Comments on: Fall Premieres 2014: Non-Network http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2014/09/28/fall-premieres-2014-non-network/ Responses to Media and Culture Fri, 12 Feb 2016 19:35:04 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.7.5 By: Kristina Busse http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2014/09/28/fall-premieres-2014-non-network/comment-page-1/#comment-436836 Tue, 30 Sep 2014 01:12:55 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=24554#comment-436836 I really wanted to like Transparent: I adore Jeffrey Tambor, and he is indeed phenomenal as Maura. But as especially Alexis points out, very little in the pilot (and as far as I’ve watched it) has been about Maura. Just like the kids seem to take up their parents’ time, they also take up screen time, narcissistic and self obsessed and utterly annoying! I recognized Gaby Hoffman from Girls, and Transparent to me has that same quality–made worse only by the facts that there seems to be not even an iota of self awareness and that these folks are older (but certainly no more mature) than Lena Dunham and co. Add to that the fact that I don’t need to watch another group of overprivileged folks debate tofu schmear, real estate prices, and family heirlooms (though the references to the family’s Jewishness were among the more interesting aspects). Frankly, I may be too suburban and too middle America and too middle aged for all the precious (pretentious?) indy acting and directing.

]]> By: Kaitlin Fyfe http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/2014/09/28/fall-premieres-2014-non-network/comment-page-1/#comment-436820 Mon, 29 Sep 2014 04:29:44 +0000 http://blog.commarts.wisc.edu/?p=24554#comment-436820 I’m pretty much in agreement with what Alyx and Taylor say about Transparent.

I definitely agree with a point that Taylor makes, that coming out trans seems to be different in some ways than coming out gay (at least from where I sit, on my side of things).

And I (obviously) agree that there’s something of a journey involved. And there’s the way you end up having to enlist external resources (medical treatment, hormones, re-wardrobing, etc) in order to give your internal self a firmer foothold on the external world (which then seems to bring about further internal changes).

On the elephant, this is a pretty passionate subject for a lot of trans people, one that has seen heated debate in the past year in particular (“Dallas Buyer’s Club” vs. “OITNB,” Arcade Fire’s “We Exist” video, etc.) Personally, just speaking for myself, I’d prefer to see trans actors in trans roles, but I’m also willing to grandfather in older films and television on the subject. You’ve got to work with what you’ve got (in terms of being a trans person looking for representation.) And trans involvement behind the scenes can (for me) alleviate some concerns (but not entirely). I do think a cis actor can successfully pull of a trans role (Lee Pace in “Soldier’s Girl”), but it’s rare. But in Transparent’s case specifically, I don’t find it inappropriate since she’s at the very start of transition. You’d probably get a number of different opinions on this from different trans people.

Overall, some parts of the pilot range true for me (particularly Maura’s shift in body language after her kid’s left), and Soloway seems to be saying and doing a lot of the right things outside of the show itself. (Props for her bringing up Julia Serano’s “Whipping Girl” in some of her interviews. Pretty important trans feminist book.)

We’ll see how it goes. Looking forward to see the rest of the season.

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