Dear catharsis,

Since my internship includes reading theory about critical pedagogy and theater as a tool for social change, our work started with reading about the power of empathy.  In Augusto Boal's discussion of empathy he debates how empathy is a powerful way to connect oneself to others while catharsis (the process of releasing, and thereby providing relief from, strong or repressed emotions) often releases an audience from their connection to the characters, and sometimes the other audience members.  He says that catharsis is dangerous because the connection created through empathy is so strong, but the cathartic release at the end of being a spectator destroys that connection, leaving the spectator with the feeling that they are no longer bound by their empathy.  The audience leaves feeling that the story is completely finished and that they are no longer compelled to take action.  Clearly, not the action desired when one tries to use art as a tool for change.

I have struggled with Boal's critique of empathy and catharsis in the last two weeks.  As a storyteller I want to create strong empathic connections and release those emotions through my story, but as an activist I understand that this doesn't lead audiences to a desire to take action.  Understanding the balance between those two things in my own work/life has been puzzling.

Today as I left Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part Two, I tried to explain to my friends that I couldn't quite feel anything.  I couldn't understand what was happening to me.  All I could understand as I walked out of the theater was that it was the most complete experience of catharsis I had ever felt.  After fourteen years of emotional exposition, I sat, sobbing in the theater for a half an hour.  I could hear fellow audience members sniffling and taking in deep breaths.  When the credits began to roll I felt so drained, so empty I wasn't sure what to do.  It felt so final.  Perhaps it was not totally a cathartic experience because I will carry some shred of it forever, but still... I was not yet ready to process the world around me.

I wondered what Boal would have to say about that.

Also, I thought the "Not my daughter, you bitch" was surprisingly understated in the movie. 


love,
hannah