Trans Media Arts — Film, TV, Music and More

Amanda seated at her desk.

Hello everyone! Hope you are all doing well. Welcome to SUMMER! Olaf’s, from Disney’s Frozen, favorite season. Curiously, since he is a snowman. Little did he know. “Bees’ll buzz, kids’ll blow dandelion fuzz and I’ll be doing whatever snow does in summer,” he sang obliviously.

Speaking of the movie Frozen, which I adore, there are a lot of similarities between Elsa the Ice Queen and transgender folks and any LGBTQ person. Perhaps not on the surface, but the first time I saw it, I was thinking, “OMG, I am like Elsa!” She’s a young kid. She has these strange things happen to her that she cannot control. She is taken to a “doctor” and is told that these feelings will only grow stronger. Her parents make her quell these “powers” and lock her away so she doesn’t hurt her sister again, whom she loves dearly. Time goes on, She is about to become Queen because she has “come of age.” Her parents were tragically killed. She accidentally has a “splash moment,” or a coming out, and reveals her devastating secret. Everyone is scared and horrified calling her “monster.” Children are shielded. She runs away to the mountains, finds peace, and finally lets herself go, as the ubiquitous song goes. She is free to be herself. But that freedom is a lonely one away from family. Sound familiar? Huh, huh? Right? Watch it. Frozen 2 comes to theaters in November. Here is one of my favorite articles linking the movie to the trans experience. Here is the Frozen 2 trailer:

But, there is other news to report of course. Such as Janet Mock scoring a huge, historic production deal with Netflix, the streaming giant. I am thrilled to report this because I am sure Janet will be a great choice for greenlighting shows with LGBTQ and especially trans content with trans actors. This could ensure big breaks for up and coming trans actors and lead them to infinity and beyond! (Toy Story 4 out now in theaters BTW)

Janet Mock

Says Mock about the deal, “This is the first deal of its kind for a trans person, no less a trans woman of color,” she says. “You know 84% of Americans say that they don’t know, and or work with a trans person, and so there’s potential now with Netflix’s worldwide audience to introduce millions, hundreds of millions of viewers to trans people and showing people who may not understand us that we can tell our own stories.”

Speaking of Netflix, I just finished watching the movie Girl, that I mentioned in this column before. The movie is about a 15-year-old transgender girl who wishes to become a ballerina and played by cis actor Victor Polster. It was nominated for a Golden Globe and won many film festival awards. Its release was curiously pushed back a couple of times on Netflix. There was some backlash against it by trans activists. Critics were mostly favorable, but its rating on Netflix is not the best. I, as a trans person, thought that the film was tougher and tougher to watch as it went on. The tension of dysphoria and peer pressure grew to an extreme, and disturbing climax. I must warn other trans folks that is can be extremely triggering. However, I thought that Polster, a very soft-looking actor, did about as well as I have seen from a cis actor with portraying dysphoria. The caring and deeply concerned single father was very well-played too. There was a part in the movie where the doctors told Lara that she had to stop taping her genitals down for ballet practice. So she had to leave a little “bulge” in her leotard. The scene was so full of tension with the camera following her and her face as she felt growing visual dysphoria and discomfort with having to do this. I gave the film a thumbs up, but with caution. But, I will temper the warning with the fact that is has a relieving ending. 

Indya Moore

Indya Moore, a star of the FX show Pose who identifies as transgender and non-binary, was attacked by a Donald Trump supporter demonstrating outside of the Pose studio after clashing with him over his “Keep America Great” sign. Indya was upset at the sign and at the man holding it. She proceeded to stomp on it, although it was a flexible sign and was not damaged. The sign said Re-Elect Donald Trump, keep America Great. But as the situation became a scuffle, the Trump supporter shoved Indya away multiple times almost knocking her/them down, escalating the situation. The man also kept referring to Indya as “him.”

Our favorite, and most popular trans singer/songwriters/frontwoman Laura Jane Grace spoke recently about rushing out her solo album Bought To Rot under the name Laura Jane Grace and the Devouring Mothers last November, as covered in this column. I heard her mention upcoming surgeries and I believe, wrote about it in the Fall as soon as I heard. I wondered what she was getting done. Turns out, it was FFS and a tracheal shave. The scary part for her was that both of these areas for a singer are very important. She talked about her fear. “I may die or have a stroke, or I could come out looking so f—ing terrible that it completely makes me into a pariah and ruins my career. So I was f—ing scared,” You can read more about this on EW.com.

Eddie Izzard continues to be a chameleon. But in recent years has begun to identify as transgender. Eddie is performing and wearing more women’s attire but still has more of a non-binary look out in the world. On stage, Eddie performs in various states of dress including full femme. Wunderbar, the stage show that Izzard performs, which came to the United States this summer, starts with the Big Bang, explores the childhood traumas of Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan and William the Conqueror, visits Middle-Earth and Izzard’s father on his death bed, and ends with the aspiring politician’s theory of the universe. Izzard has expressed political aspirations as well. 

Binibining Pilipinas-Universe 2016 Maxine Medina has apologized for her past remarks on Miss Universe Spain 2018 Angela Ponce, the first ever transgender woman to join the Miss Universe pageant. Her apologetic tweet read: “I was concerned about the other girls joining Miss Universe but that doesn’t mean I am transphobic. I am proud of Angela and I respect her and the community,” she said. “If I have offended people, I am sorry but it was never my intention.”

Mj Rodriguez

Mj Rodriguez has made history as part of the largest transgender cast ever assembled for a scripted television series. She is one of five trans performers of color featured in Pose, a series set in the ballroom culture of the city 30 years ago. Season two of the revolutionary and trans-friendly FX show began this month. Rodriguez was honored in the National Puerto Rican Day parade in New York City this month. She was recognized as the 2019 Trailblazer Honoree.

Well, That’s All Folks! I hope you enjoyed the column or blog or whatever this is. I am old-fashioned, I call it a column. I have always fancied myself a newspaper writer from back in the day. Maybe I was in another life. Sometimes, I feel like I lived as a female columnist in the 1930s and ‘40s. There was another Amanda born in 1910 in my family. I seem to have this curious affection for Art Deco buildings, newspapers, old typewriters, trains and anything from that era. Ooooooweeeeeeoooooo… You never know. Maybe that is why my spirit is a woman’s. Food for thought. Bye for now everyone.

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Tags: featured, film, Frozen 2, Geena Rocero, Indya Moore, Janet Mock, Musician, Pose, Transgender

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