@article{KitTalebianSedehi, author = {Kit, Tay Lai and Talebian Sedehi, Kamelia}, title = {Normalizing Masochism: Subversion and Reification of Hegemony in Larry Kramer's >The Normal Heart< [application of Fromm's theories to art]}, series = {Journal of Language and Communication, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2016), 241-248.}, journal = {Journal of Language and Communication, Vol. 3, No. 2 (2016), 241-248.}, abstract = {In its broadest sense, hegemony is defined as a set of agreed ideologies practiced by prominent regimes and governments which influences people's minds. One of the practices which can be observed in most societies is the exclusion and rejection of homosexuals of their fundamental rights as humans. As such, the issue will be magnified in this paper through a satirical play written by Larry Kramer, entitled >The Normal Heart<. Parallel with the dominant hegemony, the homosexual characters in the play are mistreated and isolated within their own society. To retaliate, these characters consider themselves as victims and intend to counter the situation by masochism. However, the attempt seems to backfire and reify the preexisting hegemony. As such, this paper explores >The Normal Heart< in light of Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony as well as Erich Fromm's masochism. To further specify, the paper examines the homosexual characters - their victimization and their fight against the dominant ideologies and how it all leads to their estrangement within the society.}, language = {en} } @article{KitTalebianSedehi, author = {Kit, Tay Lai and Talebian Sedehi, Kamelia}, title = {Quest to Freedom: Reclaiming Individuality through Sado-Masochism in >Faggots< by Larry Kramer [application of Fromm's theories to art]}, series = {Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 7, No. 7 (2017), pp. 506-511. [ISSN 1799-2591] [doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0707.02]}, journal = {Theory and Practice in Language Studies, Vol. 7, No. 7 (2017), pp. 506-511. [ISSN 1799-2591] [doi.org/10.17507/tpls.0707.02]}, abstract = {Individuality is the quality or character of a particular person that distinguishes them from others of the same kind. In other words, it is the mark which separates its existence from the rest of the group. According to Fromm, the process of individuality begins at infancy level when the child is separated from the mother. This then takes an emotional toll on the child as he suffers from loneliness and anxiety which stem from the prior separation. The child will henceforth acquire his individuality through the process of socialization which requires constant interaction with people in his life. For this paper, we have selected a novel, Faggots, authored by Larry Kramer, to be the main text for our research. This article argues that the characters in the text are conflicted with feelings of anxiety and loneliness as they embark on respective quest to eradicate the feeling of loneliness by looking for a potential life partner. However, these characters go through a series of promiscuous relationships by living an active sexual lifestyle on the ground that they are in search of the >right< one. Therefore, this paper will look into the sadistic and masochistic (sometimes both; otherwise known as sadomasochistic) tendency practiced by the characters in the novel in their quest to reclaim their lost individuality. This research draws in the concept of freedom, sadism, and masochism as proposed by Erich Fromm to further consolidate the findings.}, language = {en} }