{"id":2634,"date":"2014-01-08T00:53:56","date_gmt":"2014-01-08T05:53:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/?p=2634"},"modified":"2017-07-27T01:07:46","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T05:07:46","slug":"authentic-illusions-emotional-and-physical-metamorphoses-in-boys-dont-cry-and-transamerica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/authentic-illusions-emotional-and-physical-metamorphoses-in-boys-dont-cry-and-transamerica\/","title":{"rendered":"Authentic Illusions: Emotional and Physical Metamorphoses in “Boys Don\u2019t Cry” and “Transamerica”"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the many virtues of Boys Don\u2019t Cry<\/i> (1999) and Transamerica <\/i>(2006) is that both films manage to avoid those tired clich\u00e9s and case-study stereotypes that are often seen in Hollywood queer films.\u00a0 It would have been very easy for a film about trans individual(s) to include exhausting generic material along the lines of a \u201cI felt like a man trapped inside a woman\u2019s body\u201d phrase and therefore be cast off as a clinical Movie of the Week.\u00a0 However, neither picture relies on melodramatic tropes to deliver its message: rather, the emotional heft of each film is delivered through the brutally honest and persuasive performances of Hillary Swank and Felicity Huffman\u2014who approach their roles with a humbling degree of empathy and sincerity. With their masculinized features that only serve to enhance the physical believability of their characters, Swank and Huffman are perfectly cast as pre-op transsexuals: so much so that I cannot think of any other actress that would be better suited for either role.<\/p>\n

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Hilary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To label Kimberly Peirce\u2019s Boys<\/i> and Duncan Tucker\u2019s Transamerica<\/i> as sociological profiles would be a grave injustice to the vision of either director. Instead, these films use the experiences and woes of Swank\u2019s Brandon Teena and Huffman\u2019s Bree as a lens for peering into the various aspects of human nature. There is an added thread that links both movies, and that is the setting in which the characters must navigate: Boys<\/i> take place in a Nebraska trailer park, and Transamerica<\/i> (as one may guess by the title) spans the vast expanse of American terrain during a road trip.\u00a0 Okay, so perhaps it is a bit predictable for the films to derive their conflict through the prejudices of middle America, where most everybody behaves exactly according to their natures. Predictable, yet not clich\u00e9: for Pierce and Tucker do not underline the stupidity of others\u2019 cruel reactions.\u00a0 Instead, Boys<\/i> and Trans<\/i> find the right note by presenting these characters as psychological instruments of deep ignorance: which is precisely why these films work so well on a cinematic level.<\/p>\n

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Film Still from “Transamerica” | Felicity Huffman featured in center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Based on a harrowing true story, Boys Don\u2019t Cry<\/i> is a romantic tragedy whose protagonist\u2014Teena Brandon\u2014is simply a lonely girl who would rather be a boy, and one day she gets a short haircut, sticks a sock down the front of her jeans and goes into a bar to try her luck: and it is this very transformation that is seen in the opening sequence of Peirce\u2019s film.\u00a0 By now, she has become Brandon Teena, and we must use the male pronoun in describing him.\u00a0 Similarly, Transamerica <\/i>opens with an instructional video of a post-op male to female individual demonstrating the technique of vocal chord manipulation.\u00a0 Huffman\u2019s character Sabrina (Bree for short) stands in front of the television screen, painstakingly mimicking these vocal ranges in a manner that suggests Huffman\u2019s uncanny knack for gender parody.\u00a0 Formerly known as Stanley, Bree is one week away from her sex reassignment surgery when she discovers that she has a 17-year old son, the product of a one-time college experience that she refers to as \u201cso tragically lesbian I didn\u2019t think it counted.\u201d \u00a0Like Boys<\/i>, the beginning sequence of Transamerica<\/i> voyeuristically peers into the routine of Bree\u2019s daily self-presentation. Painting her long tipped nails in a creamy pink polish, stuffing her bra, and applying lip liner that uncomfortably just falls outside the zone of her lips, there is earnestness in her elaborate and rather theatrical displays of femininity. With an air of self-conscious daintiness, Bree\u2019s meticulous attention to the details of her physical appearance seems authentically contrived; as though \u201c\u2026she were perpetually balancing a full teacup of manliness that she knows could spill at any moment (Stephanie Zacharek).\u201d \u00a0And in fact, the audience does get a glimpse of that \u2018manliness\u2019 in a wonderfully candid scene that uses a penile prosthetic.\u00a0 I found this scene quite refreshing, because it showcases Tucker\u2019s commitment to exploring every crevice of trans sexuality in a way that is curious, honest, and tasteful.<\/p>\n

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Film Still from “Transamerica”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

There is something to be said for the fact that these films open with snippets of physical metamorphosis, for these characters have already passed the tumultuous checkpoint of self-discovery.\u00a0 They are neither ashamed nor uncomfortable in embracing their gender identities, and for the most part remain \u201cstealth\u201d to society.\u00a0 There is even a suggestion that Brandon Teena is somewhat of a \u2018ladies\u2019 man\u2019, and soon he falls in love with Lana (played by Chloe Sevigny)\u2014who gives the impression that Brandon is the sweetest and most romantic guy she\u2019s ever met.\u00a0 Sevigny\u2019s character is crucial to the movie, for it is through Lana that we are first introduced to Brandon\u2019s story.\u00a0 As I rewatched both films, I began to notice certain details that never struck me before: namely the fact that the physical aesthetics of each character seems to resemble the cinematographic style of their respective films.\u00a0 For example, as kind and gentle as Brandon is, there is something coarse and unrefined in his appearance\u2014one truly gets the sense that Brandon has never ventured outside the bubble of roughneck America.\u00a0 In a sense, Brandon\u2019s appearance seems to resemble the raw grit of Peirce\u2019s technique; for there is such a convincing intensity in the way she films the idle existence of hanging out in gas stations and roller rinks, the couch surfing, six packs, and Marlboros.\u00a0 By contrast, Bree\u2019s overly proper demeanor is complemented by the floral pastels of her home d\u00e9cor, the witty indie flair of the film, and the bleached lighting of the landscape sequences interspersed with establishing shots of sunsets filmed in such warm hues.<\/p>\n

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Chloe Sevigny and Hilary Swank in “Boys Don’t Cry”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When watching these films side by side, I began to appreciate the dichotomy between Swank\u2019s FTM transformation and Huffman\u2019s MTF metamorphosis.\u00a0 While Swank\u2019s appearance and demeanor as Brandon were so convincingly determined, I cannot help but focus my admiration for the challenge that Huffman was faced with: she is a woman who had to play a man becoming a woman.\u00a0 In fact, Huffman\u2019s features, movements and speech patterns were so controlled and fitting, she truly undermined any skepticism and surpassed all expectations.\u00a0 Sure, Bree has to overcome the sin of bad makeup, but the artifice in her appearance is just right: the fact that she is liberated from any camp or gaudy freakiness only adds to the emotional investment in her story. \u201cYou look very authentic,\u201d exclaims her plastic surgeon.\u00a0 In talking about the authenticity of gender reassignment, one cannot avoid the topic of fabrication as well.\u00a0 There is one interesting moment in Transamerica <\/i>when, at a sex reassignment support group, Bree seems to gossip about and judge the appearance of other MTF individuals\u2014what she calls \u201cersatz\u201d women.\u00a0 The fact that she judges the \u201cinferior imitation\u201d of the others\u2019 aesthetics showcases how Bree removes herself from that category: she does not consider herself an MTF, but simply a female.\u00a0 And in Boys, <\/i>does Lana know Brandon was born a female?\u00a0 At some point, certainly.\u00a0 Yet the moment of that point is made unclear because while she does know, at the same time it\u2019s as if she doesn\u2019t know: like all romances, her love for Brandon is built on illusion; and when you love someone, that illusion becomes intoxicating.<\/p>\n

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Film Still from “Transamerica”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his praise for Transamerica, Roger Ebert shed some insights and observations that I myself hadn\u2019t appreciated before.\u00a0 Yet there was one comment that struck me as both thought-provoking yet a bit uninformed: \u201cMy own impression is that most transgender people have little interest in homosexuality; if they did, they\u2019d be pre-op forever.\u201d I understand where Ebert is coming from since\u2014as a self-proclaimed \u201ctranssexual, not transvestite\u201d\u2014Bree is attracted to men, and Brandon falls for Lana.\u00a0 Yet there is a scene in Transamerica where, at the same gender reassignment support group, two MTF post-ops share their story of falling in love.\u00a0 Dare I consider this a lesbian romance of sorts?\u00a0 While both films confront issues of trans phobia, Transamerica seems to take a more direct and slightly jocular approach in addressing them.\u00a0 When told by her plastic surgeon that, according to the DSMIV, gender dysphoria is characterized as a psychological pathology, Bree beautifully responds with \u201cDon\u2019t you find it odd that plastic surgery can cure a mental disorder?\u201d\u00a0 However, the real heart of Boys Don\u2019t Cry and Transamerica is that they are both ultimately tales of love.\u00a0 Whether it is shown through Boys\u2019 Romeo and Juliet-esque romantic story, or Transamerica\u2019s commentary on family values, Hillary Swank and Felicity Huffman expose the humanness of their characters beyond the surface level of their gender identities.\u00a0 And in the end, you cannot help but fall in love with them as well.<\/i><\/p>\n

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One of the many virtues of Boys Don\u2019t Cry (1999) and Transamerica (2006) is that both films manage to avoid those tired clich\u00e9s and case-study stereotypes that are often seen in Hollywood queer films.\u00a0 It would have been very easy for a film about trans individual(s) to include exhausting generic material along the lines of\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2637,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2065,1],"tags":[335,1963,39,174,234,76,235,44,135,189,134,38,334,175,62,100,333,78],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-2634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture","category-uncategorized","tag-demitra-demi-kampakis","tag-film","tag-gay","tag-identity","tag-ifc-center","tag-lesbian","tag-lgbtqi","tag-nyc","tag-posture","tag-posture-mag","tag-posture-magazine","tag-queer","tag-queer-film","tag-sexuality","tag-trans","tag-transexual","tag-transition","tag-transsexual"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/BoysvsTrans2.jpg?fit=758%2C536","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6QBV8-Gu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2634"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11231,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2634\/revisions\/11231"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2634"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2634"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2634"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/posturemag.com\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2634"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}