To all you cineastes out there, here's earth shattering news about a film breaking boundaries at the Tribeca Film Festival. That's right, the New York City festival Robert DeNiro started which is quickly becoming one of the most widely coveted and media-covered film festivals in the country. This film is being promoted as the first film at the festival featuring transgender people in transgender roles. Impressive, huh? It all sounds so empowering. And what's the name of this genre-busting film? Glad you asked, it's called "Ticked Off Trannies With Knives."
The line at the top of the poster reads, "it takes balls to get revenge." In case you don't understand, that's a direct reference to "trannies" (evidently an affectionate term all trans women use to refer to one another) having testicles and a scrotum. I'm just upset LaLuna Entertainment, makers of this statement of community pride were unable to somehow integrate the words "penis" or "cock" onto the poster but, after all, it IS going to be shown at a prestigious film festival where it will get national and international coverage.
This work of film discusses the sensitive issue of violence against trans women and the plot involves 'Trannies' extremely violent revenge against men who abused them, but you'll be happy to know it's all been done with a lot of humor. As the director stated, "I don't consider myself an advocate. I'm not really a protester or anything like that, All of my films feature comedy."
Watch a clip and see just how HEE-LARIOUS it is!
The team who made 'Trannies with Knives'
Cissexuals = 10; Trans people = 0
Home grown and authentic
Obviously, such a statement about the trans community would only be directed by someone from our community, right? Right? Well, you'll be shocked to know "Ticked Off Trannies With Knives" is, in fact, directed by a gay man, Israel Luna. I know, I know, it is indeed amazing how someone not even trans could understand our community so well as to even 'get' the lingo we use to refer to one another. Even more impressive is how Israel is connected to the Dallas Voice, the main gay newpaper in the Dallas area. How wonderful a gay newspaper is able to point to one of their own reporters as someone who can look outside his own community and represent the community of trans women with such a high degree of accuracy.
The transgenders' friend
It just reminds me how gay men have a special insight into the world of trans women since, you know, trans women are really just, *wink wink* gay men, *cough-cough* in, ladies, um, drag. Gay men understand that drag is what makes the delusion of 'transgenders' actually believing they're women all the more tolerable. Without the ability to gob on lots of makeup, wear ugly clothes no woman would ever wear and act campy, trans women would really be A DRAG. As Mr. Luna stated:
How about this idea Mr. Luna... a campy, trashy film about Matthew Shepard, but played for laughs. You could call it "F*gs Fight Back" and if anyone in the gay community doesn't like it, explain to them how they have no sense of humor, two of the actors in it are actually gay and you're just trying to make something to entertain people. Perhaps you should call up Judy Shepard and run it by her. I'm sure she'd appreciate your brand of activism and not feel as if you're trying to exploit her son's murder.I didn't want to write about a male gay bashing victim. That's a story we've seen all too often, and I wanted to do something more modern and I thought 'Whose story do you never see on the news these days?' It's not gay men—it's transgenders."As Mr. Luna stated in the Queerty article:I would love for there to be an article about a guy guy who was about to get bashed but instead the basher ended up getting bashed.
Hi, I'm Bubbles, ha ha, and this film, ha ha, is about
trannies getting attacked, ha ha
In memory of Angie Zapata
And just to show how empowering this film's message is, they mention real victims of transphobic violence like Angie Zapata and Jorge Lopez Mercado in the trailer and cleverly blend that in with the story about the fun trannies with knives. At one point one of the trannies asks another tranny/hooker, "what if your client turns out to be one of those rapists?" The tranny/hooker replies (as though it would actually be great) "oh... that would be baaad." (and get this, while she's saying that she's rubbing up against a guy, ha ha). Compare that positive coverage of trans women being raped with something depressing like this where someone the local media identified as a 'male tranny/hooker' in San Antonio had the nerve to report how she was raped by an on-duty cop. Again, where's the laffs in that? They need to "La Luna" the story up and add some tranny fun, glitter and wigs.
Can't take a joke?
I'm just so disappointed some debbie downers in our community have already complained about this heartfelt exposé of trans womens' lives and the violence they deal with. The whiner was Kelli Busey, an activist trans woman who doesn't seem to understand how slathering on tons of makeup, acting hoochy and parodying women gives one power and provides many in the gay community a lot of entertainment. She had the nerve to even question the hilarious title of this cinematic work and to somehow suggest the director didn't take our struggle for rights seriously. According to a Queerty article on the film, the director rightly responded:
Luna claims that he didn't know "hot tranny mess" was a put-down; he'd heard his trans friends call each other that and thought it meant something akin to "ghetto-fabulous"—something over-the-top cool and stylish. When he realized it was offensive, he'd asked his trans-associates their opinions. A lot of them used the word "tranny" as well and found his use humorous rather than offensive. So in the end, Luna decided to stick with it. It was a catchy title and he figured anyone who'd get offended would entirely miss his film's overall message.
Well said, Israel, don't let those humorless trannies push you around. Next that angry tranny will probably try to complain to GLAAD. Haha, don't worry, GLAAD hasn't said anything about this film. After all, it was made by someone in the LGBT community... it must be okay. In other words, if you can't take a joke, then f*ck you! As Mr. Luna says, he likes to incorporate humor into his films, even into scenes where trans women get attacked. According to Queerty:
Luna's bashing scene contains some humorous elements. The lead actress, Krystal Summers, says that the bashing scene plays on her worst fears of what could happen anytime she reveals her trans identity to a potential boyfriend. Nevertheless, the scene itself still plays out with some degree of B-movie camp. While Boner's chasing down Bubbles—a tuft of bloody hair left clinging to his bat—Luna cuts to a scene where a dying transgender woman drives a lime green stiletto heel into the eye socket of her attacker with one final head-butt.
333 more chances at humor
Luna understands that anything can be made funny, even trans women getting murdered. Not like the depressing people who put out this recent study (borrring) which stated 333 trans people (almost all trans women) have been murdered in acts of transphobic violence in the past 2 years. No fake rubber boobs, no sexy gowns, no mile-high wigs in that study. I ask you, where's the fun and camp in that? Mr. Luna, with 332 murders to go, you have a lot more tranny films to make.
Hey, maybe we can show this at the next Transgender (make that Tranny) Day of Remembrance just to lighten up the dreary festivities and get some more gay male attendees! (LOL)
**My apologies for needing to resort to rabid sarcasm... it's hard to deal with something this offensive any other way.
Should you wish to express your disappointment with the Tribeca Film Festival for showing this film, you may contact: Tammie Rosen, at (212) 941-2003, trosen@tribecaenterprises.com
A Facebook Site has also been created to protest this film:
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106926329329724&ref=mf
I might also suggest reading this analysis of the film's offensiveness and the appropriation of trans women's issues in the gudbuytjane blog.
Posts
There was some heated discussion in the Dallas Voice blog over Luna's use of "tranny" and "hot tranny mess" as well as the movie's subject matter. Of course this is the same newspaper that asked RuPaul* to decide if "tranny" was offensive or not.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, the Voice's transgender reporting has gotten a lot better since adding a TS reporter to their staff.
*Since RuPaul considers himself a man who does performs in drag, I use the male pronoun.
Hi Zelda. I think that's what my mention of Kelli Busey links to (she also brought up the "tranny" issue which "trans expert" RuPaul responded to). AFAIK, it was Kelli who first discussed the problematic issues of this film in the Voice. It's telling how Mr. Luna doesn't seem to have changed one bit of his film since that discussion. The terminology is offensive enough but not as offensive to me as trying to make a campy, silly film about trans women getting attacked and murdered (and to dare mention Angie Zapata in the preview). As if our lives are just fodder for jokes.
ReplyDeleteI have 3 points:
ReplyDelete1)Renee Baker is the transgender woman on staff and while I adore Renee and her work, saying that the Dallas voice has changed their ideas of transgender people because they hired one would be like saying how great HRC is on trans stuff now that they've hired Allyson. I'm just not buying it.
2)RuPaul has said numerous times that he doesn't identify as transgender so why ask him about transgender issues? No one comes to me for comment on the issues of gay men.
3)I am shaking as I type this, I am so angry! How dare anyone approach the topic of transgender violence and murder from a humorous standpoint? Imagine the uproar of the LGB community if Luna chose those brutal, horrific bashings and murders of gay men as topic for his comedy.
Violence is NOT a laughing matter. Shame on him and shame on the festival!!!
As soon as I calm down, I'm calling and writing.
Thank you Gina.
Well written and sad. I wrote to Tribeca. Thanks and keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteMy disappointment has been expressed and e-mailed. Thanks for bringing attention to this.
ReplyDeleteI covered the Angie Zapata Hate Crime Trial from the courtroom. Burned in my brain are the images of Angie lying dead on her apartment's living room floor, a pool of blood around her head.
ReplyDeleteI can't tell you how disturbing it was to watch a trailer for an exploitation/revenge film open by mentioning Angie's real death.
Continuing to watch the trailer, and seeing trans people portrayed as mostly looking and acting like drag performers left me feeling uncomfortable -- it was watching the producers portray trans people as the societal stereotype of what trans people look and act like.
And, I'm also really disturbed with this from their YouTube Description:
This is our homage to the exploitation/revenge films of the 70s and 80s. Lots of skin, lots of blood, lots of extreme violence
The juxtaposition between harsh reality of real violence against real trans people and their idea of a fantasy exploitation/revenge film is horrible.
hi.
ReplyDeleteYOU wrote the following is a scene in the TOTWK movie:
A gory scene of revenge, where the rape victim-cum-murderess Jennifer castrates a sleazy gas station attendant in a bubble bath mid-handjob. She locks him in the bathroom and he hysterically screams for his mother while pounding on the door and bleeding to death.
It is, in fact, NOT. it's a scene in a movie that is kinda of like TOTWK from the 70's. Very Russ Meyer (who offended women), very Blacksplotation (which entertained & offended black people). I should hope Ticked Off Trannies With Knives will offend and entertain far longer than your blog entry
@Willam: You are right about the quote from "I Spit on Your Grave." I took that from the Queerty article which was jumping around describing your film and the older slasher film. I've edited the post accordingly and am inserting a different description of a scene from your film. Thanks for the correction.
ReplyDeleteWhile I know it's been your job to sometimes impersonate trans women (the people you know as "trannies") in a variety of media, you've pretty much hit the wall when it comes to trivializing and adding LAFFS to the murders and attacks in our community. I wonder if you'd have the honesty to speak with Angie Zapata's sisters and Mom and tell them how your film is honoring her memory? I'm sure they would appreciate your "tranny camp" sense of humor and how it's juxtaposed with the real story of their daughter's and sister's vicious murder... where her head was hit repeatedly with a fire extinguisher.
Russ Meyer never dealt with appropriating connections to real life victims. Blacksploitation films didn't show black women being raped and incorporate humor into those scenes. Moreover, Blacksploitation films didn't have heros who were a white person in blackface pretending to be black foul-mouthed sex workers. And, yes, that is in direct reference to having a number of men in your film doing"trannyface" pretending they're trans women. Nor did any Russ Meyer film have the word "bitch" "cunt" or "whore" in the title, nor did any Blacksploitation film have "n*gger" in the title. If you honestly think trans women being attacked and murdered should be somehow presented as "entertaining" then perhaps you're also unable to notice a difference between those two genres and what you and Mr. Luna are doing.
There's now a facebook group protesting the movie:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=106926329329724
Great post Gina!
ReplyDelete"How about this idea Mr. Luna... a campy, trashy film about Matthew Shepard, but played for laughs. You could call it "F*gs Fight Back" and if anyone in the gay community doesn't like it, explain to them how they have no sense of humor, two of the actors in it are actually gay and you're just trying to make something to entertain people. Perhaps you should call up Judy Shepard and run it by her. I'm sure she'd appreciate your brand of activism and not feel as if you're trying to exploit her son's murder."
Excellent! I loved the above paragraph.
Thanks for the post!
I am just fine with using the word "tranny" appropriately but these girls are drag queens. The problem is....that there is not enough positive light shinning on us for a movie like this to not be looked at as anything but stereotypical and making it seem that we are all this way. The trailer makes it look like trannies go out and pick up straight men without telling them and end up getting hurt. It is not a good idea to make it look like we ALL do that. Thanks for helping to make people think that trans-girls are all whorish drag queens who act like idiots and try to fool men into sleeping with us. I could care less about the title if it was actually in reference to trans-girls and wasn't making a comedy out of hate crime against us. So Frustrating.!!!!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I have no problem with a trans woman using the term "tranny" to refer to themselves—if they understand that it's a hurtful term to many and don't throw it around as if they have entitlement to do so. I have huge problems when anyone uses it to refer to trans women (who may not identify that way) or used to describe trans women in a general sense. I have an especially big issue with someone who isn't trans (like Mr. Luna) trying to normalize its usage and exploit it for publicity purposes.
ReplyDeleteHowever you personally feel about "tranny", I hope at this point there is no controversy a large percentage of trans women find the term highly offensive and those who do find it offensive don't need Mr. Luna or anyone else to "reclaim" the term for their benefit. To my mind, using the term tranny juxtaposed against the context of anti-trans violence is offensive. Period.
Yikes, once again, mainstream society can't seem to understand the difference between Transvestites and Transsexuals. It's really sad to think that someone is looking to make money on a movie at the expense of spreading false myths, and at making light of a very serious issue.
ReplyDelete@ Jennifer. I fail to see how a discussion about classification of trans people has anything to do with this horrific film? Had it been better if the film makers had said "it is of course a movie about transvestites, no offense to all the true transsexuals out there"?
ReplyDeleteThe TV/TS thing is so backwards and truly offensive to me that if I never heard a reference to it again in my life I would be extremely happy. Sorry Jennifer, that is how I feel about that.
@ Gina, thanks for the blog post, now I'm really pissed off at both the film makers (idiots) and the festival people (clueless).
Many many valid points, I just want to say that one thing that bothered my about this article was the comment under the photo of the cast, the implication that if there was a trans person in the photo, that the trans person would be recognizable or visibly trans. Again, feeding into stereotypes. I appreciate it was all done with sarcasm, but that one bit just bothered me and I had to put it out there.
ReplyDeleteKathryn, I understand your concerns and will try to rectify the comment.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I do think the point how none of the people working on the crew or production of the film are trans is an important one, especially since Mr. Luna is attempting to present it as a "product of the community" as a way of deflecting criticism.
hey gina,
ReplyDeleteI'm can't speak for Angie's mom and sister but i know I'd be glad to get revenge for what her assailants did to her.
Little insight into my life- When i audition for a role, there's men, women and everything in between auditioning with me. The best person gets the job. Dorothy Dandrige played a Spanish girl once. Crazy Hollywood, huh?
AND why do you keep saying the lead girls characters in TOTWK are sex workers? We're showgirls, not hookers. get that right for sure. I stopped playing hookers on TV years ago. On Southland I was a reputable business owner even last year. Hope you saw it. I was great. You should definitely change that we're NOT hookers.
I'd love to engage you more on this. You're forming an opinion without seeing the movie and that's kind of like reviewing a restaurant by just smelling the food.
No Willam, it's like walking past a restaurant with a really bigoted insulting name, which has a foul stench emanating from it and warning your friends and family not to eat there.
ReplyDeleteEngaging... you mean like Mr. Luna did when he totally ignored members of the Dallas trans community when they said they found the title and theme of the film highly offensive? That kind of engagement?
As to hookers or no, I have an idea. Show those clips to an audience of 1000 random people and see how they identify the characters. I guarantee "hookers" will come up as one of the main adjectives. The characters look like hookers, talk like hookers, are sexually objectified like hookers, you're made up like hookers... yup, I think that's pretty much representing trans women as hookers. (this is not to rag on sexworkers, but I'm disgusted at any persistent portrayals of trans women as sexworkers... it's been done to death).
Willam, I honestly don't care about your career, nor your identity. I know you basically live in the world as a gay man, not as a woman. Overwhelmingly, victims of anti-trans crimes are trans women (although there are certainly some drag queens and cd victims as well). I understand you seem to have a hard time comprehending or having empathy as to why trans women are reacting to the parts of this film they've seen with such revulsion. That alone makes me feel as if engaging with you is of limited benefit, but I may be wrong.
I love the idea of a gay revenge film, Gina!
ReplyDeleteSo next year, I'm going to kill 300 gay guys and make a fun romp about it. Some might hear murder, but I think "marketing."
I'm loving Gina's title, so that'll work. It's not a slur, I've heard gay men call each other faggots, and that's never ever used by straight people to wound, amiright?
Then I'm going to cast a couple gay guys and flesh out the cast with straight women wearing glued on stubble. Same diff, amiright?
But hey that's really not stereotypical enough, some my characters will all be promiscuous drug-using hairdressers who dress like the Village People and are all bitchy. It's practically a documentary, amiright?
Plus, that sounds fun, right! Any gay men whining about it just don't realise how empowering and respectful it is. Don't you understand how fiction works? Don't you know what artistic license is?
And then I will win a GLAAD award.
Dear Gina,
ReplyDeleteMy name is Daniel Villarreal and I am the author of the Queerty article you referenced in this post. Thank you for bringing up the serious and problematic issues surrounding this film. I'd love to speak with you more about it, if you're interested. You can reach me at daniel@queerty.com. Your insight would be invaluable to the continuing conversation about T representation and exploitation.
Thanks,
Daniel Villarreal
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletePer your request through email (William) I will rephrase the term I used to describe these characters. To me whorish and slutty are the same thing. So ok....I will say slutty if it makes you happy. As of the acting, its pretty bad that I can already tell the acting is bad just from the trailer and clips I have seen on youtube. As for my blog....I don't have to edit anything because I am entitled to my opinion which is commonly shared. As for the 3 "transgender" girls you refered to in the email....I am sorry, but I have seen the shows, I love a good drag show, and they may have boobs, and live as women in the world, but....they are still drag queens. Anyway....sorry for the harsh opinions. I just don't like people to think that I am anything like these girls.
ReplyDeleteGina as soon as someone stops learning, they're null as a person. I hope you don't think our exchange was a waste of time. you got your opinion out and i got mine. it's called a discussion. we're not sparring girl. calm down.
ReplyDeleteI don't play hookers on television or in films. Just because I'm in a short skirt showing off great legs with some other showgirls, a hooker does not that make ;)
Any girl, who walked down the street in what most of us wore in that movie, would get catcalls and negative comments. But if we thought we looked good, that's what mattered right? Good self esteem. I got tons ;)
Mr Luna did engage some members of the Dallas trans community on this. Particularly, the actresses in the film who are T. they helped him understand how/why/when certain things should be said and other's not at all. But he can't please everyone, right?
and Elizabeth- my name is Willam. you're entitled to your opinion (of course) and i'm entitled to my name. Thank you for correcting the facts. Whores get PAID FOR SEX and none of the characters in the film ever even allude to this or make reference to it. Sure we dress like Britney but whatev. Slutty is cool.
WTF!!!!
ReplyDeleteas a filmmaker/activist/human being i am deeply saddened, disgusted by the premise of this so-called film.
can't imagine what everyone involved in its creation was actually thinking in any sensitive way.
I fear that the ones who might be drawn to watch a film like this will be those who feel violence in one form or another is justifiable in "nondisclosure" cases like Angie Zapata or others.
ReplyDeleteLori, I completely agree with you about that. Many interviews with people who've perpetrated transphobic violence show they often feel THEY are victimized by the people they've brutally murdered! True. If anything, I firmly believe a film like this, seen by someone with those views, will encourage MORE transphobic violence, not less. While many people who see a film like this will rightly dismiss it as trash, those transphobically obsessed people may get very aggressive after seeing a film like this with explicit violence in it. When I've read people trying to defend the film because it shows trans people standing up to attacks, I wonder what they're going to say when they hear a first murderer of a trans woman explain how he saw this film and was "inspired" to get HIS revenge.
ReplyDeleteJust watching the trailer at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okZiSEiPh7k disturbs me greatly. I don't know, am I missing something here? Am I lacking a sense of humour or something? I'm having difficulty in seeing any humour in rape and murder (even if it's in revenge).
ReplyDeleteThe trailer makes it look like the director is emulating John Waters more than anything else. Water's films were bizarrely bad taste that actually worked in a cult movie way, and Divine, who was in a lot of them was pretty much unique. But that was John Waters.
So far, there is only one comment over at the IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587431/usercomments) about the film, and it saounds like something inhouse to promote the film.
I dread something like this coming to Australia, and perhaps being shown on SBS TV (which airs non-english and cult shows and films). I can imagine cisgendered folk watching it and not realising that the main characters might only be stereotypes or parodies.
Laura,
ReplyDeleteI'm positive Luna will be marketing this to: Gay Film Festivals, college film promoters and, especially, to "Midnight Movie" promoters. The last group bothers me the most because teens tend to be one of the main audiences. As I said before, most people will see a lousy film like this and dismiss it. However, some people react to films like this in a different way... they will connect violence and highly sexualized "trannies" and actually encourage acting out against trans women.
Btw, I have deleted one of WIllam's comments. In case you don't already know, Willam is a gay man who performs in the film dressed in drag. He does not identify as transgender even though he's played a number of transgender woman roles on exploitive tv shows.
way to have a good open discussion gina. This board is just how you wanted the movie i guess. For you, by you
ReplyDeleteWay to be a troll, Willam the tranny impersonator. By the way, nice racist attempt at imitating a "ghetto" accent in one of your clips. Let's see, so you're appropriating trans women's identities, African American identities... so talented. I'm still waiting for you to be cast in "Matthew Shepard's Fag Revenge" and have you tell the gay community how well you're representing them in that one.
ReplyDeleteJust saw the trailer - I think a discussion about showing trans women fighting (and winning) against physical violence in film can and should be done. I don't think cis gay men are the ones who should be telling that story.
ReplyDeleteI also don't have any issue with using "tranny". I am, however, BEYOND done with cis gays and trans dudes using it. Seriously over it.
-william, way to show reason #eleventy-million and one why cis gay men can't be trusted to do anything with/for/about trans women.
Laughriot: WIllam is an expert on trans women... he played one on an episode of Nip/Tuck. What more credentials do you need to speak for us?
ReplyDeleteGina- It was FIVE episodes of nip/tuck and i beat out every contender for that role. No transpeople went out for that role or were good enough to get a callback at least. Is that my fault?
ReplyDeleteI'm not speaking for you. I'm playing characters that are like you.
I'm not going to apologize for my ghetto twang either. I was raised in South Philly and people talk like that there.
But now you have another thing to hate me for besides youth and talent.
You're not playing characters like us. You're playing characters that are basically one-dimensional stereotypes of what we're all supposedly like.
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to say that, at the very least, GLAAD has had representatives view the full film and has issued a call to action against the film. It's at: http://www.change.org/glaad/petitions/view/demand_that_ticked-off_trannies_with_knives_be_pulled_from_tribeca_film_festival_line-up
ReplyDeletehey Queen Emily, i have an idea:
ReplyDelete"gaytanamo XXX"
"This is a great idea: turn the "shock horror" news story of the scandal of Guantanamo Bay detention centre, special rendition and Iraq prisoner abuse into a sexual fantasy. It's a notion which has it all - it refuses to indulge in the usual liberal hand-wringing or (worse) reactionary denial, instead allowing the imagination to wander into forbidden corners, and it re-asserts the sheer, ornery difference of homosexuality "
-( gay man's description of film, from imdb)
2007
yes,just lovely......
Leave it to a busted-looking DQ who dresses in last year's dollar store fashions to think "5 episodes on Nip/Tuck" (as a highly offensive character at that) impressive. Weren't you "Hot Tranny Mess #2" of that one episode of Jerry Springer?
ReplyDeleteIn all seriousness, Willam, If you are playing "us" in a role, don't you think you should make sure it doesn't, you know, make light of and partly blame us for when we are murdered? Or is it all good as long as you make some bank?
Laughriot... let's be real here. They HAD to bring in Willam for that role because there were no trans women who could have played it. Just like DW Griffith tried to find someone African-American to portray the role of "Mammy" in "Birth of Nation," couldn't find anyone qualified, and had to use a white man in drag and blackface instead.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, I recall Nip/Tuck was also that show with a hawt homicidal, psychotic transsexual in it. And (true story) the producers of Nip/Tuck were actually pitching a show about a sportswriter who transitioned called "4 OZ"... get this... that's how much a PENIS weighs. Get it... transsexual, penis. PENIS. LOL LOL. Just remember, we're dealing with sensitive artists here, like Israel Luna and Ryan Murphy... NOT just people who are exploiting us trannies.
Wow, what a horrifying film. :(
ReplyDeleteYour take-down is perfect.
I've been following this in as many places as I can because I actually like this genre of film. I can see the value in making a schlocky revenge flick with a trans cast, in essence I want to be convinced that the misgivings are wrong.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately all I read from the folks involved and the people who have seen it and liked it was either "get a thicker skin/humor" or Billy-Boy flouncing in throwing shade doing a little "y'all just jealous of my faboolosity".
Where are the people addressing the actual, you know, issues brought up? I mean really - issues #1 for me is that trans women are shown as deceptive and when the T is revealed, that's when the violence happens. How is this not a problem? When this is the lead into the main plot, using two actual dead trans women to market the film is not simply an issue of "poor taste". The fact that their killers used "I was tricked" to defend their attack makes this is kick in the gut.
These are serious issues.
LRGIRL: Like your perspective. Would you mind if I post this on the FB page for our protest group?
ReplyDeletebe my guest. I'm thinking of finally taking the plunge and getting a FB account ;)
ReplyDeleteRyan Murphy cast Alexandra Billings on 4 oz. She was wonderful on it. He is sensitive. I'm sad it never aired but was lucky enough to get to see it (& be second choice for the role even though i'm "busted" as you say).
ReplyDeleteDid you see Bryant Gumbell's Real Sports show on Christine Daniel's suicide? Saw it last night. Thought it was a well done piece.
Personal attacks will not be tolerated huh? hmmm regina- seems like some are getting away with precisely that.
ReplyDeletewillam, perhaps you need a thicker skin, I mean I didn't intend "busted" as a personal attack. My friends are all OK with using "busted" - maybe it's something to reclaim?
ReplyDeleteYeah, WIllam, lighten up. Don't take everything as an attack. Jeez, try to have a sense of humor. Btw, did you know I just got cast playing a gay man in an HBO series! Yup, I'm doing wrist loosening exercises in prep for the role and practicing rolling my eyes and screeeeming every time someone faaabulous walks into the room. They couldn't find a gay man talented enough to play it so they hired me. And they've gotten me a gorgeous costume... tight little workout shorts, black combat boots and a Member's Only™ jacket. Fiiieeerce. *snap snap*
ReplyDeleteI just reread this thread and I think it's worth noting that Billy-Boy has failed to address any substantial question posed to him. However, is on full on "git it rite beeeotch" mode with some of the misconceptions of the film, self-promotion, and busted-ass hurt feewings.
ReplyDeleteI'm seen his same copy and pasted BS on like 3 blogs today. If LaLaLuna doesn't have the respect for the community he's ripping off and ultimately harming, whatev.. another day in GLB-Land. But if THIS is who he sends to do his dirty work and PR, well that's like a slap in the face.. and not in a campy played-for-laughs kinda way.
So, Bill-O, got any for real comments about the things that have been brought up? Or is this just a step on to play more demeaning characters who directly and negatively impact people lives you do not have to live?
I believe this film will cause more violence against transpeople. Revenge films like Inglourious Basterds portray avengers without causing more real-life violence because virtually everyone is on the side of Jews fighting Nazis. But LGBT people don't have that kind of support. Showing TOTWK in the US is analogous to showing Inglourious Basterds in the Third Reich. It would be used as propaganda AGAINST transpeople, and would make it seem like LGBT people want to wage war against the world and must be stopped.
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