The Holocaust is often regarded as one of history's darkest periods. Yet, a new wave of Jewish diaspora stories has emerged, employing humour to tell tales of survival and tragedy. A group of graphic memoirs are tackling this subject with fresh perspectives - an ironic twist given the sombre nature of their topic.
Among these recent works is "The Crystal Vase", based on the life story of Gisela, a German-Jewish grandmother who survived the Holocaust. Her story is interwoven with anecdotes about her family's eccentricities and how they influenced my own upbringing.
Gisela was not an affable person; she reveled in the misfortunes of others and enjoyed laughing at her jokes. If an event combined opportunities for all three activities, so much the better. When I refused to eat meatloaf at a young age, Gisela retaliated by serving it to me repeatedly until I finally gave in.
As research into my grandmother's story progressed, I discovered these humorous anecdotes slipped between the heavy facts of Holocaust history. The recollections were found in graphic memoirs about her life - each generation relates to their family history differently and this trend was reflected in how I approached my own grandmother's story.
A recent interview by Jesse Eisenberg stated that "First generation builds the house. Second generation lives in the house. Third generation burns it down." According to Eisenberg, a movie can simultaneously have great reverence for the history while also creating an irreverent and sometimes transgressive tone, because that is the full and honest way I experience history.
The tension between reverence and irreverence was apparent in recent films about grief tourism - movies that tackle serious Jewish history through family comedy. A Real Pain director Jesse Eisenberg stars in the film alongside Kieran Culkin, where a group of friends on a tour of Warsaw struggle to reconcile the city's past with their own reality.
Another "grief tourism" tragicomedy, Treasure features an Auschwitz-survivor father and his prickly daughter as they travel to Poland. The father is exuberant but also quite dry about his experiences in concentration camps - even when his family heirlooms are sold back to him.
In my journey to preserve my grandmother's story, I went on a fraught road trip with my father across Europe to distribute her belongings after she passed away. While this was not the way she would have wanted me to tell our family history, humour and solemnity coexisted in the end as I found both helpful when dealing with the complex stories of survivors.
In contrast, Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer prize-winning Maus initially faced condemnation in Israel due to its use of comics. The book is a poignant portrayal of his complicated relationship with an Auschwitz-survivor father.
The "third generation" are taking ownership of our family histories and making space for the humour of human foibles, even in darkest stories.
It remains to be seen how my son will tell his own story - perhaps one day he'll write about the time I served him that disgusting meatloaf.
Among these recent works is "The Crystal Vase", based on the life story of Gisela, a German-Jewish grandmother who survived the Holocaust. Her story is interwoven with anecdotes about her family's eccentricities and how they influenced my own upbringing.
Gisela was not an affable person; she reveled in the misfortunes of others and enjoyed laughing at her jokes. If an event combined opportunities for all three activities, so much the better. When I refused to eat meatloaf at a young age, Gisela retaliated by serving it to me repeatedly until I finally gave in.
As research into my grandmother's story progressed, I discovered these humorous anecdotes slipped between the heavy facts of Holocaust history. The recollections were found in graphic memoirs about her life - each generation relates to their family history differently and this trend was reflected in how I approached my own grandmother's story.
A recent interview by Jesse Eisenberg stated that "First generation builds the house. Second generation lives in the house. Third generation burns it down." According to Eisenberg, a movie can simultaneously have great reverence for the history while also creating an irreverent and sometimes transgressive tone, because that is the full and honest way I experience history.
The tension between reverence and irreverence was apparent in recent films about grief tourism - movies that tackle serious Jewish history through family comedy. A Real Pain director Jesse Eisenberg stars in the film alongside Kieran Culkin, where a group of friends on a tour of Warsaw struggle to reconcile the city's past with their own reality.
Another "grief tourism" tragicomedy, Treasure features an Auschwitz-survivor father and his prickly daughter as they travel to Poland. The father is exuberant but also quite dry about his experiences in concentration camps - even when his family heirlooms are sold back to him.
In my journey to preserve my grandmother's story, I went on a fraught road trip with my father across Europe to distribute her belongings after she passed away. While this was not the way she would have wanted me to tell our family history, humour and solemnity coexisted in the end as I found both helpful when dealing with the complex stories of survivors.
In contrast, Art Spiegelman's Pulitzer prize-winning Maus initially faced condemnation in Israel due to its use of comics. The book is a poignant portrayal of his complicated relationship with an Auschwitz-survivor father.
The "third generation" are taking ownership of our family histories and making space for the humour of human foibles, even in darkest stories.
It remains to be seen how my son will tell his own story - perhaps one day he'll write about the time I served him that disgusting meatloaf.
just thinkin' about these new graphic memoirs and grief tourism movies is a wild ride 
. it's crazy how humour can be both cathartic and irreverent, makin' it easier to tackle somber topics like the Holocaust 
. but at the same time, you gotta respect the original stories and the people who went through that trauma - it's not all about laughin' and jokin'. maybe the key is findin' that balance between reverence and irreverence 
?
, remember those old VHS tapes and cassette players? now we got these graphic memoirs and films tackling super dark subjects like holocaust with humor... it's trippy. 
my kid is still young, but i'm already thinking about how he'll relate to his grandma's story when the time comes. will he be able to laugh at all the ridiculous things she did? only time will tell 
. I mean, who knew that the Holocaust could be told with humor? It's like we're finally starting to process our collective trauma and finding ways to cope. I'm loving these graphic memoirs, they're giving me life 
. And can we talk about how funny Gisela sounds? Like, a grandma who revels in other people's misfortunes 
. It's so true that our relationships with family history are different as we grow older. And these films about grief tourism? I need to see them ASAP 
. And I think this is what these stories are all about: finding a balance between reverence and irreverence, solemnity and humor. My son will have to write his own story one day, and I'm excited to see how he'll tell it 
I mean, it's not always easy to make light of such serious topics, but it seems like a great way to keep people engaged and maybe even make them think about history in a different way 
What do you guys think? Should we be using more irreverent approaches when talking about sensitive subjects like this? 
It's like my history teacher said, "If you want to make a good first impression, start with a good last impression." I mean, Gisela's grandma was hilarious, but also super tough 
.
. And don't even get me started on how formulaic all these family comedies about surviving the Holocaust are getting. Everyone's got their own "story" about growing up in a crazy family, but does it really matter if it's tied to the Holocaust? Can we just have some honest, respectful storytelling for once? 
