| Transgender in the movies |
| I'm sure like me you're all interested in seeing movies either that deal with the transgender issue as a central theme or those which contain scenes or characters who crossdress. There is, I'm afraid, an abundance of suspence films which grossly misrepresent transgender people and� although they might be good movies in other ways, they really present an awful aggressive� 'I've got a screw loose' image of transgender people. In reality this image couldn't� be further from the truth. As we know the vast majority of transgender people are very gentle people who abhore violence and it could be argued that very often it is partly as a conscious rejection of all that is 'macho' , aggressive and violent that leads them to adopt a feminine persona. However there are other movies, movies which deal with an issue, which, let's face it, affects a fair percentage of the population, in a more sensitive and thoughtful way and which challenge our perceptions of gender. So here are some of my favourite films... |
| Orlando - Directed by Sally Potter in 1992. This is a beautifully filmed adaptation of Virginia Woolfe's novel. This is a visual delight which explores sexuality and class whilst romping through English history. |
| High Heels - Directed by Pedro Almodovar in 1991. The stunning and talented Victoria Abril gives a wonderful performance as a newsreader who is obsessed by her pop star mother who left her as a child. Almodovar is a great director for tranny viewers. |
| Ma Vie en Rose - This moving tale tells the story of a child's strong identification with all things feminine and the family's battle with their own feelings and those of the local community. Largely inf luenced by his favourite TV show which is presented by a Belgian Barbie look- a- like in her ultra kitsch pink abode, Ludo is torn beetween family and feminine. |
| Funeral Parade of Roses (Bara no Soretsu) - This 1969 Japanese film set in Shinjuku 2-Chome, Tokyo's Gay district, is an amazing voyage into the life of some Tokyo 'Queens'. Made in the sixties this film seems very much like a Japanese stylle Jean Luc Godard movie with frequent distortion of sound and image. The movie can be quite hard work but its worth the effort and the Trannies, especially the star, Eddie, are beautiful and the story is compelling. However be warned the ending is definitely not for the squeamish. |
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