Epistolary Archive: Cringe

Feminist cringe comedies eschew the conventions of romance and sentimentality in favor of comedy that discomforts. Cringe comedy in Joey Soloway’s I Love Dick (2016–17) does feminist political work by evoking laughter and the cringe via epistolary exchanges from the lead character Chris to Dick; from Chris to woman-identified residents of Marfa, Texas; and from the series to its feminist viewers. These love letters interrupt the fantasies of the male gaze, creating space for viewers to acknowledge the excessive, complicated, and seemingly shameful realities of female desire. I Love Dick is an example of feminism’s visual realisms, building on the feminist legacy of avant-garde director Catherine Breillat’s Romance (1999). Departing from politically correct narratives and comforting or sentimental affect, I Love Dick achieves feminist community via the epistolary appeal, the cringe, and the irruption of laughter.