In Class Exercise: Reversal
I'm keeping up with the Kardashians with my notebook on my lap, one hand on the rubber of the inkjet, and the other in the crevice between the DVR remote's pause and play buttons. Lesson Number One: How to achieve success and happiness. Kim has taught a great deal since she authored her magnum opus with that Brandy's little brother who sings R&B. She took a risk, like my creative writing teacher always says, and de-familiarized the female body. I read somewhere that she drew upon the work of Judith Butler before writing the script. That made me smile.
When I was seven or eight my mom used to drag me to her AA meetings. Afterwards we would go to her friend Stacy's house, and I'd watch two re-runs of Will and Grace while they went to talk in the bedroom. Sometimes I'd pick a book from the shelf by the TV. I preferred the bell hooks and Audre Lorde books because they had nice covers and talked about women and freedom. When mom and Stacy were done talking they would always laugh at what I was reading. They didn't think I understood the big words like feminism or gender or transgression. But, I did.
The association of the infamous Kardashian sex tape as a feminist gesture against containment of the female body is an excellent reversal of how viewers usually generate thoughts about the fiasco. I think the text could play down the high theory in the beginning and let that be a part of how readers understand the character that absorbs these images as female liberation. Instead of ‘that made me smile, ‘ some language that describes the smile; in this reversal there must be a cracking of fictitious and superfluous living, smiles can be a sign of approval or feigned approval. For future revisions the text could incorporate some dialogue and expand on this scene
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