Ethics and Desire in Contemporary Levantine Literature

“Ethics and Desire in Contemporary Levantine Literature”

Kifah Hannah, Assistant Professor of Arabic, Trinity College

A common theme in the lectures we’ve heard throughout the semester is the suppression of desire. Although many modern societies are progressively becoming more accepting and encouraging of the expression of sexual desire, others remain firmly repressed. Although it may seem trivial to the untrained eye, the societal and social norms of a particular culture have a profound effect on what is accepted as healthy love. Although one might be inclined to divide the eras of love into time periods, the differences between geographic regions and cultures cause a strong division in and of themselves.

We saw this principle in Halfaouine. However, in the film we also saw a female character taking complete charge of her sexuality – and refusing to be ashamed of it. This refusal to conform to societal standards is reminiscent of the racy Levantine authors that Dr. Hannah spoke of. However, the cultural differences depicted in Halfaouine seemed less pronounced than those indicated by the general public reaction to the literature.

The dissimilarities Dr. Hannah emphasized between European and Arabic cultures in terms of modesty did not seem all that out of the ordinary – these are things we see on the news and read about in the paper. However, I found the extent to which the cultures differ to be surprising. It seems to me that the shame associated with an exotic dancing career was especially overwhelming.

I was intrigued by the risqué pieces that Dr. Hannah highlighted, particularly those written by women. Refusal to follow societal standards is often met with negative sentiment, and the issue of gender only goes to amplify this negative sentiment. In Arabic countries especially, a ‘proper’ woman is expected to be modest, demure, and chaste.  These authors not only acknowledged sexual desire on a public forum, but also provided a descriptive explanation of the activities and emotions it entails. This sort of broadcast went against the grain in every sense, but the expression of these emotions is critical to the evolution of the sexual and emotional spheres.

Yard Work is Hard Work: Jodie Mack

“Yard Work is Hard Work”

Jodie Mack, Assistant Professor of Animation, Dartmouth College

I am a huge fan of Jodie Mack’s art – specifically the style in which she constructs it. The longer animation really brought out the realistic parts of a romantic relationship. We so badly want to disassociate from reality when we’re in love. It is easy to be consumed by a relationship to the point of complete tunnel vision.  This cocoon would be heavenly if sustainable, but reality will undoubtedly butt its way in. Invariably, the actuality of debt and monetary stresses will surface eventually. Although two people might be extremely compatible, or even just terribly in love, an array of circumstantial factors can drive them apart.

It seemed like color played a significant role throughout the duration of the animation. Toward the beginning, the scenes were bright and vibrant; red was the most prominent color, varying with other vivid hues. It seems like an intuitive selection of color – new love is exciting and passionate. However, by the end, nearly every scene was washed out and tainted blue. I appreciated the use of the color blue on the house. Blue is practically synonymous with sadness and of course, we’re all familiar with ‘the blues’. I thought it was especially fitting in this animation because the blue house is ultimately what tore the couple apart.

Over the course of this lecture series, it’s become apparent how differently individuals can interpret love and desire. During some lectures, I found myself thinking, “Ah, she get’s it,” or, “he gets it.” Whereas in other lectures, I’d have a lot of difficulty not only identifying, but also relating to and interpreting the message of the lecture. I don’t believe this disparity is a matter of right or wrong, but simply different methods of interpretation. The predominantly left-brained speakers highlighted the logic and reason behind the pursuit of a beloved. The right-brained lecturers, on the other hand, seemed to focus more on the artistic products of love and desire. I fancy myself to fall in the latter category of thinkers.

Love and Desire: Brain Systems for Survival and More

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“Love and Desire: Brain Systems for Survival and More”

Lucy Brown, Clinical Professor of Neurology, Einstein College of Medicine

I have to admit – I walked away from Dr. Brown’s lecture thinking, “Well, now I know for sure that I am not in control of anything when it comes to desire.”  I found it interesting that intense love activated the most primal regions of the brain. Dr. Brown equated the fundamental urge to drink water when thirsty to the drive to pursue preferred mates. Furthermore, the drive to find and consume food and water does not fade if it goes unsatisfied, much like the drive for love or desire. The urge to find a significant other is both undeniable and inerasable. There is a certain comfort in that knowledge, but on the other hand, it’s also quite unsettling. It is no longer a matter of the heart, but rather of the reward system that has been built into the human brain by evolution. 

The more we talk about desire, the more I am convinced that love is merely the misjudgment of how unique the beloved is from any other human being. We are willing to overlook faults and tolerate behavior that we otherwise would not because we are entrenched in the thought that our beloved is different from everyone else. It seems like we are willing to do just about anything to maintain this idea that they are different – even if it means convincing ourselves of something we know intrinsically is false. Is this inclination towards delusion and denial indicative of the evolutionary motivation to seek preferred mates?

I would be curious to know what biological and psychological factors determine how we define our ‘preferred mate’. Many people pursue a specific type when it comes to romantic or sexual partners. While there are common universal traits that are considered attractive (facial symmetry, for example), each individual has a number of quirky physical preferences that they seek in a partner. I would love to see research about why an individual might prefer curly hair and thin lips over straight hair and full lips, etc.

Dr. Brown investigated love on a very clinical and scientific basis, which makes for a stronger argument of its importance for the left brained demographic. I think many people discredit emotions and behaviors associated with love as weaknesses. However, when it is looked at in a laboratory, the findings are inarguable. The creative, intuitive, or feeling individuals can readily see what hasn’t been decoded by science – that human motivation is severely influenced by desire. When an esteemed researcher puts love on equal footing with life and death, it’s difficult, even for a strictly logical thinker, to deny the significance of love to human nature.

Slavery’s Interior: Cinema and the Performative Traumas of History

Slavery’s Interior: Cinema and the Performative Traumas of History

Anthony Reed

I would not have readily associated cinema focused on slavery with love and desire, but looking at desire from a completely unromantic standpoint was refreshing. It called to mind an article I came across a few months ago about prisoners finding themselves ill adjusted upon reintroduction to the outside world. (link: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Convictcouldn-thandlebeing-free-2187648.php) The focus was on a prisoner who found himself unhappy and uncomfortable in typical society and opted to perform an act of arson in order to return to the life he knew in jail. This seems to be a common occurrence among newly freed prisoners. When inmates come to face their day of release, they realize that the reality of their freedom does not fit the idealized image they had created. Of course, their desire to return to prison is affected by a number of other factors, including feelings of alienation or an inability to function without the daily structure imposed by life in prison.  

Although I’m not familiar with film in the slavery genre, I took an interest in Reed’s discussion of Django, which used modern societal ideals to build character empathy and convey the tragedy of slavery. The protagonist, Django, is driven by a desire for vengeance and a romantic desire to save his wife. Dr. Reed specifically noted that he seems relatively uninterested in the fate of other slaves or the ‘big picture’ of freedom. I would imagine that in reality, an enslaved person would be driven by the natural desire for freedom, not romance or revenge, but romantic desire is more relatable in current times. Most audience members, myself included, may not be able to identify with the burning desire imposed by such oppression, simply for a lack of similar experiences. Romantic and vengeful desire, however, are incredibly common human experiences and are therefore easily relatable.

A theme that seems common to desire – not only in romantic desire but in other arenas as well – is the act of denying the desires of others as a source of personal empowerment. Depriving Africans of their freedom afforded slave owners the physical and political power they desired. At the time, it was accepted that this deprivation was the only means available to find any sense of fulfillment of this desire. Through a vastly different lens, characters like the Bad Girl and Conchita were similarly fueled by their ability to monopolize what others so desired. We see this theme appear across history and politics, but also in personal and professional relationships. An individual’s desire for power often leads to the withholding of the desires of others.

Before Sunset

Before Sunset offered a vastly different perspective on Jesse and Celine’s relationship. Jesse is clearly the more romantic character – he was the only to return to Vienna six months after their first meeting. Although Celine comes prepared with an inarguable excuse, she seems to find some humor and entertainment in the situation. Initially, she wasn’t able to remember certain aspects of their meeting very clearly, although she later claims to remember perfectly. Jesse, on the other hand, wrote a book to both celebrate and lament their relationship in the hopes of inciting another run-in with Celine. Additionally, throughout the course of the day, Celine seems to be somewhat disinterested in Jesse’s advances – All her speak of love and relationships is tainted with cynicism. He is still hopeful and clinging to his image of desire, whereas Celine seems to have given up hope.

Perhaps Jesse finds his other relationships to be unfulfilling because he is still holding on to the unshattered, idealized image of Celine. His unrealized desires run a constant loop of doubt in his mind, leaving him with an unsettling feeling about his various significant others. Celine experiences a similar phenomenon, but it seems to be less pronounced. I’m inclined to believe that Celine has learned a thing or two about desire since their first meeting. She explains to Jesse that she prefers to be with men who are away on business or otherwise traveling the majority of the time. Although this preference may not be a conscious one, it makes sense. These relationships would be easier for her to maintain because the ideal image of her significant other is more difficult to shatter. She largely constructs this image by herself while her lover is away and not around enough to shatter it.

In my opinion, Before Sunset fell flat in comparison to Before Sunrise. During their initial meet, they were complete and total strangers, but by the time they reconvened nine years later, they had formed countless preconceived notions about one another. There is something more raw and honest about an intimate conversation with a complete stranger. You’re not being careful to tiptoe around certain subjects and there is no need to feel embarrassed if you’ll never see that person again. Once a relationship has been established, it’s natural and, to some extent, uncontrollable to censor the information shared. For example, Celine and Jesse were hesitant to talk about their respective significant others. There were a few brief occasions that they did broach the subject, but they emphasized the insignificance of these relationships. If the two had never met before, this likely would not be the case. The content of the conversation is fundamentally different. 

Steve Almond: No Introduction Needed

I am a technical person – I do my level best to base my arguments on logic over emotion. However, if Steve Almond were trying to argue me into falling in love with his character’s beloved, he would not have a hard time. It’s one thing to observe the consequences of desire in literature, it’s another thing completely to feel the character’s whirlwind of emotions that make the consequences irrelevant. I think this is what I found to be most remarkable about Almond’s readings – he’s able to show the yin and the yang of love. Where many authors seem to get caught in either romanticizing or being bitter about love, he was able to let the character’s emotions in the moment shape the tone. 

Steve Almond did the most beautiful job of showing the delicacy and the value of love and desire despite their inevitable downfalls. He was able to describe the situation from the perspective of the person in love in a real and relatable way, which is a difficult feat. While we were reading The Bad Girl, the general consensus of the class seemed to be that Ricardo was being outrageously pathetic for his lover. I didn’t feel Ricardo’s burning need for the Bad Girl’s acceptance – it seemed like the reader had to delve deeper into the text to feel any character empathy. Similarly, Madame Bovary was overwhelmingly disliked for her flightiness and poor decisions. Although I found her relatable in some ways, I had a hard time mustering up empathy for her situation because I didn’t feel as though I had a raw understanding of her emotions. If Ricardo and Emma were Almond’s characters, I don’t think I would have doubted their intelligence or motives in the least.

I am nothing even reminiscent of a creative writer – the characters in my writing are typically Greek letters and symbols that appear in equations. However, I still found a lot of value in what Almond had to say about exposing his characters emotionally through sex and desire. When in love, I believe people are most vulnerable. Realizing a desire, or acting on that desire opens a certain window of vulnerability because to our desires define what we lack. In Skull, for example, Sharon’s desire for Jake to be turned on by her false eye reflects the lack of acceptance she’s felt in the past.  Steve Almond’s ability to convey that message so clearly is incredible; if anyone else had tried to summarize Skull, my overall reaction would most likely have been skepticism and doubt. He tackled something of a mountain in this piece. Almond makes such a strong emotional argument about the intimacy of skullfucking (I genuinely could not think of a less vulgar term to use here) that you can’t even question it. It doesn’t seem strange or taboo, and I can honestly say that there are very few things that can alter perception that thoroughly.

On a casual sidenote, I went into the lecture with no preconceived notions about Steve Almond, but left absolutely enchanted. I very much enjoyed his readings and I feel as though I took a lot away from that lecture. I surprise myself in saying this, but he actually made me wish I were a writer. This may not sound noteworthy, but I can’t remember ever wishing to be anything other than a mathematician. Although I still don’t anticipate any career changes in my future, Almond certainly made me see and appreciate the art of writing in a vastly different way.

Sexuality and the Police State in Férid Boughedir’s Halfaouine

Sexuality and the Police State in Férid Boughedir’s Halfaouine

Robert Lang

Noura is a boy stuck in the stage between childhood and adolescence while simultaneously making the complicated transition from being ‘one of the kids’ to ‘one of the men’. In one scene, two older boys are talking to a girl, and the boys will not let Noura join because, “this isn’t kid stuff.” Shortly thereafter, several younger boys splashing each other by the water fountain and ask Noura to join and his response is, “I’m not a kid anymore.”  Although Noura wishes to assimilate into male society, he finds that the men are less accepting of childish characteristics than are the women.

At the beginning of the movie, he does not know how to express his desire, or even what to make if it in the first place. Towards the beginning of the film, he frequently observes women respectfully and from a distance.  In this way, he is flirting with desire without falling under its full effects.

The women in the film act as a shield and shelter for Noura to the harsher aspects of adult male society. It is his mother who protects him from his father’s violence and cares for him, both in the physical and emotional senses. However, Noura’s budding desire for the opposite sex is driving a wedge between himself and his shelter. These women have raised and nutrtured him, but his budding sexuality faces him with the conflict of assimilating into male culture. It seems as though the women perceive desire, sexuality, and love as a private matter – a taboo, of sorts. The men that Noura interacts with, however, are very open when discussing these matters. Due to this dichotomy, he finds himself incapable of expressing his own desire in the female sphere – it is only among the men that he is able to talk of desire. Although the male society is less tolerant of childhood nuances, it offers a well-established norm for the expression of desire.

I found Professor Lang’s quote about finding the soul and beauty in the Tunisian culture as a means to overlook the oppression to be very applicable. The police prove to be a hostile force of opposition throughout the film, but his enchantment with the new experience of desire keeps these worries from Noura’s mind. Last semester, we saw this them appear in several of the pieces we focused on, most notably in the Object of Desire. We have seen lovers overlook terrorism, oppression, and death to enslave themselves to desire and bask in the rapture that is their beloved.