Queer Theory Research
The (Queer?) Aesthetics of Failure:
Queer Theorists have recently been articulating a "Queer Art of Failure" and further analysis into the 'negative' emotions of queer experience such as shame, loss, melancholy, victimization, and refusal. I am interested in this topic for many reasons, but mainly as an attempt to understand trauma as a ethical and historically valuable experience within one's moral development. Namely, what is the position of trauma within subjecthood and experience.
I've been inspired by Heather Love, Lauren Berlant, Lee Edelman, Jose Muñoz, and Jack Halberstam among others - and much of the work I hope to bring to the field is clarification and a greater focus of the philosophical discussion between the various authors and points of view (between Halberstam and Munoz's optimism-centered futurity and Berlant and Edelman's negative refusal of futurity). My goal is to also show the existentialist roots of these arguments, specifically a non-psychoanalytic origin for the trauma of subjectivity.
My current research has been on 'failed' or 'misfired' genre tropes within musical theatre, particularly 'failed I Want songs' where a character formally sings an I Want number, but fails to live up to the fullest potential of the song's conventional framework. Rather than representing failure, these moments articulate a negative affective space with no content, granting access to a critical utopian politics as outlined by the philosopher Ernst Bloch in "The Principle of Hope."
For example, one of my projects is on Glee, the musical television series, regressive sexual politics and their relationship to the absence of failure within the show's performances. With the use of autotuning and relative abundance of talent on the show, the characters are unable to fail in having good performances (with few exceptions). Because of this, they lack the ability to grow, change, or create dynamic identities that would be the basis of a progressive identity politics. Though stationary identities are common for the sitcom/teen drama genres, the show has been upheld as a politically engaging and viable artform - yet it contains a regressive identity politics based out of 1990's political rhetoric of difference.
I've been inspired by Heather Love, Lauren Berlant, Lee Edelman, Jose Muñoz, and Jack Halberstam among others - and much of the work I hope to bring to the field is clarification and a greater focus of the philosophical discussion between the various authors and points of view (between Halberstam and Munoz's optimism-centered futurity and Berlant and Edelman's negative refusal of futurity). My goal is to also show the existentialist roots of these arguments, specifically a non-psychoanalytic origin for the trauma of subjectivity.
My current research has been on 'failed' or 'misfired' genre tropes within musical theatre, particularly 'failed I Want songs' where a character formally sings an I Want number, but fails to live up to the fullest potential of the song's conventional framework. Rather than representing failure, these moments articulate a negative affective space with no content, granting access to a critical utopian politics as outlined by the philosopher Ernst Bloch in "The Principle of Hope."
For example, one of my projects is on Glee, the musical television series, regressive sexual politics and their relationship to the absence of failure within the show's performances. With the use of autotuning and relative abundance of talent on the show, the characters are unable to fail in having good performances (with few exceptions). Because of this, they lack the ability to grow, change, or create dynamic identities that would be the basis of a progressive identity politics. Though stationary identities are common for the sitcom/teen drama genres, the show has been upheld as a politically engaging and viable artform - yet it contains a regressive identity politics based out of 1990's political rhetoric of difference.
Comical Representations of Queer Desires:
I'm also interested in how queer identities are created, contained, and filtered through popular culture - especially in instances where the desire depicted for comical relief. Traversing through the philosophy of humor and comedy, the classic stock characters and relationships between them are an interesting place to witness the fissures and cracks that cause laughter - itself a pseudo-tragic expression closely linked to crying. This research is currently manifesting itself in examining cases of narcissism in musical theatre and television series.
A personal favorite is Jenna Maroney, of 30 Rock, who's relationship with Paul is both comic relief in its depiction of kink and queer desire, yet also the most authentic form of eros within the series. Jenna, the stereotype of a blonde, self-involved actress falls for Paul, a Jenna Maroney impersonator. From their first episode together, singing "All By Myself" from Celine Dion, their relationship is 'other' to the rest of the cast - yet it lasts the longest, overcomes many obstacles, and explores desire and sexuality more fully than most contemporary depictions. Under the guise of comedy, queer representations yolked to queer viewings can engage audiences outside of the limitations of identity politics/pleasure of the gaze & identification.
A personal favorite is Jenna Maroney, of 30 Rock, who's relationship with Paul is both comic relief in its depiction of kink and queer desire, yet also the most authentic form of eros within the series. Jenna, the stereotype of a blonde, self-involved actress falls for Paul, a Jenna Maroney impersonator. From their first episode together, singing "All By Myself" from Celine Dion, their relationship is 'other' to the rest of the cast - yet it lasts the longest, overcomes many obstacles, and explores desire and sexuality more fully than most contemporary depictions. Under the guise of comedy, queer representations yolked to queer viewings can engage audiences outside of the limitations of identity politics/pleasure of the gaze & identification.