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Update: Commentary from the Instant Tea blog of The Dallas Voice added to the end of this post, as well as commentary from the Tribeca Film Festival.
As most of y’all know, last April (April 2009) I covered the Angie Zapata Hate Crime Trial from the courtroom. 
Burned into my mind are the images of Angie lying dead in her apartment — lying on her living room floor looking as if she were just asleep — but with a pool of blood around her head. She was bludgeoned to death in a bias motivated crime; she died as the result of an antigay, antitransgender hate crime. The trial, and the conviction of Allen Ray Andrade of first degree murder and a bias motivated crime (a hate crime), has, as one might expect, effected my point of view on antigay and antitransgender hate violence.
And too, I’m so aware of why the trans community marks the Transgender Day Of Remembrance (TDOR). Each year since November of 2003, I’ve been involved with my city’s TDOR memoriam at the San Diego Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Community Center. We lose far too many trans people — nationally and internationally — each year due to antitransgender hatred or prejudice.
So, if a film invokes Angie Zapata’s name, and has a plot line that engages on the subject of antitransgender hatred or violence, I’m going to be very interested in the film treatment the subject.
There is a new film debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival, called Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives. It’s a film that intends to deal with antitransgender hatred and violence in the same way black exploitation films of the ’70′s dealt with racism. From the film’s synopsis:
A group of transgender women are violently beaten and left for dead. After regaining their consciousness the violated vixens turn deadly divas and with their new-found confidence and courage, slice their way to vengeance.An homage to the exploitation films of the 70′s, this film sets out to create a new and unique genre called transploitation.
Loaded with titillating dialog, bodacious bods and extreme violence, this fantasy film shows that it takes balls to get revenge.
The film’s trailer invokes the names of Angie Zapata and Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado, who were both murdered credited to antigay/antitransgender hatred and prejudice:
I haven’t seen the film as yet, but I do have several problems with the film, even without having seen it as yet.
The wrong person made this film.
One of citable problems with many black exploitation films of the ’70′s was that most of the time it wasn’t African-Americans who were writing, directing, and producing the films. Black community was more often than not being defined in those films by film people who weren’t black.
Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives has that same issue. Israel Luna — the writer, director, and producer of the film — is identified by The Dallas Voice as a “Gay Filmmaker.” In other words, the person who is most responsible for this film apparently doesn’t identify as transgender, so it’s someone outside of trans community who has created a film about another minority group.
As I go through the other points of issue regarding Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives, I’m going to come back to this first point, because it’s a significant point.
The title of the film has a word in it that many trans people consider a pejorative.
This is how the GLAAD Media Reference Guide categorizes the term “tranny”:
TRANSGENDER TERMINOLOGY TO AVOIDDEFAMATORY TERMINOLOGY
Defamatory: “deceptive,” “fooling,” “pretending,” “posing,” or “masquerading”
Gender identity is an integral part of a person’s identity. Please do not characterize transgender people as “deceptive,” as “fooling” other people, or as “pretending” to be, “posing” or “masquerading” as a man or a woman. Such descriptions are extremely insulting.Defamatory: “she-male,” “he-she,” “it,” “trannie,” “tranny,” “gender-bender”
These words only serve to dehumanize transgender people and should not be used (See Defamatory Language).
And from the GLAAD Media Reference Guide’s section on Defamatory Language:
“fag,” “faggot,” “dyke,” “homo,” “sodomite,” “queen,” “she-male,” “he-she,” “it,” “tranny” and similar epithets.
The criteria for using these derogatory terms should be the same as those applied to hate words for other groups: they should not be used except in a direct quote that reveals the bias of the person quoted. So that such words are not given credibility in the media, it is preferred that reporters say, “The person used a derogatory word for a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender person.”
Please note that the term “tranny” is in the same section as the term “faggot.” If you’re gay, lesbian, or bisexual and you don’t like it when people who aren’t gay, lesbian, or bisexual refer to you as a “faggot,” then that gives you an idea of how people who don’t identify as transgender should approach the use of the term “tranny.” There is a number of trans people who do self-identify as trannies, but there is probably a larger group of trans people who find the term to be an epithet…a pejorative.
[Much more below the fold.]Back to the “wrong person” making this film point, one should note that Israel Luna on his own website has indicated that he’s the online segment producer for The Dallas Voice. As someone with significant ties to The Dallas Voice, he is, or should be aware of the controversy that The Dallas Voice has experienced over their use of the term “tranny.” To make a long story short, The Dallas Voice last year declared that since RuPaul approves of using of the term “tranny”, it’s alright for The Dallas Voice to use the term. Transgender activist Donna Rose, and three others, sent in letters to the editor of The Dallas Voice explaining why checking with one famous individual is not a sensitive way to determine appropriate language for describing and defining a community. As Donna Rose stated in her letter to The Dallas Voice editor:
A far more sensitive way to handle this would have been to acknowledge that these terms are considered offensive to many as pejorative, degrading and dehumanizing, and to have elicited a broad range of opinions rather than to treat it in such an off-handed, mocking way based on one person’s opinion. Your story does a disservice to you, your publication and transgender people in general.
As someone affiliated with The Dallas Voice, Israel Luna should have been aware that many trans people find the term “tranny” to be a pejorative, and that to many trans people, the term is seen as a degrading and dehumanizing term. At best, we can say that Israel Luna is ignorant and clueless of how many trans people hear the term “tranny” as a pejorative; at worst we can say that a film producer affiliated with The Dallas Voice was aware that the term “tranny” is a problematic term for many trans people, but he didn’t care — he used the epithet in the title of his film anyway.
Exploiting the hate crime murders of Angie Zapata and Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado in the marketing of this film crosses a line.
Out of all the things that seem wrong with this film at first blush, that Israel Luna is exploiting the deaths of Angie Zapata and Jorge Steven Lopez Mercado in marketing a film that The Dallas Voice describes as a “‘transploitation’ action comedy” seems to me to be a tone deaf act of egregious behavior. In the opening paragraphs for this diary, I described for you the images of Angie Zapata that have been seared into my mind. Using her name to sell a “‘transploitation’ action comedy” within the film’s trailer feels very, very wrong to me.
Israel Luna is using our dead to sell his idea of revenge and violence, depicting trans people as caricatures of crazy, unstable people.~Ethan St. Pierre, website administrator for the International Transgender Day Of Remembrance website, and archivist for the list of the transgender dead
This film is a step backwards in the film portrayals of trans people.
When I think of films with trans characters, I can’t help but to think about films that portray trans people as mentally unbalanced, violent killers. These films include Psycho, Dressed To Kill, and Silence Of The Lambs. These kinds of depictions of trans people have real consequence in the real world, where trans people are often portrayed a public bathroom predators.
In the recent past, we’ve just begun to see trans people portrayed in scripted television and film as more whole human beings, as people with real feelings and real thoughts. We’re beginning to see transyouth and double minorities (black and trans, Hispanic and trans, etc) on television talk and reality shows.
And, the imagery of the film doesn’t match how many trans people who have been killed do to antitransgender hatred and prejudice. Certainly the images from the film don’t in any way match how Angie Zapata looked — a trans woman the film’s trailer cites as a trans victim of hate violence. In fact, the imagery from Ticked Off Trannies With Knives on what the filmmaker seems to believe trans women look like seems very similar to what the Traditional Values Coalition believes trans women look like.
But now having a film that is written, directed, and produced by a Hispanic gay man that appears to depict trans women — including African-American and Latina trans women — as crazed, violent killers…Well. It’s no stretch to say that this film is a step backwards in how trans women are portrayed in film.
Politically speaking, This is the wrong time for a “‘transploitation’ action comedy.”
The one thing a controversy around Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives will likely do is sell movie tickets and DVDs — controversy will be good for sales.
However, the reactions to this film are going to take a predictable arc. We’re already beginning to see that as trans people become aware of this film, there is going to be outrage expressed about the film. Some trans people are going to blame all gay people for this film because Israel Luna has been identified as gay. Some gay men are going to respond by saying that trans people are humorless and overreacting, and then some will bring up that they don’t believe trans people should be included in legislation that covers gay and lesbian people — such as the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Then there will be a slew of ad hominem attacks on gay people by trans people, and matching attacks on trans people by gay people.
In other words, the predictable reactions of gay and trans people to Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives is going to have the effect of tearing LGBT community apart instead of building LGBT community.
And this is occurring at a time where LGBT community is working on passing ENDA, and repealing both Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) and the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA).
I don’t know if there would ever be a good time to release a “‘transploitation’ action comedy,” but if there is such a time, that time obviously isn’t now.
I haven’t seen Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives as yet, and I’m not sure I’d want to. However, what I know about the film from its title, its film trailer, the posted imagery from the film, and the descriptions of this film both in its synopsis and by the film’s description in The Dallas Voice, the Tribeca Film Festival should never have accepted this film.
If Israel Luna wanted to exploit a community and its dead for a film, he perhaps should have stuck to his own subcommunity of the LGBT community — although frankly, I don’t know how many gay, lesbian, and bisexual people would have felt about a film entitled Ticked-Off Faggots With Knives, or a film that exploited Matthew Shepard in it’s film trailer — in the marketing of a “‘gaysploitation’ comedy thriller.”
Frankly, I have been, and will continue to work with those who want to remove this film from the Tribeca Film Festival line-up. This depiction of trans people and community by Israel Luna and La Luna Entertainment appears at this point to be an inappropriate defining of trans people for film-going audiences.
H/t: Gina of Skip The Make-up.
Update: In the text of the post, I included this line under right below the subheader Politically speaking, This is the wrong time for a “‘transploitation’ action comedy”:
The one thing a controversy around Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives will likely do is sell movie tickets and DVDs — controversy will be good for sales.
John Wright, a coworker of Israel Luna at The Dallas Voice, wrote this in The Dallas Voice‘s Instant Tea blog, in the post entitled GLAAD issues call to action demanding that Israel Luna’s ‘Trannies’ be pulled from Tribeca (bolded emphsis added):
A while back we reported that gay Dallas filmmaker Israel Luna’s “Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives!”- which will be the subject of a feature story in Friday’s Voice – had been selected for the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival. But today comes word that GLAAD has issued a call to action demanding that the film be pulled from the festival. Why? I’ll let you read it for yourself. I’ve also left a message with Luna to get his take. My guess is he’ll be thrilled to have the free publicity.
As I said: Controversy might be good for the film’s revenues, but this is already turning into very bad news for community building. This is a very sad outcome, I think.
Update 2: Excerpts from the MovieLine post, entitled Tribeca, GLAAD Respond to TrannyGate. From the Tribeca Film Festival:
“The filmmakers provided a copy of this film to GLAAD in February, and for weeks the organization had been supportive to the filmmakers. In fact, GLAAD representatives advised the film’s producer, director and cast on how to describe the film to its core constituency.”“Tribeca is proud of its ongoing commitment to bring diverse voices and stories to its audiences, and looks forward to the film’s premiere at our Festival next month.”
From GLAAD’s objection to MovieLine‘s use of the word “censorship” to describe what GLAAD was trying to accomplish regarding the film:
Meanwhile, a GLAAD rep wrote to Movieline to object to our use of the word “censorship,” which they called “strong editorial. GLAAD is calling for the film to be removed from the Tribeca Film Festival and finds it troubling that the respected Tribeca Film Festival would give a film that sensationalizes anti-transgender violence and misrepresents the lives of transgender women…GLAAD’s campaign ensures that the Tribeca Film Festival knows many members of the LGBT community aren’t pleased with their decision to show the film – and those of us who are offended by this film will hold the festival accountable for showing this problematic film.”
~~~~~
Further Reading:
* Queerty: Gay Director Israel Luna Is Sick of Bashing Victims Sucking It Up. So He Made a Movie Where They Stab Their Attackers To Death
* Skip The Make-Up: The Tranny Day of Remembrance
* Gudbye T’Jane: Appropriation Tales: Israel Luna and dead trans women
* Musings Of Hedon: Looking For Clouds In A Silver Lining
* FaceBook: Boycott ‘Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives’ at the Tribeca Film Festival
* as long as there’s sidewalks, i’ll have a job (by William, an actor in the film): Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives vs. GLAAD
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49 Comments
HumorlessUgh reading about this movie made see red yesterday. It has been bugging me how many people have dismissed complaints about this film as simply people being humorless.
Same old story…I’m a cis female and I am tired of how cis gay men run this community, control the queer narrative, and the rest of us (L, B, & T alike) exist at their sufferance. I read in another article about this movie where someone asked the filmmaker why he didn’t make the movie about gay men being bashed, and he basically said it’s cause those kind of stories are played out.
In other words yet another privileged douchebag trying to be “edgy” at the expense of a marginalized group. If this man were straight would Tribeca Film Fest even have picked this film? Of course not, but because he’s gay it’s fine, because gay men speak for all of us whether we like it or not.
Not trying to criticize all cis gay men, but this issue seems to be the elephant in the room that no one ever wants to talk about. How come trans filmmakers can’t get this kind of attention for their work? Why don’t we actually get to hear trans voices and trans stories that aren’t sensationalized? Rhetorical questions obviously but it’s maddening, and I’m not even trans.
I volunteer at Tribeca almost every year but this time I’m boycotting and I’m letting them know why.
I’m about to get pilloried for this but…First of all, what is offensive is the explicit use of the Zapata and Mercado.
And, as Autumn states, the timing is awful…
Now having said that I do like horror films (which often are extremely campy in their own right) and I have enjoyed some blaxplotation films so…
I don’t know. Perhaps the comedy here falls flat but I do wonder would this be more acceptable if a transperson did this as a comedy/horror and if so, how would it be done.
Pretty much everything you saidAnd a lot of it can be summed up by your point one.
All excuses of reclamation break down when he’s not “in family” because no one, not even another marginalized group can reclaim a term “for” that group. I can’t reclaim the n-word, being white, but I can reclaim queer, bitch or even tranny, though my willingness to do so would have to be in regards to the feelings of other community members as well. And it’s especially unfortunate when the reclamation is “downstream” as it were. Gay men are horrendously abused and I don’t want to take anything away from the unique hideous ways they are oppressed, but their political acceptance is further along than trans people, especially in media depictions.
And a lot of it flows from that aspect as you point out.
I think a lot of the problem also comes in the point that most people are turning to defend it. Which is that its so obviously camp. Yes, it is, and camp is often a gay male genre of film history and it treats the very serious issues of trans depictions and treatments entirely through that gay male genre of camp and with mostly gay male focus (glam heavy drag queen personas rather than more shall we say natural depictions). Nothing wrong with it on its own and I think a movie called “Pissed-Off Drag Queens with Knives” would probably be better received.
Pretty much, the entire problem really lies in the unfortunate nature of the attempt. I’m willing to believe that the author made a good natured attempt to reach out to an underrepresented minority and I don’t want to discourage those with more access from shying away from our stories entirely for fear of fucking up, but a project on this scale really needed someone with a better appreciation of trans culture and essentially genuine family.
Instead, we have one more work depicting us as unstable, really men, David Bowie impersonators with implants. Considering we still can’t get representation in media where our “original” sex isn’t highlighted (see trans woman or trans men depictions that look like a very butch man in a wig or a woman wearing a “slightly unshaven” goatee or mustache), this feels like a punch in the gut and upsets me.
Anyways, great post.
Pornography needn’t be sexualJustice Potter Stewart put it best – “…but I know it when I see it.”
The trailer alone tells me that this is nothing but exploitative porn.
Reclamation should be by the group targetedA campy work reclaiming nasty stereotypes (which is the point of camp whether it admits it or not) should really be the choice and the decision by the group in question. A trans person creating the work would have a genuine claim to the word and the negative stereotypes and would have personal experiences to back that up. Just as I would not presume to try and reclaim the n-word even if I was deeply into black culture.
Someone reclaiming something “for” you and then going “where’s your sense of humor” when that group reacts unfavorably is denying their experiences and ownership to the reclamation of language or imagery which pretty much works against the point of the reclamation. It’s a radical act by the group in question to reduce the weight of a traditional slur and turn it into a badge of pride or a rallying cry. Having someone else do that removes the ownership which makes the act empowering. You’re not “taking away a weapon” at that point, you’re just watching someone else waving the same weapon in your general direction.
The specific offensiveness of the exploitation of the names is several things. Primarily it is a glaring clash of tones. These names mean something to the trans community and lately they have been important milestones in trans rights where justice was actually served unlike in many cases prior. They were also high profile cases that got media attention for an underserved community. They are not only our fallen comrades, but also important symbolically and carry deep emotional weight for all trans people. It would be like a straight film called “Harvey Milk was a flaming f** who sucked cock” that was all about prancing straight men acting like prancing nancy boys. Maybe on its own it could be appreciated as ironic, but the misuse of an iconic figure and a tragic loss would be easily offensive.
The fact that it is also offensive also brings home the misuse. The names were chosen because they were “big” with little attention paid to the stories behind them or the real people involved. They are exploitable tools in order to tell the story the director wants to tell but he wants to borrow the emotional weight of the names to draw you in. That’s duplicitous to say the least.
I guess, really, my short answer is that these are iconic names within the trans community. They mean more, like Matthew Shepherd “means more” to the gay community and the general LGBT community. Seeing them exploited like this produces initial negative reactions that are there even if I try and keep in focus that the director probably didn’t mean to mess up this badly and probably did mean well (the problem is that he sucks at his job).
Quick AddendumNot trying to pillory you, so I apologize if my response comes off that way. Just trying to answer your question.
No, I get the whole reclamation debateAnd I agree with you about the point of camp.
I’m simply thinking out loud that there were some really good blaxplotation movies so what Luna is attempting here is not at all impossible.
I’m just wondering (more than anything) what that would look like…
I’m sure all things being the same for this film…If nothing else about this film and its marketing were changed except it having been created by a trans person — instead of someone outside of trans community — I still would have problems with this film.
But, I don’t think a trans person would have made and marketed this film, Kevinchi, in the same way that this film was made and is being marketed.
Frankly, what is most disturbing to me about this “‘transploitation’ comedy thriller” is that it uses an epithet in the title, and exploits very real, dead community members to market the film. It’s hard for me to feel my sense of humor regarding this film when we’re discussing such humorless issues.
Not sureI mean, I have a problem with a lot of the concept and well, I’m not sure a trans person could really fix it because they would have to gut out its heart with a knife because so many of the problems stem from essentially robbing a culture for some set pieces, inserting another culture entirely and then claiming reclamation “for” that original culture by presenting them with a host of negative stereotypes of their life.
I’m not sure there’s an up from that hole without starting from scratch.
Certainly it would require a much more personal connection with genuine trans culture and Luna’s “I like RuPaul’s Drag Race and David Bowie” mess shown here shows little signs of that. It’d need a much more genuine immersion in the culture as was seen in the white male author of “Memoirs of a Geisha”.
I don’t really want to think too much about it, because it’s not really a project I really want to promote or see made. Just because someone could make a version of something fundamentally problematic forgivable by sheer quality doesn’t really make me keen to encourage people to try.
But at the same time I don’t want those with access to completely leave trans representations out and thus increase the negative effect of travesties like this when they get made.
I don’t think it’s impossibleIt wouldn’t be impossible to make a really good transploitation film, but the filmmaker(s) would really have to be in an ongoing dialog with the trans community to do so (and that would be true even if the filmmakers were trans themselves). Had Mr. Luna actually done this, it still wouldn’t guarantee that the movie would be really good, but it would at least be a lot less appropriative and insultingly stereotypical than the film he did make is.
Also thisThere are a number of aspects that a trans person just wouldn’t use that almost hit worse than the slur and the genuine tastelessness.
The “It takes balls” line really is a big one. It really hits home how “not family” the movie is coming from as it contains the transphobic assumption that trans women aren’t “real” women. The rolling in stereotypes without any methodology to subvert or play with them such as over-sexualized, deceptive, violent psychos, glam drag queen personas, Divine impersonation voices. Even the use of camp as the genre really hit home how not family it is and how the focus is much more to making a “gay male movie” at the expense of trans people (which is nothing against gay male movies, I have a nice collection ripped to my computer from bought DVDs languishing at home and I fucking love John Waters).
It’s very exclusionary and it’s very disempowering. I guess I’m taking it extra personally because I’m rather more agendered and agnostic about my femininity/masculinity though I’m definitely a woman and I beat back my gender dysmorphia for years entirely because I believed by media depiction that if I wasn’t built femme or deeply feminine then it would be pointless to even entertain the notion. Given that in a couple of months I’ll be coming out to my parents (who have been very supportive of every other “weird thing” I’ve come out to over the years) on this and combatting these same media depictions, I guess it hits me emotionally.
I am trying to assume that Luna meant well though. I don’t think he sought to create this much of a travesty, but the result is still personally upsetting.
Supposedly the trailer is a bad representation of the filmAt least that’s what one of the actresses says. Seems a bit hollow to me, but it’s not like trailers or advertisements for most things aren’t silly and sensationalistic. I guess we’ll see…
I too assume he’s not an evil person.All of it, put together, seems to me to say he’s ignorant, clueless, or tone deaf to criticism — or some combination of the three.
I hope — and believe — that this film wasn’t made with ill intent.
Ill intent or not, I’m still concerned about what the audience takes away from this film — in their perceptions of trans people, as well as appropriate language to use when referring to trans people.
I’ve talked to two at GLAAD who’ve seen the film……and their take away is that the film is as bad as trans people have been concerned that the film would be.
At the very least, I’d like to see some trans people prescreen this film before Tribeca screens it to the general public — to give community input as to whether or not the film actually is offensive to a collection of trans community members.
“Tranny”What are we talking about when the film uses the term “tranny”?
I know several drag queens who use the term to describe themselves and their peers in drag, but would never, ever use it to describe a person who is actually trans. And I have a feeling they would LOVE this movie, provided of course, that we are talking about, well, drag queens. Judging by the artwork, that’s exactly what we are talking about here.
If this film were attempting to present trans women as the caricatures pictured in the artwork, that would, in and of itself, be a major problem. But I don’t think that’s what it’s trying to do.
Imagine this Kev,A movie called “Niggers can be SUCH a Drag” opening with a description of how James Byrd, Jr. was smeared down three miles of road. Nice title and opening scene for a campy comedy?
In a way I want the film to be shownBecause I want a vigil for the victims of transphobic violence held outside the theatre(s), and the audience members for this film to be pilloried on their own ignorance.
Well, that would be based on a real life eventand offensive for that purpose alone.
(Which sort of put me off right in the trailer is that this does open with a murder of a transwoman…no need to bring up the Zapata and Mercado murders in that context).
Lurleen, I am asking a question of whether a comedy/horror of this genre could be done.
And there were blaxplotation films that dealt with the brutality of slavery and there was one blaxplotation film that did have a transgendered character in it, apparently.
3 of the 5 characters in this movieAre played by actual trans women… like, they identify as women and everything. And I’m fairly certain the characters they play are also trans women.
I answered your question:“First of all, what is offensive is the explicit use of the Zapata and Mercado.”
Or at least, I tried to.
Again…As I wrote in my piece above, “tranny” is considered a pejorative by many trans people. That people self-identify with the term “tranny” doesn’t make the term less of an epithet to others.
For example, think of the terms “queer” and “fag.” There are gay people who self-identify with those two terms, but it doesn’t take away from how many other gay people hear those terms as epithets. And, people who aren’t gay should avoid these terms to causually refer to gay people because these terms do offend many gay people.
In other words, you don’t call gay people queers or fags unless you know that’s how the people you call queers or fags self-identify. The same holds true of trans people: You don’t call trans people trannies unless you know the people you are calling trannies self-identify. And, people who aren’t trans should avoid “tranny” to causually refer to trans people because the term does offend so many trans people.
And, lw, we’ve talked about the term “tranny” at Pam’s House Blend a a great deal over the years. We don’t use it here because so many trans people do hear the term as an epithet. I know I do.
I Know I May Be Hated for thisI may be even kicked off this forum. First, I am not part of the trans community; however, I respect everyone as a part of the whole LGBT community.
On this, I would give it a break. So what? It is an exploitation film. I teach film, and such films get lots of publicity simply because people get upset. It is a work of fiction, and all fiction exploits.
I am not upset when TV shows, movies, or art misrepresent me being a gay male. People got upset about Cruising, and today it is a non-issue. It was exploitive and misrepresentative, but it also did not deserve the anger presented.
The outside community does not understand us or our needs, but complaining about it makes us look worse. We look silly.
So who cares? I have a movie called Killer Drag Queens on Dope–it is offensive, but so what? Don’t be a snooty, elitest, PC, entertainment killer. The trans community will never be fairly represented. The gay community will never be fairly represented. Deal with it and quit being a victim.
Depends on the genrehorror/comedy featuring transgendered characters?
Easy. Hire a decent trans writer and you could create something interesting. A good recent race example in my opinion was Snakes on a Plane which subverted the subtle racism of most horror films in a really interesting way while also not shying away from simultaneously clever and stupid comedy. A trans subversion of any number of horror movie cliches about purity, female weakness, standing up for conformity, etc… would be an interesting experiment if nothing else.
Revenge film?
Harder. I find most revenge films to end up being problematic even when they are made by “family” to the tragedy being avenged and often uniquely messed up to the culture they are avenging when they’re by “sympathetic” others. And making a revenge film into a comedy is really fucking difficult. I’m sure it’s been done, but I’m having a lot of trouble thinking of a good version of this and one specifically tailored to the trans community would have to very carefully played because of the specific negative stereotypes there are of trans people being violent dangerous psychos.
Transploitation?
Theoretically. I mean, I suppose someone could make a problematic “new version” of an already problematic cinematic tradition into something decent, but at that point, why? I mean, when we’re lacking any good genuine depictions or even sympathetic depictions, why start there and why go to such a problematic genre to make something forgivable by way of awesome, when one could go to say, pulp or smart subversive comedy much easier?
I mean I don’t want to say it can never be done. I’m a writer and I’ve written several works entirely based on “can’t be done” scenarios. But the main problem I run into is “why?”
It’s already running a real risk based on the fact that its opening with unasked for exploitation of a culture without their input and reclaiming things for them. And the subgenre often prides itself on doing so in often the most crass and tasteless ways possible. One could forgive those elements by sheer awesome, but why would one want to?
I agree about the explicit exploitation of Angie and JorgeBut after viewing the clip and thinking about it, I’m in a quandary. I’d have to see the whole movie to make a fair judgment, but what I have seen of it is enough for me to know that I would not want to pay one red penny to see it.
As I remarked on my own facebook page, “would it make a difference if the movie was titled “Revenge-Driven Drag Queens with Daggers?”
Another large issue with a film like this, especially if it gets into distribution, as Autumn clearly points out, is that it perpetuates stereotypes that are common among the ignorant and gullible as to what transgender people are like.
While there is a small minority of trans people who fit the stereotype (depending on how broadly the umbrella is opened), a large majority wouldn’t be looking for a gig on RuPaul’s Drag Race. But that seems to be what a lot of the hoi polloi tend to think all of us are like.
I am willing to volunteer for thatBTW, There are local people in NYC organizing a response.
ExceptThat references to transgender/transsexual individuals are made right from the opening of the film.
If the film was called “Drag Queens with Daggers”, the message would be clearer.
Which leaves us with this: Either our filmmaker is a transbigot, a total idiot, or simply inarticulate. None of which would I want to put on my list of starring qualities.
I deleted a comment I felt was too harshBut the comment below yours reminds me I might as well make it though I’ll soften the snark I originally typed.
I was reading some of the comments on Joe.My.God about this and I suspect the audience won’t care. They view themselves as “bravely fighting” the humorless feminazis and mean old transgenders who just want to steal their fun and make everyone dour.
In short, the petulant BS that always gets slung around, and not just by certain gay men, but by any privileged group in modern America. Thanks to the massive gangs by diversity, bigotry, rolling in privilege needed to be given smoke-screen cover by those who don’t like thinking about problematic aspects of their chosen entertainment or like a chosen entertainment because its exploitative.
As such, they make their stand into some imaginary civil-rights-esque brave action in their minds. They aren’t standing up loudly for the right to be assholes, they are standing against the censoring super-police of the PC mafia.
As if Political Correctness in America has been anything less than simple empathy and politeness, a willingness to engage and admit one’s privilege rather than wallow in it and attack the other. As if it was somehow responsible for doing everything the dominant group has done to minority groups but in reverse as some sort of cosmic balance, but worse, because the oppressors are really the oppressed.
It has never been the case in my experience that such claims and indeed the usage of the word has been anything less than what I described. An instant admission of someone being petulant over the right to be an asshole.
I’m not sure the shame would penetrate though one may argue the “anti-PC” predictable backlash of “humorless” and the like are examples that shame does indeed penetrate and they wish we’d go away so we wouldn’t remind them.
Well…African-Americans played in black exploitation films back in the ’70′s as well. Often, that was the only kind of work black actors could get.
In this decade, would we want non-African-American people writing, directing, and producing black exploitation films? I would say the answer to that question is no.
I’m personally not happy that a “transploitation” film was written, directed, and produced by someone who doesn’t identify as trans.
Just because there are trans actors who had no problem identifying as “trannies” in the film, and portraying trans violence in a campy, comedic manner — well, that doesn’t mean that the majority of trans community is going to find this film acceptable, or find the marketing for the film acceptable.
And again, I personally was at the Angie Zapata Hate Crime Murder trial. Seared into my mind is the image of Angie’s real, bloody, deceased body. I met her family, and met some of her friends. I cannot imagine Angie Zapata’s family and friends will be pleased to find out that a filmmaker is exploiting her death to market a “‘transploitation’ action comedy.”
Why is the slur always humorless?Seriously? Every oppressor-culture warrior against the “tyranny of PC culture” goes there. I used to think it was just something used against women, the age-old “humorless feminist” stereotype, but it seems to arise every damn time a minority group complains about a not at all funny and directly insensitive depiction of their group by a majority.
Oh, you don’t like our blackface “gangsta rap” party at our all-white frat house, it’s because you black people are humorless. Oh, you don’t like our “all bitches deserve to die” violent rape fantasy movie, it’s because you are humorless feminists. Oh, you don’t like our “how do you turn a fruit into a vegetable” comic, it’s because gay people don’t have a sense of humor.
No, it’s because they are at best insensitive, problematic, and coming from a racist/sexist/etc… culture and often directly hateful, devoid of any humor above “hur hur look at the freak think its normal”, and proudly exclusionary.
I’ve never seen a group more openly humorless than the oppressor groups and one less tolerant of genuinely sympathetic works depicting minorities even existing especially if they dare mention oppressor groups as being well, oppressive.
And yet it is always the minority group that gets accused of it. We’re all supposed to laugh at rape jokes and shallow cultural stereotypes as if they had anything to do with the craft of humor. They don’t.
Good humor like any writing craft is one of intelligence, the subversion of the expected and the genuinely absurd. The best, most biting satires and even genuinely good “dumb comedies” understand this and that’s why they are masterpieces.
But instead, if we don’t laugh at the most facile, the most genuinely problematic, the poorly designed and written, well, we might as well have no sense of humor at all.
Every time. Like clockwork it is.
I care. I know others that care. Words and imagery matter.And, Johnnywhynot, I explained why I believe it matters in my post:
One of the issues here is that you’re saying this is just a film, and it’s no big deal. And, you tell us you aren’t trans. It feels like I’m hearing you giving the trans community a “tone argument” — an argument that tells trans people that they shouldn’t be so angry about this film because it’s no big deal.
But, the film uses an antitrans epithet in the title. The film, in its marketing, exploits real community members who were killed due to antigay/antitransgender hatred or prejudice…the exploitation is in the film’s trailer. To me, those are really big deals.
Yep“Anti-PC” is just the politically correct way of saying that you know you’re a douchebag and that you’re proud of it.
Lurleen, it wasn’t a questionit was a statement. That sentence (though imprefect) ends with a period.
You misread what I wrote.
We need cameras not knivesI’m an animator/filmmaker and transwoman. I believe the only response I can have when I see something which hurts me in the gut ( as this did ) is react by getting to work.
Last fall at the Ottawa Animation festival I viewed a film “Mac the Horney Mac Daddy” , a short piece which hit me like a pile of bricks, I wanted to just crawl under my seat and disappear. Later on I found it absolutely impossible to explain why this bothered me so much; here’s a link to the clip if you’d like to see what I mean.
http://www.wikio.com/video/mak…
Ottawa is a very prestigious film festival but they thought this would be “edgy”, um, sure. My vow at the time has been to submit something of my own next year.
Seeing Trannies with Knives confirms this, we have to take matters into our own hands, not with knives, but with cameras of our own!
I was just clarifying that point for lwI think if anything, it is ironic that the over-the-top style of the film led someone to believe that all of the characters were supposed to be drag queens.
by golly you’re right. doh!in that case, there will be no charge for the answer provided. your credit card will be refunded.
WellThere is a lot of ignorance and bigotry, and that is the elephant in the room, you’re right.
But here’s a nugget of a valid argument: I’ve spent a lot of time arguing with my fellow gay cis men about trans issues. What I have experienced is that a lot of gay men, especially those who are well read and care about critical thinking and science, are sick of postmodernism.
Which I agree with, because postmodernism is stupid. Postmodernism, in the form that has become popular in the humanities, speciously claims that all viewpoints are equally valid, parallel “narratives”; and even that critical thinking and science are merely alternative narratives, and no more valid than, say, theology.
But that’s crap. In reality there aren’t a lot of different, but equally valid, “narratives”. There is one reality, the natural world we all live in, which exists independently of what human beings think about it; and then there are the theories we have come up with to describe that world, and some are more accurate than others, because some are more well-grounded in evidence and have less bias in them.
Postmodernism has really screwed up the humanities, but it is also the backbone of “queer theory”. And a lot of the time, when people are exposed to trans issues, it’s through that wishy-washy, bullshitty, “queer theory”. Postmodern queer theory is idiotic and easy to dismiss – therefore, it’s all too easy for intelligent gay men to dismiss trans issues as well, if the only time they ever encounter them is in a “queer theory” context.
When some gay men think of trans, they automatically think of people intentionally making obscure or trivial statements that are meant to sound profound but really aren’t; or they think of people trying to ignore fact-based reality and making baseless assertions; or they think of people who believe all gender and sexuality is socially constructed and that all labels are meaningless; or they think of people who are antagonistic toward rationality and critical thinking. Because that’s what postmodernism is.
Agreed with you hereabout postmodernism and queer theory.
HonestlyI can’t remember arguing with other gay men about trans issues and postmodernism not coming up. I almost always have to point out that transgender people already existed and didn’t suddenly come into the world along with the invention of postmodern queer theory…
Okay, we’re agreed that it’s appalling…to sensationalize hate crimes and present trans women as these caricatures.
I think we disagree on a number of other points (I can name a number of “blacksploitation”-labeled films that were better than they had a right to be, and if anyone could do one today, it would be Quentin Tarantino, “queer” is used in a number of mainstream entertainment titles largely without causing offense, etc). But they’re all very minor.
I’m honestly quite shocked that the characters in this film are trans women. It’s such an old, horrendous “boo” tactic out of some lousy 70s horror film.
I think it’s actually…A very interesting case of where to draw the line. I honestly do think a transploitation movie might be as fun as any other. And I agree that no one who would pay to see this movie is going to walk away thinking, “OMG, anti-trans violence is so cool!” Or, “OMG, trans women will kill you!”
But in this case, I can definitely see where Autumn is coming from, and of course, I’ll tell you why. While the general public is starting to slowly become more educated about trans people, they are still a long, long way behind other minorities in terms of public understanding. So presenting trans women as these overdone drag queen stereotypes can do a lot of damage in people’s minds. The average person who sees a ridiculous gay stereotype or a ridiculous black stereotype is going to know full well that is not what it means to be gay or black.
When mixed with the violence, I can see how it would be especially hurtful. Trans women have long been presented in movies as, well, violent serial killers. There is absolutely zero basis in reality for this, of course. It’s just an old trick to make the killer less sympathetic and more threatening to straight males in the audience. So a trans woman looking at this movie might well feel like she’s being insulted and laughed at, and, perhaps, even that violence against her is being cheered.
Unfortunately, I also agree with you that this kind of campaign from GLAAD often looks silly to the general public.
hey bitchesBitches is a catch-all term of endearment FYI to me. It’s a shame you can’t hear my voice when I say it. You’d know what I meant.
Anyway- just because people in their 40′s & 50′s don’t like the words FAGGOT, QUEER, TRANNY or DYKE doesn’t mean that people in their 20′s & 30′s have to not use them. GLAAD made a media reference guide! Wooo who! I don’t have to follow it.
Thanks for fighting whatever fights you fought but I get to decide what langauge I’ll use, what I’ll refer to myself as, & what i’ll find offensive should people refer to me as such.
WILLAM BELLI, star of Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives.
http://www.willambelli.com
It’s a grindhouse flick…You’ve seen ‘em, this is clearly a low-budget grindhouse flick. I think the title alone is fairly silly, kinda funny. maybe because I’m one of those who doesn’t mind the word ‘tranny’. (and yes, I am a transsexual)
Is the movie in poor taste? Probably.
Bad Political timing? When isn’t it.
Was Shaft really that bad of a movie? Does the term ‘niggah’ not get thrown around more often than not? I guessing a movie titled ‘Hot Bitches in Heat’ would have caused a stir many years ago too…but when it comes down to it, this is just a silly-ass movie. Call ‘em out on it and move on.
Why a film festival would even choose such a B-movie, I dunno. Clearly it’s a sign of the times, everyone wants to know and see more and more of the trans community. It’s going to be a rough decade as more media stumbles are made. We need to help guide, rather than freak out.
I will probably Netflix this movie at some point in the future…and it will probably suck. Duh.
…and he graces us with his “divine” presenceGee Willam, I was wondering how long it would take for you to show up on this blog and start on your canned self-promoting “radical transgressive artist surrounded by hostile Philistines” line…
WowJust wow.
I mean I knew that the movie had problematic elements, a large number of warning signs that the creators had no sympathy, awareness, or tact in dealing with a fraught subject, but this, this takes the cake.
I mean, I really can’t comment on this. It stands on its own as a perfect illustration of all the points we’ve been making.
It’s privileged douchbaggery distilled and polished.
Ladies and gentlemen of the jury. I rest my case.
Hi WilliamWhen you joined Pam’s House Blend today, you agreed to follow our terms and conditions of servce.
Please refer to Section A, guidelines 8 & 9:
Willam, lets drop the applicable moderation icons:
Those are for using terms that are listed as defamatory in the GLAAD Media Reference Guide.
And here’s one that I feel uncomfortable dropping, because this one can be seen as impinging on motivation:
However, if one looks at the definition of trolling, that’s the kind of behavior you’re appearing to engage in.
Next time, the trap door drops.
My appologies…Willam, not William.
But all the objections to S&GD/TG are post-modern/irrationalThere are no rational reality-based anti-trans-rights arguments.
Science has evidence for Gender Identity, even Bi-gender phenomena covering much of and eventually probably all Sex and Gender Diverse people.
Cross-sexed neurology has been found in studies of GLB people making being Gay and being Trans different versions of the same sort of biological phenomena differing only in what parts of brain activity and structure are cross-sexed.
Human Rights are based on philosophy from the Enlightenment, the antithesis of post-modernism. So every trans-rights argument may be built on Human Rights foundations from Enlightenment thinking not post-modernism.
But the rational enlightenment human rights based arguments especially the obligations these place on non-S&GD people to the rights of S&GD people are often ignored and disregarded however. For reasons of irrational origin and an abrogation of the human rights responsibility to fight for and defend the rights of all others in order for ones own rights to be valid.
There’s actually quite a few of us rationalist TG/S&GD folk. Why not help our voices be heard amongst the Gay community?
New friendsbecause that’s what I hope we’ll be after you all come to see what a blip this will be remembered as (bigger battles to come for you right?)
I like P4ttythe3p3rf3ct’s response.
If you ever do see TOTWK, i think you’ll find that it’s got waaaay more +’s in the pro column than hits in the negative column regarding trans anything. It’ll do tons more good than anything offensive or harmful.
I’m sorry if anyone found my language in the prior post offensive. Thank you for the warning, Autumn. Decorum will be observed.
I hope my views are still welcome here since all of yours are welcome everywhere (including our support page where bashing has happened). Many people have been banned from your protest page on facebook. I’m not sitting by the internet waiting for a response or trolling
I’ve spoken to three women via email- Kelli, Brooklyn and Bianca- and I understand their POVs and respect it and I think they understand and respect mine. Very productive conversations.
“Horrified” is the only word I’d use when hearing about some of the things they’ve faced in life. But, now I’m happier than ever that I’m a star a movie where Transgirls are powerful, winners and look great. I get to play some of you and it’s an honor.
WILLAM
p.s. I know this argument is better spoken by one of the TS girls on the cast but Krystal has made her statement, Erica Andrews is busy doing her gigs and Kelexis doesn’t even text, let alone have the internet.