Post by Ayla on Feb 16, 2016 16:26:08 GMT 8
The other night I was invited to a screening of Zoolander 2 to do a very specific kind of review. No, it wasn’t to highlight the laundry list of celeb cameos (everyone and their brother is in this movie) or critique how Ben Stiller’s signature "blue steel" look has held up since the first Zoolander film took the world by storm 15 years ago. My mission was to review this film from my personal perspective, as a member of the transgender community...
Had they cast an actual trans* or gender non-conforming actor to play All, and not a cisgender actor dressing up as a contrived version of a real transperson, the microagressions thrown at All by the other characters would not be considered morally sound, whatsoever, by anyone with standards of basic respect. How is it okay to not only inaccurately represent a trans* person, not use a trans* actor, but make a joke out of a more than valid identity in the process?
The question here is how can we make a comedy funny without compromising the integrity of a community that loses a member to murder or suicide every 29 hours. Maybe—I don’t know—write something of substance? Equal opportunity oppression of marginalized bodies does not a successful comedy make. Sorry, not ‘bout it. I’m not saying the writers of Zoolander 2 are solely responsible for the discrimination that trans* people face every day, but I do think that it’s something to consider when sitting down to write a role in a multi- million dollar blockbuster.
To say that the movie as a whole isn't transphobic, that we are to blithely accept that characters are simply dumb and their misunderstandings or misjudgments of another character adds to the humor of the film, deters from the social responsibility that producers, directors, and most importantly, writers should uphold when dealing with sensitive matters like gender identity. It's not a matter of where we place blame, it's the validity of questioning why trans* as a "joke" is there in the first place. When asked about his thoughts on the backlash concerning the blatant transphobia from the trailer last year, Justin Theroux said that all the disdain he had received “hurt his feelings” and compared All’s character in Zoolander 2 to Robert Downey Jr.’s blackface-donning character in Tropic Thunder, also written by Theroux, as "[just another] big Hollywood ego.”
While it’s no secret that big egos are about as common as a pair of Louboutins in the fashion industry (Naomi Campbell’s cellphone vs. assistant anyone?), it’s important to realize that Theroux isn’t poking fun at an “ego” here, he’s poking fun at an identity owned by millions of persecuted people around the world, and consequently, perpetuating the violence and mistreatment of transgender and gender non-conforming folks through the extremely accessible (and influential) outlet that is Zoolander 2. Maybe Zoolander 3, if it happens, will do a better job at not resting on the laurels of a blatant-oppression-of-marginalized-persons-as-comedy tactic. Here's to hoping that's the case, but sadly, I doubt it.
www.nylon.com/articles/zoolander-2-review-transphobic-controversy
Had they cast an actual trans* or gender non-conforming actor to play All, and not a cisgender actor dressing up as a contrived version of a real transperson, the microagressions thrown at All by the other characters would not be considered morally sound, whatsoever, by anyone with standards of basic respect. How is it okay to not only inaccurately represent a trans* person, not use a trans* actor, but make a joke out of a more than valid identity in the process?
The question here is how can we make a comedy funny without compromising the integrity of a community that loses a member to murder or suicide every 29 hours. Maybe—I don’t know—write something of substance? Equal opportunity oppression of marginalized bodies does not a successful comedy make. Sorry, not ‘bout it. I’m not saying the writers of Zoolander 2 are solely responsible for the discrimination that trans* people face every day, but I do think that it’s something to consider when sitting down to write a role in a multi- million dollar blockbuster.
To say that the movie as a whole isn't transphobic, that we are to blithely accept that characters are simply dumb and their misunderstandings or misjudgments of another character adds to the humor of the film, deters from the social responsibility that producers, directors, and most importantly, writers should uphold when dealing with sensitive matters like gender identity. It's not a matter of where we place blame, it's the validity of questioning why trans* as a "joke" is there in the first place. When asked about his thoughts on the backlash concerning the blatant transphobia from the trailer last year, Justin Theroux said that all the disdain he had received “hurt his feelings” and compared All’s character in Zoolander 2 to Robert Downey Jr.’s blackface-donning character in Tropic Thunder, also written by Theroux, as "[just another] big Hollywood ego.”
While it’s no secret that big egos are about as common as a pair of Louboutins in the fashion industry (Naomi Campbell’s cellphone vs. assistant anyone?), it’s important to realize that Theroux isn’t poking fun at an “ego” here, he’s poking fun at an identity owned by millions of persecuted people around the world, and consequently, perpetuating the violence and mistreatment of transgender and gender non-conforming folks through the extremely accessible (and influential) outlet that is Zoolander 2. Maybe Zoolander 3, if it happens, will do a better job at not resting on the laurels of a blatant-oppression-of-marginalized-persons-as-comedy tactic. Here's to hoping that's the case, but sadly, I doubt it.
www.nylon.com/articles/zoolander-2-review-transphobic-controversy