I believe the biggest takeaway from this course is my new ability to recognize and articulate the different aspects of the carnivalesque and grotesque. Whether they exist in work for a different class, watching a movie for fun, or just making an observation about a person, event, etc. I now know how to describe them, but more importantly understand why something might be grotesque or carnivalesque, and the effect it has on its audience. Before this class I was sort of familiar with the grotesque and didn’t really know much about the carnivalesque and now I feel well equipped in both areas.
I think that the biggest thing I learned from the Appetizer posts was that the carnivalesque and grotesque exist everywhere. Now that I really know what these things are, I notice them more and more. Instead of a shallow thought like “Ew” I can now think “Ew, but I know why the author is choosing to do this,” or “Ew, but I recognize how that adds to the effect of this scene,” or maybe not “Ew” at all, considering the fact that this class took many of the things that can be classified as gross and caused us to think about them in a different way.
To answer the question “What surprised, disturbed, delighted, or disgusted you over the course of your readings this semester? What made you laugh?,” I would say Fellini Satyricon. That movie made me feel every emotion but mostly the “Wtf” emotion. If I didn’t understand that the movie was supposed to be like it was, I don’t think I would’ve enjoyed it at all, but I think I appreciated how weird it was, knowing what Fellini’s goal was.
Lastly, I would like to mention that some of things we explored are often avoided, but I think we were able to embrace these topics. This made us more comfortable sharing our thoughts and opinions, thus creating a better flow in discussion and learning. On that topic as well, although many of the topics we discussed can be uncomfortable for some people, we were able to deal with these subjects in a healthy and educational way, while still having a good laugh. Thanks for a great semester.
