haunted by my father, and I no longer was. I took him off my hard drive. He was using up all my RAM.”
Alisson Bechdel quote “I remember being so excited when I read about Virginia Woolf getting her mother out of her head by writing To the Lighthouse. I felt the same after Fun Home. I had been haunted by my father, and I no longer was. I took him off my hard drive. He was using up all my RAM”, is hugely relevant to today’s youth especially on account of the current events that are taking place in today’s world. I feel that writing can help psychologically. On account of my own experiences, I used to write as a form of ventilation when maybe I didn’t have anyone around to hear me. I think our generation should be encouraged to more self-care such as creative writings instead of performing an act on social media.
2. What form would your own memoir take if you produced one?
If I were ever to produce a memoir, it would take on the form of photography. I have always felt that a photograph can tell a story that words never could. I would discuss the challenges that I faced having to flee Venezuela on account of the dangerous living environment and moving to a completely different place with a different culture and language.
3. What connections, if any, do you see between Persepolis and Fun Home?
Both graphic novels discuss themes such as sexual orientation, gender roles, emotional abuse, dysfunctional family life, and the functions of literature that have critical factors in understanding oneself and one’s family yet are presented in entirely different ways. It was exciting reading back at both novels and examining the way each author expresses their struggles through creativity.
4. Why do you think the Bechdel Test still resonates?
The Bechdel test is an essential concept for women to measure the representation of women in fiction. It questions whether a work features at least two women who talk to each other about something other than a man. I believe this system still resonates on account of the always very constant sexism that is featured in the industry. It successfully supports creators who use the system correctly while projecting an active voice for others.
