In 1975, Reba Wilcoxon wrote an article on The Imperfect Enjoyment, a poem by one of my favorite poets, the Earl of Rochester (1647-1680). She argued it was not just pornographic, but obscene, because it fulfills aesthetic demands, which pornography does not. Pornography is merely promotional, “a stimulus to an experience rather than focused on one”. (1)

Reading this, I couldn't help a wry smile, thinking of The Cure's 1982 album Pornography and the controversy around that title. The only two founding members of the band who are still part of The Cure today, Robert Smith and Simon Gallup, butted heads because of it. I always thought it stupid that they fought about that word so much. Simon apparently laughed a lot, amused to no end by the title and ridiculing it, while Robert insisted it meant more than Simon's juvenile sex jokes and was indeed artistic, a sort of soul strip which exposed the inner workings of his (master) mind. (Most of the band biographies mention that fight, just pick one.)

As it turns out, Simon was probably right. “Pornography finally thinks of nothing more than the hand in the lap […]”, Herbert Gold stated. (2) Obscene on the other hand has a much wider meaning according to the New English Dictionary: abominable, disgusting, filthy, indecent. Which seems to fit Robert's intentions a lot better – he could've chosen Obscenity as a title. Not that his soul is filthy or strips can't be beautiful, but anyone who has ever listened to that album knows what I mean. Considering sales, the title was a smart move nonetheless. Most people would rather buy something linked to sex than a 43 minute long musical musing on disgusting depths of the mind.

This is precisely the reason Harold Robbins sold over 750 million copies of his books, while hardly anyone bothers to pick up a collection of Rochester's poems. Though Rochester wrote extensively about fucking, he did not only mention the fun part, but the downside as well (limp dick, STDs, dirty underwear and so on). As far as I remember, Harold Robbins' heroes never suffer from erectile dysfunction.

P.S.: A wonderful work on obscenity in the sense of indecency (yes, sex and also pornography) is Speaking the Unspeakable. A Poetics of Obscenity by Peter Michelson, published in 1993 by the 'SUNY series, the margins of literature' (you gotta love that series and its titles).

(1)Reba Wilcoxon: Pornography, Obscenity, and Rochester's 'The Imperfect Enjoyment', in: Studies in English Literature. 1975, Summer, 15(3), 375-390.

(2) Herbert Gold: The End of Pornography. SR, Oct 31, 1970.

I don't want to regurgitate this week's reading, some of it was rather intense. Hence no review, just a list:

Penelope Hollander: Cherchez la Femme, Cherchez la Femme: A Paradoxical Response to Trauma. Psychiatry 67 (3) Fall 2004, 212-216.

Richard M. Waugaman: Reality as an Inkblot: Looking at the Trauma Literature. Commentary on “Cherchez la Femme, Cherchez la Femme: A Paradoxical Response to Trauma.” Psychiatry 67 (3) Fall 2004, pp. 222-230.

Katherine B. Burton: Resilience in the Face of Psychological Trauma. Commentary on “Cherchez la Femme, Cherchez la Femme: A Paradoxical Response to Trauma.” Psychiatry 67 (3) Fall 2004, 231-234.

Benson, Porter, Dolchok: Circle of Healing: Traditional Storytelling, Parts 1-3. Arctic Anthropology Vol. 40, No. 2, pp. 9-22, 2003.

Matthew Pittman: Thou Shalt Kill … Carefully: Secular Religion, the Immanent Frame, and Showtime's Dexter. The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture 27:3, Fall 2015, pp. 171-185.

This last one was really entertaining. Not directly about trauma, though in my opinion Dexter's rituals are a consequence of what happened in his childhood, so it's an interesting prelude. Or maybe companion article? Like those tie-ins to series' and movies.

Though Supernatural Psychology: Roads less traveled devotes a couple of chapters on trauma and PTSD, they cover but a slim slice of that big pie. The book was published in 2017 and its authors deal with events up to season 12. Now there are 3 more seasons and the Winchesters' lives are over. We see the complete picture. E.g., a discussion of the Cooper Color Code for situational awareness in various stages of the brothers' lives would be interesting: While Dean's condition never went back to yellow (aware but relaxed), let alone white (unaware of threat) after his mother's death, Sam returned to yellow during his time at Stanford, and probably also later in life, when he stopped hunting and started a family after Dean's death. Mostly, their condition is orange (focus is on threat), often red (complete focus on threat), and both experience black (confusion, denial).
I found the following chart on the internet and find it very interesting:

Sam losing his soul and Dean turning into a demon are two prominent examples of black, or of trauma and resulting PTSD. After Sam gets his tortured soul back, he is by no means healed, but dissociates and goes through a stint of multiple personality disorder at the end of season 6. Dean faces the same problem in season 10. Getting rid of his demon eyes does not bring him peace, but guilt for what he did as a demon. He is haunted by memories and knows his soul will forever have black spots. Both have to fight against external suggestions in their vulnerable states. Death says Sam will not survive if the wall closing off his trauma comes down, and the King of Hell tells Dean life as a demon is more attractive than the alternative.
Here is the trauma and fantasy model of dissociation by Dalenberg et al., which could be used to analyze the Winchesters.

Apart from my personal obsession, Supernatural deserves attention because it is the longest running fantasy series ever (15 seasons, 327 episodes). It beat the X-Files (11 seasons, 218 episodes) by far and is only topped by crime or hospital shows (e.g. CSI, Grey's Anatomy) and animated series (The Simpsons, American Dad). I guess those formats are considered more 'real', because they deal with 'everyday' problems in 'normal' people's lives, whereas the Winchester brothers fight monsters. [They still do on DVD, streaming services and countless TV reruns, so I'll stick to the present tense.] Never mind that the monsters are just manifestations of our subconscious, our inner demons – and perfect punching bags. It may be socially acceptable to feel happy when a vampire gets his head chopped off, but don't do it to your boss, even if he is the one sucking out your life force.

The Winchesters allow us to live by proxy and feel good about ourselves. So what if we are damaged, unable to get rich or maintain a stable relationship? Look at the fucked-up lives of our heroes! Supernatural came into existence thanks to the childhood trauma writer Eric Kripke imposed upon his two main characters. The violent loss of their mother put Sam and Dean on the road to glory, avoiding the apocalypse, thwarting the devil's plans and pushing God Almighty off his throne. This illustrates W. H. Auden's take on trauma as not mere catastrophe, but possibility to grow:

'the so-called traumatic experience is not an accident, but the opportunity for which the child has been patiently waiting [...] in order to find a necessity and direction for its existence, in order that its life may become a serious matter.'
After 15 years I have the chance to deal with the big empty the show left behind and find a way to spend my time with something else than escapism. Therapists know to only take away a patient's illusion when he is ready, or to replace it with another crutch. Has anyone checked with the audience? According to Lyn Zubernis' books, people involved in the show have overcome loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Apparently, it has had therapeutic effects on a variety of conditions. What the Winchesters suffer from must be called Complex PTSD. They have been traumatized in series. Now their serial trauma has come to an end. Good for them. Fans like I may experience the loss of a support system, a reliable source of gratification, something to look forward to. Yet all that pales in comparison to the ordeal the Winchesters went through. Hence, wanting them back is very egoistic. Rest in peace is be the healthy thing to say.