This film shows the binary between Brandon and Lana's friends. They are set on proving that Brandon is not a man and that she never will be. I thought is was an extremely powerful representation of how far our society is willing to take its homophobia. This is a true story and it happened in the early 1990's which shows that many people still struggle with transgender and homosexual individuals. Brandon never does a thing to hurt this family, but only wants to be a part of it because of the strong relationships that he has built, but the family is willing to throw it all away because they feel that they have been lied to and they are disgusted by the fact that Brandon has been a woman this entire time. However, they do not only choose to kick Brandon out of the house and stop speaking to him, but they physically humiliate and abuse him. This is a strong representation of how much people have to go through in order to be a part of society and most of all, be happy.
It's interesting to look at this film through the feminist lens too. In my earlier post "No Chick Flick Moments" I talk about masculinity and the problem of fitting into the stereotype of being "a man." In the case of your text Brandon felt like he needed to prove his masculinity by doing what society expects a man to do. He probably at times felt conflicted to share emotions or feelings with Lana because if he did so it would seem like he is feminine.
ReplyDeleteYour post also reminds me of the movie Catfish and sociological analysis. What are the implications would be in Boys Don't Cry? I personally think that if Brandon believes and identifies as a male he shouldn't need to tell people he was born a female. But do others consider his actions catfishing? What do you think?
Kyle,
ReplyDeleteI think this is a very interesting text! Thanks for sharing! It seems very intriguing and now I want to go and watch the movie. I think it absurd when parents are so harmful to their children just because of their sexual orientation. I think the point that Kyle's brings up about Brandon not wanting to tell anyone he is really a woman is normal for most people who identify themselves as transgender. Brandon doesn't want to upset anyone and still wants to live a normal and happy life. I think Aly brings up a good point about how this relates to sociological analysis. Society is still very "old fashioned" I think because they still tend to make a huge deal when they hear about something like this. Society claims to be open to all different types of lifestyles and choices but I don't know if that is completely true. I really like the question Aly asked about if Brandon's choice to not tell others he is really man is catfishing. I personally don't think it is at all but I'm that people who are homophobic do. I feel like Brandon kept that from people because he didn't want to be judged or looked at a different way which goes right back to Kyle's point about doing anything to fit in society. This was a great post!