Only When I Laugh
A former fan-girl explores the lasting psychological effects of growing up terminally online within the context of her sexual assault. An experimental documentary exploring fan fiction writing amongst…
Only When I Laugh
A former fan-girl explores the lasting psychological effects of growing up terminally online within the context of her sexual assault. An experimental documentary exploring fan fiction writing amongst teenage girls online and the learned narrativization of sexual experiences. Through interviews, lyrical essays, and fantastical reenactment, it touches on internet history, sexual assault discourse, and the magical cultural production happening in the bedrooms of teenage girls worldwide every day. The title of the film is derived from the tag put on fan fiction to designate depictions of role-played non-consensual encounters. The film becomes a kind of memoir as the filmmaker interrogates her experiences of sexual violence and how reading these fictions at such a young age informed her relationship to sex, violence, and community.
Only When I Laugh
Drama
Film Details
A former fan-girl explores the lasting psychological effects of growing up terminally online within the context of her sexual assault. An experimental documentary exploring fan fiction writing amongst teenage girls online and the learned narrativization of sexual experiences. Through interviews, lyrical essays, and fantastical reenactment, it touches on internet history, sexual assault discourse, and the magical cultural production happening in the bedrooms of teenage girls worldwide every day.
The title of the film is derived from the tag put on fan fiction to designate depictions of role-played non-consensual encounters. The film becomes a kind of memoir as the filmmaker interrogates her experiences of sexual violence and how reading these fictions at such a young age informed her relationship to sex, violence, and community..