There’s a subtle element to Boys Don’t Cry that I really think elevated the film and its intentions in creating a sympathetic biopic about a transgender subject: how the characters around Brandon refer to him. One of the first scenes in the film follows Brandon fleeing from some Lincoln residents and calling him a “dyke.” Right away, we have a clear sign of who the antagonists are and what defines them: their unwavering attempt to define another’s gender, even to the point of violence when that person does not share that same definition.

I realize that the class might be somewhat confused in how to refer to Brandon within the film (especially due to the fact that he’s played by Hilary Swank and at one point refers to himself as intersex). Given that he introduces himself as male to complete strangers and presents himself in a typically masculine fashion, I think it’s safe to say that he prefers to be called “he,” “him,” etc.

With this in mind, the other characters’ shift in pronoun use after they learn of Brandon’s biological sex marks their nature as ancillary protagonists or antagonists within the film. Lana is the only character unfaltering in her referring to Brandon as a “he.” (Like Ellen, I too noted the complaint the real-life Lana had when I did outside research and believe that Kimberly Peirce, the director, chose to reformat Lana into this role for its dramatic heft in the film’s conclusion.) Lana’s mom generally refers to Brandon as “it;” this is manifested in her complicit nature to Brandon’s murder, refusing to house Brandon after his rape and telling John and Tom of Brandon’s location. John and Tom, as primary antagonists, strictly misgender Brandon as “she.” In this film about freedom and identity, it’s rather fitting that those who serve as the antagonists are those who deny our protagonist the freedom to self-identify, a denial that ultimately proves fatal.

Cristina Degli-Esposti article begins with an understanding of the film and it’s uses of sign-functions. Sign-functions within the film are used as guides for the passing time as well themes. The author moves to defining the baroque style, which is expressed in literature, architecture, and visual arts. The next term she defines is the Neo-Baroque and how it’s used within the film Orlando. Degli-Esposti talks about how the film is an exercise in the changing perspectives and how it has a voyeuristic feel. There is a distinction between what is real and what is represented. With that the director is able to develop a new gaze for the audience. Potter focuses on the relationship between us and the character and how the character’s world and our world overlap. With this Potter is able to develop a new type of filmmaking while also using elements of the Neo-Baroque.

The Neo-Baroque movement is meant to shock and create a sense of marvel for the audience. In terms of Orlando Potter tries to shock the audience with the use of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny has themes. Rather than covering them with false pretenses Potter uses Orlando’s frequent looks into the camera as a stream of consciousness. With this the character Orlando is represented as uncanny by breaking the rules and modes of “aesthetic representation of the real”. Orlando is the fantastic figure that can change form between sexes and uncanny traits.

The article takes a deeper look into the idea of identity as well. According to the article we as viewer get into Orlando’s head and go on a voyage through his/her consciousness. Here is where we find gender blending and code switches. For example the author talks about the opening scene and how Orlando appears to be young man, but as the scene goes on we as the audience learn that Orlando is a man being played by a woman. In the novel it is never clearly stated if Orlando was man or woman. Rather it guides the reader through the life of a human perspective away from the idea of sex or gender.

In essence the film blurs the idea of identity. The author even argues that the film displays utopian possibilities when it comes to gender identification and possible changes. Though the film is not only about or for woman. It is also about liberation of men and breaking down the gender barrier and celebrating each sex.

Question:

Could the idea of no gender-identification only be accomplished in a utopian society?

What does it mean to viewers to have a woman playing a man in a film?

Like many of you, I was interested in finding out the true story of Brandon Teena after watching “Boys Don’t Cry.”  The ending was terrifying and knowing the plot was based on a true story made me really upset.  I had so many questions after watching the film… how did the community react to Brandon’s death?  Did the real Brandon have other girlfriends prior to Lana?  Did they know he was really a girl?  Was Brandon always this way?

Luckily for me, my Netflix recommended me to watch, “The Brandon Teena Story,” a documentary on the real Brandon Teena.  It was fascinating to see real interviews of Brandon’s friends and family.  I was completely blown away by  the police recording of Brandon’s phone call after being raped.  The officer seemed so insensitive to Brandon’s gender identity crisis and it made me feel terrible for him.  Furthermore, an interview revealed that Brandon’s worst fear was being touched by a man.

On a more positive note, the documentary revealed a side of Brandon that I loved.  Everyone described Brandon as being a total flirt but a gentleman.  He was described as being the perfect boyfriend because, being a girl himself, he knew what girls wanted.  I never considered this perspective and it interested me.  It was quite clear that Brandon was a likable person; he never would do anything to harm anyone.

I would definitely recommend the class to watch this film.  I am curious if people think “Boys Don’t Cry” was an accurate representation of the real story.   Watching the documentary made me appreciate the casting of “Boys Don’t Cry.”  Not only were the actors good at acting, but they looked like the real people they were playing.  I also liked how all of the small things, like Lana’s love for cows, were replicated in “Boys Don’t Cry.”

I have to admit, I enjoyed the screening and Q&A that Fida Qishta hosted yesterday more than I thought I would.  Going into it I knew it was going to be violent but it didn’t particularly interest me, but I left feeling much more knowledge about the Israeli attack on Gaza.

The Q&A was also very informative and it was clear that Qishta was passionate about sending out the message of what happened to her country and her people out.  She did make the disclaimer that it was not her intention to make the audience take anyone’s side, she just wanted to document what happened in Gaza in a raw, real way.  I like how she made the conscious decision to not include herself in the film and to just do a voice over because she did not want to have the spotlight on her, instead,  she wanted the focus to stay on the Israeli attack on Gaza.

Qishta mentioned in the film that she felt that the camera was her weapon and that mentality allowed her to document what was really happening without being afraid.  In the Q&A Qishta elaborated on that by taking about filming on a small boat while the Israelis were shooting at them and how she felt it was her duty to shoot what was happening so there was evidence if someone got hurt or killed.  She also said that if she were to get shot, the image of the bullet hitting her would show up on camera.

It was very obvious from the film and from hearing Qishta speak that she was  very passionate about filming the attack on Gaza.  It was not her intention to create a film from the footage she shot.  She said that it is even obvious in the documentary that the quality got better throughout the film because her passion for filming got stronger.  Qishta said that it was challenging to film and then write the script, because usually it is done the other way around. She had hours of footage and had to select which clips she wanted to add into the film or just cut out completely.  There were many graphic images that she shot that the producers thought would not be appropriate to expose to American viewers.

I really enjoyed this film and I was definitely touched by the stories that we’re told throughout the film from different people in Gaza, especially Mona’s story.  The way the story was told with the narration from Qishta, the interviews with the people of Gaza and the  exquisite footage that was shot, the film was beautifully put together.  The dedication that Qishta put into the film showed in every clip and it informed me more about the attack on Gaza that I did not know much about before watching the film.

Something that is often overlooked in a feminism, or in our own feminist analysis, is looking at the way that masculinity is constructed and reinforced. Feminism tends to have a certain type of connotation that it only deals with women’s issues. But something important to note is that we wouldn’t have a “woman” category with something that is opposing it–or something that, in some cases, even negates it. In this case that is what the “man” category does. People tend to associate Feminism with putting the woman as the “other” or the “victim” and this reinforces that males/masculinity is the superior group. But it’s worth noting that this isn’t always the case, and the film Boys Don’t Cry supports this claim by demonstrating what a tight construct of masculinity exists for men.

Constantly throughout the film we see ways in which Teena achieves her masculinity. This is by the way she dresses, her haircut, getting in a bar fight, or simply driving a car really fast. These are ways that she has interpreted through her upbringing as ways to identify as male. Her struggle to identify as a man confirms the notion that constructs of masculinity is just as hard to achieve as constructed norms of femininity. There were even times in the film where Brandon was ostracized for not being what a typically masculine male would be.

Something else worth exploring is the rape scene between John, Tom and Teena Brandon. This scene is carefully placed right after Teena’s sex is revealed. It stands almost as a way for John and Tom to reclaim their masculinity by exhibiting their power over Teena Brandon. I speculate that there is also a battle for territory for John, since he is aware that Lana and Teena have been seeing one another.

In fact, it can be argued that rape is not so much about sex as it is about power, force, or ownership. In the films that we have seen in class, rape always occurs after very powerful moments for characters in films. For example, in Foxy Brown, Foxy is raped after she exhibits her independence. Teena Brandon is raped, not only it is discovered he is having an affair with a woman that John loves, but John is also challenged by the fact that Teena Brandon is a woman who is charming the woman he loves. In his flight to regain the woman he loves, he exhibits his power over Teena Brandon by raping her, ultimately to possess what he believes rightfully belongs to him.

It was such a great opportunity to meet Fida Qishta and to watch her film. When watching the film I really felt like I was watching these scenes unfold from the eyes of a war correspondent/journalist. The events that she captured on her camera were so eye opening. This made me think about news stations and how stories are covered.

Fida addressed this when she answered questions after the screening: social media can either promote or hide the severity of an event or activity. I think news stations like to stay away from showing overly graphic images to the masses. They think that the general public cannot handle it. But if you do not show these images, who are you really protecting? This film touched me very personally because I am international student and there have been many gruesome deaths in my country. Although we have not been involved in any recent wars, Jamaica suffers from community and gang-related violence frequently. It is a serious issue and I imagined the people in the movie as my own. The closest Jamaica has come to a war recently was the Dudus case. This case was described as a massacre and everyone was to stay inside for their safety. Soldiers were constantly driving along the roads looking for this man. And America was also a part of the search for this Don.

It’s interesting to note that not many people in America were alive when there was a full out invasion of the country. There have been attacks but the biggest direct attack was probably 9/11?  Has anyone in this class lived to see soldiers of another country destroying your house? Killing your relatives right in front of your eyes? It’s not the same as seeing it on TV. I am not trying to say that anyone is at fault, but ignorance is bliss; and you can be really insensitive to situations that you have never experienced. Again I don’t wish this experience on anyone, but it is very important to tell these stories and to share these voices. The more we know about what is going on, the more we can make well informed decisions.

I am honestly still shell-shocked from watching Boys Don’t Cry. I have been sitting with this movie for over a day now and hoping I’d be able to write this fabulous blog post critiquing the movie but I am still unable to. I finished the movie curled up in my bed with my new stuff-a-plush and still felt the movie weighing me down the entire time. After the movie ended, I began to research the story behind the film and came across the recording of the police interrogation. I found it difficult to listen to but think it is still extremely interesting https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lswb1SFl_gY I think it is also interesting that the Brandon Teena/ Teena Brandon’s family seems extremely reluctant to allowing Brandon to still identify as male years later.

I think it is interesting to compare The Help to Boys Don’t Cry in terms of how much detail and how explicit the two movies are about the oppression and ignorance around the main characters. Boys Don’t Cry holds almost nothing back. Whereas The Help has a very strong feeling of sugar coating on the entire situation. Both are movies about people who do not have a lot of previous representation in the media. But I think both do the topics justice. The audience is what changes for these films. The Help is something I could comfortably let my 9 year old brother see where as Boys Don’t Cry is something I’m not even sure I am old enough to handle viewing. Racism and homophobia are still large parts of our society. These movies have two extremely different ways to approach how these topics are portrayed but both received a large amount of both criticism and acclaim. For Boys Don’t Cry, Hilary Swank received an Academy Award for Best Actress nd Chloë Sevigny was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. The Help was awarded Best Supporting Actress to Octavia Spencer and nominated for Best Picture and Best Actress (Viola Davis). Both Received nominated and awards at the Golden Globes as well. These two movies on such opposite ends of the spectrum still received such similar awards. I think it is interesting when we think about the decisions that go into filming a movie.

I think we all can agree that watching Boys Don’t Cry today was a very intense experience. I think this is made even more so when you consider it was based on a true story.

I did some research and read about the real Brandon Teena. I thought you all would  be interested too so here’s a link to learn more:

http://rememberbrandonteena.webs.com/

Something that stuck out for me was this:

“Tisdel sued the producers of the film for unauthorized use of her name and likeness before the film’s release. She claimed the film depicted her as “lazy, white trash, and a skanky snake”. Tisdel also claimed that the film falsely portrayed that she continued the relationship with Teena after she discovered Teena was not anatomically male. She eventually settled her lawsuit against the movie’s distributor for an undisclosed sum.”

I just finished watching Boys Don’t Cry – it was so heavy and emotional I wanted to get it done today. I’m still kind of reeling about working through everything that happened in the film. I have to say, I don’t know if I’ve ever been more anxious for a character. This was probably the most anxiety-ridden film watching experience I’ve ever had.

You know the classic trope of horror movies, when the girl hears a noise coming from behind a door, and every gut instinct you have is screaming “GET AWAY FROM THE DOOR, RUN!” but she only goes closer? And you just keep thinking “Oh God, something horrible is about to happen” and your stomach wrenches? That feeling was my whole experience of watching this movie. I was 99.9% sure a rape was coming at some point (given the context clues of our recent class discussions/readings), which I was definitely anxious about and worried for Brandon’s safety. And let’s be clear, the rape scene/flashback was horrendous and violent and really difficult to watch. But more than that, at least for me in terms of a long-term sense, was the constant fear of Brandon getting outed. I kept getting nervous that they would finally “find him out.”

If after watching Brandon grapple with his secret and navigate the world for the better part of two hours I was this emotionally distraught, what does that say about the experience of actual people who are transsexual? I think that this was entirely intentional through the set up of the movie, and was done really to highlight this constant fear, the constant displays/proving of gender, and the realities of the lives of transsexual people. The never-ending fear of being outed, the betrayals of their bodies (i.e., getting your period when you identify and are trying to pass as a male), the difficult process (practically and financially) of undergoing a sex-change operation, the stigma of mental illness or the disgust as other people react to them. I appreciate this film’s attempt to show the hardships of a transsexual individual.

I think this movie, because it involves transgender behavior and the main character is a transsexual, really complicates the notions of gender, rape, and representations in film. I’m excited to talk about the movie on Monday and hear what everyone thought!