Emotional Release Research Articles

A mixed-methods evaluation of the impacts of an online Carer wellbeing and connection program

ObjectiveTo evaluate a facilitated, 90-min session, delivered for four weeks, Online Carer Wellbeing and Connection Program in Victoria, Australia. MethodsOne hundred and three carers took part in the evaluation. Eighty-six completed both pre- and post-program surveys evaluating program impacts on psychological distress, perceived loneliness, and social support. Qualitative interviews were conducted (n = 76) post-program for experiential data. FindingsPaired samples t-tests showed significant decreases between pre- and post-program for psychological distress (M = 25.10, SD = 7.08; M = 22.00, SD = 6.57; t(85) = 4.88, p = 0.000), perceived loneliness (M = 6.69, SD = 1.89; M = 6.14, SD = 1.76; t(85) = 3.45, p = 0.000) and perceived social support (M = 8.31, SD = 2.48; M = 8.83, SD = 2.21; t(85) = −2.54, p = 0.013). Thematic analysis identified positive experiences and the mechanisms of action (or the ingredients for program success) as: 1. Delivery by a trained facilitator; 2. Provision of respite for person being cared for during meetings; 3. Technical assistance; 4. Online modality; 5. Inclusivity; 6. Diversity of experience; 7. Shared understanding; 8. Safety; 9. Emotional release; 10. Reflection, and; 11. Self-care practices. InnovationA model illustrating the mechanisms of action based on the findings of the mixed-methods evaluation is presented to support wider implementation and translation. ConclusionThe online program effectively reduced psychological distress and loneliness and improved carer wellbeing.

Stress Coping in Adolescents Who Have Disharmonious Families in Sidoarjo

This qualitative phenomenological study investigates stress coping mechanisms among adolescents from disharmonious families, addressing their responses to challenging and unforeseen family situations. Through semi-structured interviews with two subjects in Sidoarjo, the study identifies distinct coping aspects: problem-focused strategies encompassing planning, competitive activity suppression, behavioral release, coping restrictions, instrumental support utilization, and emotional-focused strategies involving emotional support utilization, emotional release focus, mental liberation, positive reinterpretation and growth, self-blame, acceptance, rejection, humor, substance use, and religious turn. The research reveals that emotional intelligence, stress levels, and religious maturity serve as influential factors shaping stress coping behaviors. These findings offer valuable insights into the complex dynamics of adolescents navigating difficulties within dysfunctional family environments, emphasizing the role of psychological factors and religious engagement in their coping mechanisms. Highlights: Diverse Coping Strategies: This study unveils a range of coping strategies employed by adolescents in dysfunctional families, including problem-focused and emotional-focused approaches. Influential Factors: The research highlights the significant impact of emotional intelligence, stress levels, and religious maturity on adolescents' ability to cope with stress within disharmonious family settings. Qualitative Insight: Using a phenomenological approach, the study offers qualitative insights into the nuanced experiences and coping mechanisms of adolescents facing challenging situations in dysfunctional family environments. Keywords: Adolescent stress coping, Dysfunctional families, Emotional intelligence, Phenomenological approach, Religious maturity

Hiking the Via Alpina

Abstract Can long-distance hiking present an alternative to the mechanisation, uncertainty and alienation of contemporary European life? Through interviews with hikers on the Via Alpina in the European Alps, we explore this question, applying Ning Wang's insights on tourism as exemplifying the ambivalence of modernity. Modern technologies increase communications, mobility and efficiency, while enabling leisure space for tourism. Via Alpina hikers do not ‘opt out’ of the social frameworks governed by Logos modernity but undertake solitary walking in search of an intrapersonal existential authenticity by reconnecting with nature, the body and an alternative experience of time. The Logos-directed elements of planning and navigating through digital devices are limited to the essential required to progress on the path and enable them to inhabit smooth time, free of the restrictive syncopations of work schedules and pressing obligations. Thus, hikers harness Logos modernity to enhance the Eros space of sensuality and emotional release. Through knowledge learned along the way, hikers strive for a positive, responsible freedom that broadens their sense of being in the world.

The role of the performer in Hanslick’s On the Musically Beautiful

Abstract In his On the Musically Beautiful, Hanslick vigorously argued that musical beauty depends neither on the representation nor on the evocation of feelings. However, despite his formalism, Hanslick regards the performance of a musical work as a moment of emotional release. Given the tension between the formalist nature of Hanslick’s general theory and this expressionist drift in his conception of the performer, in this article I pursue two objectives: 1) to argue that there is, in fact, an important internal inconsistency in Hanslick’s theory regarding the nature of performance, and 2) to deepen and render intelligible this perspective of performance. Although internally inconsistent, this perspective, in its search for a synergistic conciliation of the composer’s creativity with the performer’s expressivity, is worthy of analysis.

‘“Do you feel held?”: Gender, Community, and Affective Design in Midsommar’

ABSTRACT Ari Aster’s 2019 folk horror film Midsommar, which enjoyed both critical and popular success, features a bright colour palette and an eerily playful tone alongside a dark narrative exploring complexities of grief, depression, and bad relationships. The remote Swedish community to which protagonist Dani, her boyfriend, and his friends travel for a mid-summer festival is designed around beautiful objects, collective experiences, and rituals that foreground communal emotions, all of which contrast the technologically mediated communications foregrounded at the film’s outset. In fact, this community offers meticulously constructed antidotes to the loneliness of the modern world, and to Western ideals of masculine emotional distance…but at a cost. This paper examines the intersection of emotion, community, and gender in Midsommar, using the concept of affective design – usually associated with technology design – as well as work on group-based emotions, to interrogate the film’s vision of a community that challenges gender norms and the boundaries of emotional experience. Through the depiction of ingroup boundary-policing, stark contrasts between visions of masculinity, and lush visions of aesthetic experience and emotional release, Midsommar offers a series of convincing compensatory mechanisms that invite viewers, along with the main character, to temporarily compromise morality for the sake of belonging.

ART THERAPY: EXPLORING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ART THERAPY AND SPIRITUAL HEALING

Art therapy has been used to aid spiritual healing because it allows people to express and explore their deepest thoughts, emotions, and experiences in a safe and supportive environment. Spiritual healing is a holistic approach that includes reestablishing one's sense of connection to something greater than oneself, likely to result in emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. The objective of this study is to investigate the role of art therapy in facilitating spiritual healing in individuals. A comprehensive review of literature was conducted to identify the current state of knowledge on the topic. The review identified studies that explored the effectiveness of various types of art therapy in supporting spiritual healing.According to the conclusions drawn from the literature review, art therapy can be an effective instrument in aiding spiritual healing through practices like meditation and mindfulness. Art therapy provides a safe and non-judgmental space for individuals to explore their spirituality, leading to a sense of connection to something greater than themselves. Further to that, the creative process of art-making can promote emotional release and catharsis, resulting in a sense of inner peace and healing. Overall, the results indicate that art therapy can be an efficient means of helping people heal spiritually. The integration of spiritual practices into the art therapy process can support individuals in their journey towards emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being, leading to a greater sense of inner peace and connection to the world around them.

Academic rope to cope: Teachers’ coping strategy to academic anxiety

ABSTRACT The pandemic drove an abrupt global change that brought anxiety and distress to individuals. As such, the study explored the coping strategies used by higher education faculty members in dealing with academic anxiety. A concurrent triangulation mixed method was employed. Data were gathered from the faculty members of a state university using questionnaires and interviews. The faculty members primarily employed religiosity, problem-solving, cognitive reappraisal, and relaxation/recreation as their coping mechanisms. Furthermore, the females were more inclined to use emotional release, and the young adults employed social support and overactivity. Henceforth, the female faculty members may be exposed to peer counseling where they will be able to freely release their anger because of academic anxiety and the young adults may be showered with care and understanding from the people who are close to them and they may be provided with activities to do that may lessen their academic anxiety.

Profanity as a Self-Defense Mechanism and an Outlet for Emotional Catharsis in Stress, Anxiety, and Depression.

Swearing is an increasing trend among men and women worldwide. Earlier studies on the positive aspects of profanity mostly relate to pain management and the release of negative emotions. The uniqueness of the current study is its analysis for a possible constructive role of profanity in stress, anxiety, and depression. The current survey involved 253 conveniently selected participants from Pakistan. The study analyzed the role of profanity in connection to stress, anxiety, and depression. Profanity Scale and the Urdu version of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale were used along with a structured interview schedule. Descriptive statistics, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and t-test were implied to obtain results. The study revealed that the usage of profane language had significantly inverse correlations with stress (r = -0.250; p < 0.01), anxiety (r = -0.161; p < 0.05), and depression (r = -0.182; p < 0.01). Higher profaners also revealed significantly lower levels of depression (M = 29.91, SD = 10.80 vs. M = 33.48, SD = 10.40; p = 0.009; Cohen's d = 0.338) and stress (M = 30.83, SD = 11.41 vs. M = 35.16, SD = 11.31; p = 0.003; Cohen's d = 0.381) as compared to lower profaners. Profanity had no significant correlations with age (r = 0.031; p > 0.05) and education (r = 0.016; p > 0.05). Men projected significantly higher levels of profanity as compared to women. The current study viewed profanity similar to the self-defense mechanisms and emphasized on its cathartic role in stress, anxiety, and depression.

新手團體諮商師心理位移之經驗與影響研究

&lt;p&gt;本研究旨在探究新手團體諮商師心理位移之經驗與影響。資料來源為30位研究參與者，在完成六次團體經驗的心理位移書寫後接受訪談所得之30小時逐字稿。所得資料採紮根理論資料分析方式進行，結果發現：（一）在不同位格的體驗：「我」位格有主觀陳述、真實感覺、情緒較多、負面評價；「你」位格有同理安慰、關照支持、批判指責、客觀評論；「他」位格有冷靜旁觀、理性分析、觀看整體、思考行動；4.「再回到我」有情緒緩解、漸趨平衡、正向能量、促發改變。（二）對個人自我產生七大影響：含1.自我覺察，自我了解；2.情緒轉換，緩解抒發；3. 自我賦能，滋養自信；4.內在擺盪，趨於平衡；5.自我接納，提供選擇；6.自我鼓勵，降低自責；7.自我照顧，自我療癒。（三）對團體諮商專業產生八大影響：含1.有助檢視與評估團體；2.清晰化團體概念與運作；3.有助預備與面對下一次團體；4.改變對團體成員看法及方式；5.減少帶團體的焦慮；6.幫助與協同領導者的合作；7.有自我督導的功能；8.釐清與思考團體困境。&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The purpose of this study is to explore the effects and experiences of applying Psychological Displacement Paradigm in Diary-Writing (PDPD)to novice group therapists. Participants were 30 novice group therapists. After six PDPD writings, they received a one-hour individual interview. The time for these interviews is about 30 hours. The raw data are the transcripts of these interviews. The procedures of data analysis included open coding, axial coding, and selective coding from grounded theory. The results are as follows：I. The experiences of PDPD：1)Using first-person pronoun, I：Subjective description, real feelings, more emotions, and negative evaluation.2)Using second-person pronoun, you：Empathy and comfort, care and support, judgment and blame, and rational reflection.3)Using third-person pronoun, he：Calmness and observing, objectivity and analysis, having a broader perspective, as well as adjusting changes.4)Returns to first-person pronoun, I：emotional release, feeling balance, positive power, and triggering changes. II.The effects on personal level：1)Self-awareness and self-understanding. 2)Emotional adjustment and release. 3)Nurturing self-confidence and empowering self. 4)Balancing the opposites. 5)Self-acceptance and providing choices.6)Self-encouragement and reducing self-blame. 7) Self-care and self-healing. III.The effects on the professional group counseling level：1)Helpful to examine and evaluate the group. 2)Understanding the group concepts how to conduct a group.3)Enhancing the preparation of leading the group. 4) Changing leaders’ perspectives and group interaction with group members. 5)Reducing anxiety of leading group. 6)Assisting and facilitating the cooperation of co-leaders. 7)Serving the function of self-supervision. 8)Clarifying and thinking for the difficulties of the group.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;

Athletes’ displaced dissent on social media: triggering agents, message strategies, and user-generated responses

ABSTRACT Organizational dissent is ubiquitous in task-oriented groups, including sports teams and leagues. Yet, how and to whom that dissent is voiced and the responses to dissent can vary extensively. This study investigates how professional athletes enact displaced dissent and how the public reacts via sentiment analysis of Trevor Bauer’s YouTube channel. Findings identified 53 triggering agents that were consistent with those of subordinates in traditional workplaces. A novel triggering agent of external stakeholder management was also identified, which addressed Major League Baseball’s focus and consideration for its public, their interest in baseball, and relationships with athletes. Bauer expressed his dissent via 94 messages, mainly featuring a combination of rhetorically effective strategies and emotional release. Sentiment analysis of commenters’ 1,612 replies revealed rhetorically competent messages were either unassociated with or enhanced negative sentiment, but positive sentiment was created through entertainment (i.e. humor and pressure), inclusion (i.e. coalition building), and shared ideals (i.e. inspiration).

Of catarrh and catharsis

Of catarrh and catharsis

An Analysis of Slang Word in "The Kissing Booth" Movie

The journal is entitled The Analysis of American Slang in The Kissing Booth Movie. The purpose of this analysis is to find out whether primary slang and secondary slang are used by the characters in the film or not, as well as to find the type of meaning of the slang meaning based on the context of the situation of the word itself. The data used is taken from the script of the film entitled 'The Kissing Booth'. The documentation method is used to collect data and qualitatively will be explained by the theory proposed by Chapman (2007) which divides the types of slang into Primary Slang and Secondary Slang. The functions of language include communication, the expression of identity, play, imaginative expression, and emotional release. In addition, the theory proposed by Leech (1981) divides the types of meaning into seven types including conceptual meaning, connotative meaning, social meaning, affective meaning, reflected meaning, collective meaning, and thematic meaning. Slang that is found in the script of the film, and there are several types of secondary slang also found in the script. Among the seven types of meaning, only conceptual meaning, reflected meaning, and affective meaning were found. The meaning of these slang words is in accordance with the context in which the word is used. Language, is a system of conventional spoken, manual (signed), or written symbols by means of which human beings, as members of a social group and participants in its culture, express themselves.

From trauma to resilience: The effect of stress on the labor market outcome of refugees

Millions of refugees struggle to survive in foreign countries. They have a high prevalence of stress-related mental health problems which lead to a growing concern about their labor market outcome. This study develops a stress and coping model of refugees that includes two stressors. The stress triggered by traumatic events may be eased gradually over time by coping, while the one triggered by workplace discrimination persists throughout their working life. Since coping takes time, refugees must carefully manage their time among coping, leisure, and working. We find that refugees choose to ease more stress but earn less in the early stage of their working life. After refugees reduce stress gradually over time, they transform their working life from barely surviving to striving. We also find that emotional outbursts release stress and increase income in the short term but not necessarily in the long term. Refugees prefer avoiding intentional outbursts that would do more harm than good.

Art for People's Sake: Artists and Community in Black Chicago, 1965-1975 by Rebecca Zorach

Art for People's Sake: Artists and Community in Black Chicago, 1965-1975 by Rebecca Zorach

Chinese Folk Embroidery Bellyband: The Intersection of Loving Symbol, Emotional Release, and Spiritual Needs

This paper analyzes the Chinese folk children’s and adult women’s bellyband, in order to explore it’s cultural connotation and artistic characteristics, and dig out useful elements for modern clothing design. This paper adopts the research methods of literature analysis, physical investigation, and modern works analysis. Through the analysis of the children’s bellyband, mainly by its summarized origin and customs, we believe that the bellyband not only has practical function and rich artistic elements, but also is the carrier of thick family love and has reference value for modern children’s clothing design. For the adult female bellyband, through the analysis of the traditional culture from the perspective of emotion, this paper believes that the shape of adult female bellyband is constrained by feudal etiquette, but its sewing process reflects women’s wisdom. At the same time, the color matching and pattern composition of bellyband are the expression and catharsis of women’s emotion. Based on this, this paper puts forward suggestions for modern clothing design, innovating the embroidery and patchwork process of bellyband, bionic modeling design. We believe that the embroidery technology, patchwork technology and pattern cultural connotation of bellyband can be combined with modern fashion design.

ДИФЕРЕНЦІАЦІЯ ФУНКЦІЙ БЛОГІВ УКРАЇНСЬКИХ ЖУРНАЛІСТІВ НА САЙТАХ ІНТЕРНЕТ-ЗМІ

The article differentiates the functions of blogs of Ukrainian journalists on Internet media sites into new and traditional ones based on the impact on the audience. The articles of previous researchers about the functions of blogs as mass communication means and online media were reviewed and analyzed. It has been discovered that the content of blogs on the Internet media website combines the functions of mass communication mean, which is a journalist's blog, and at the same time performs the functions of mass media, which is its content. The system of levels: macro-level, meso-level, micro-level of functions of blogs of Ukrainian journalists in the headings "Blogs", "Author's blogs" on the websites of Ukrainian online media "Detector Media", "Ukrainian Pravda", "Day" has been revealed. Based on the analysis of the influence of the functions of blogs of Ukrainian journalists on Internet media sites, their general social, general psychological, and socio-psychological functions are highlighted, the combination of new functions of journalists' blogs on Internet media sites and traditional general social functions of mass media has been revealed: informative, communicative, regulatory, integrating, enlightening, educational, educational, ideological, controlling, self-development, socialization, which contribute to cohesion and maintenance of social ties. The simultaneous application of new functions of blogs of Ukrainian journalists and general psychological functions of the mass media was revealed: utilitarian, emotional release, relaxation, soothing, relieving emotional tension. Socio-psychological functions are also discovered: social orientation, affiliation as belonging to a group, contact with another person and self-affirmation, which are combined with new functions. The dominance of new functions in the journalistic genres of journalists' blogs on the sites of the Internet media under study has been determined: a change in the worldview, self-presentation, self-expression, self-positioning of the authors of Internet-media journalists' blogs, which expand the circle of their readers.

‘That Gleaming Sword of Satire’1: Power, Passion and Parliament in the Mid‐Victorian City

AbstractPolitical print satire, construed as an articulation of sedition and dissent, is most commonly associated in Britain with its 18th‐century ‘Golden Age’. Beyond Victorian fiction, the go‐to 19th‐century source tends to be the hegemonic, London‐centric Punch. It is not widely known that, as Punch mellowed and popularised in the 1860s and 1870s, England's booming urban centres gave rise to a distinct form of citizen journalism which used boisterous satire as an effective vehicle for sociopolitical comment, evidence‐based analysis and civic activism. Not only did the provincial satirical periodical filter parliamentary affairs through a critical provincial lens but at a time when politics were largely local, it engaged with the extra‐parliamentary power vested in civic and municipal governance. It aspired to much more than diversion through witty posturing. Morally and ideologically inspired, fuelled by righteous indignation, it successfully used the protest of the pen to agitate in the cause of social and political reform, demonstrating the ‘everyday’ resistance and common sense essential to liberal governmentality. Referencing some of the most enduring and respected examples of the genre – the Porcupine in Liverpool, the Town Crier in Birmingham and the Free Lance in Manchester – this article casts light upon this poorly understood journalism of conviction. A cause and effect of both emotional and intellectual release, it serves as an excellent example of citizenship as performed political passion, in an age of public conformity and restraint.

Catharsis by the Bug River. Przewóz [The Carriage] (2021) by Andrzej Stasiuk as a ‘Cleansing’ Novel

The main goal of this paper is to analyze, depict, and characterize the semantic construction of the latest novel Przewóz [The Carriage] (2021) written by one of the most significant contemporary Polish writers Andrzej Stasiuk. A key way of organizing Stasiuk’s novel is juxtaposing semantically distant wholes, which creates strong tensions not only at the level of language but above all at the level of meaning. Categories of different meaning interpenetrate in the novel, creating a conglomerate of new meanings, showing the fractures of the world described by the novelist, the incoherence of a reality infected by war.Such construction of the novel, based on contrasts and the tensions resulting from their occurrence, allows Stasiuk to reflect the tragedy of wartime experience. War is a catalyst that makes us aware of the uncertain anchoring of concepts and categories, hitherto considered unchanging and permanent, it allows us to capture the illusory nature of human beliefs, the incoherence of human actions, and the naivety of human recognition. The marginal comes to the fore, becoming a model of the world under a microscope, a theatre of history, revealing the nakedness of human existence. Such basic and key concepts as strength, courage, beauty, sacrifice, patriotism, culture, universality, boundary, and truth are questioned.Stasiuk’s ontology is based upon a constant play of tensions between particular categories that make up reality. Nonetheless, the writer does not propose a coherent, unambiguous assessment of reality but rather draws attention to its complexity, impossibility of complete cognition, elusiveness, and delusion. These tensions, so pronounced in Stasiuk’s novel, reveal the illusory nature of the concepts in which a human is immersed, and at the same time, as one of the fundamental elements determining the artistic value of artwork, they are expected to lead to a catharsis, to a release of emotions, they also help to understand better the situation into which a person is thrown at the border moments. Thus, works designed in this way – as cleansing and releasing, and saturated with tension and contrasts – become, as it were, automatically universal, going far beyond transient vogues.The goal of the paper is also to focus on these aspects of Stasiuk’s novel, to demonstrate how war as a border situation can lead to a relativization of concepts, how it can introduce confusion and chaos into a well-established, as it would seem, axiological system, which the writer demonstrates precisely by creating clear tensions. In his novel, Stasiuk does not offer a zero-one vision of the world, tensions are not created mechanically, and the writer uses contrasts and paradox, but what is really important for him are halftones, ambiguities, multivocalities, and a smooth transition in between categories. This is what sets Stasiuk’s world in motion.

Playback Theater as Pedagogy: A Qualitative Research Study on the Use of PT in Education toward the Self-development of Future Teachers

Self-development is an important basis for the professional development of teachers and future teachers. In this study, future teachers are graduate students whose majors are school counseling and mental health education. The performance of playback theater (PT) in the classroom has become an integral part of teaching, especially for teaching integral drama-based pedagogy (IDBP). Using qualitative research methods, researchers found that PT enables future teachers to deeply develop and experience “respect” and “empathy.” PT actively promotes self-development by using empathy as the main factor for promoting change in self-cognition, behavior, and emotional release. The improvisational action presents storytellers with accessible forms of empathic reaction. Researchers have discovered that the use of theater ritual and artistry are the external conditions for inspiring empathy by creating an atmosphere of equality, respect, and inclusion. Moreover, this atmosphere also promotes dialogue. Having learned empathy, individuals connect better with each and become more open to self-development through reflection.

Fat Ham

Reviewed by: Fat Ham Shanelle E. Kim Fat Ham Presented by The Public Theater and the National Black Theatre at Anspacher Theater, New York. 12 May–31 July 2022. Written by James Ijames. Directed by Saheem Ali. Set design by Maruti Evans. Lighting design and direction by Stacey Derosier. Costume design by Dominique Fawn Hill. Sound design and direction by Mikaal Sulaiman. With Nikki Crawford (Tedra), Chris Herbie Holland (Tio), Billy Eugene Jones (Rev/Pap), Adrianna Mitchell (Opal), Calvin Leon Smith (Larry), Marcel Spears (Juicy), and Benja Kay Thomas (Rabby). “This ain’t Shakespeare,” James Ijames writes in “A Note from the Playwright: Is & Aint’s,” featured in the program for The Public Theater and the National Black Theatre’s 2022 co-production of Fat Ham. “Don’t get me wrong, I love Shakespeare. This just ain’t him.” And though his own play is based on Hamlet, Ijames insists, “This ain’t a tragedy. While I appreciate and weep through tragedies on a daily basis, both imagined and real, this play is not that.” While there is certainly much of Shakespeare and tragedy to be found in Ijames’s play, Fat Ham imagines a world of possibilities beyond the limitations of both. Fat Ham follows Juicy (Marcel Spears), a young Black gay man, as he prepares for a backyard cookout to celebrate the marriage between his mother, Tedra (Nikki Crawford), and his paternal uncle, Rev (Billy Eugene Jones). Juicy is a reluctant participant in these festivities, however, as he is still grieving the death of his father, Pap (also played by Jones), who was stabbed to death in prison by another inmate. While Juicy set up decorations and chairs with the aid of his friend in this production’s opening scene, Tio (Chris Herbie Holland), Pap’s ghost appeared, insisting that the young man avenge his father’s death on the presumption that his brother, Rev, ordered the hit with the intent of taking over the family business—barbecuing pigs—and marrying his wife. As it was for Hamlet, Pap’s injunction proved to be a heavy burden for Juicy, who spent the rest of the play struggling with his desire to break free from generational patterns of violence. [End Page 545] Processing his private grief became especially difficult when the loudly, lewdly affectionate couple arrived on the scene. Juicy found himself pulled between Rev’s belittlements and Tedra’s attempts to appease, and tensions were heightened when Juicy learned that the two had spent his tuition money on bathroom renovations. The arrival of family friend Rabby (Benja Kay Thomas) and her two children added to the distraction; the devout churchgoing Rabby clashed with her daughter, Opal (Adrianna Mitchell), who was forced to wear a dress by her mother while longing to express her own queerness and individuality. Larry (Calvin Leon Smith), meanwhile, mediated between his mother and his sister while managing his own desires for Juicy. The play expertly added pressure onto all of these characters until they were forced into an emotional release that spilled over onto the picnic table, the patio, into the house, and all over the backyard. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, tragedy so consumes characters that they are driven into isolation. Whole families fall apart, as do marriages. Hamlet himself shuns his loved ones, swallowed up by his own internal struggles. Yet even as Juicy falls into his own thoughts, turning away from the other characters and speaking only to the audience, his friends and family always call him back. Stop quoting Shakespeare, they say; eat something, have a go at the karaoke machine. This production of Fat Ham nudged its characters ever closer together; with the exception of Tio, who left to get more drinks, and Pap, who appeared and then disappeared, everyone stayed in the backyard or went inside the house. Such intimacy and proximity may be uncomfortable, even violent; both families experience infighting, and in a particularly intense scene Larry physically attacked Juicy for outing him to the others. And yet, community—especially communities of eating—is how Fat Ham rewrites the tragedies of generational violence and systems of oppression. Echoing an early moment in which Tedra fixed a plate for...