Portrayal of trannys in movies

[traLika]

Transsexuals seem to have been stereotyped badly in movies over the years. I’ve lost count of the thrillers that feature psychotic trannys or cross dressers - Silence Of The Lambs, Psycho, Dressed To Kill, Water Damage to name a few… while other movies like The Choirboys and even The Crying Game seem to be more interested in portraying them as perverts or emotionally retarded people. Isn’t it about time someone (Ang Lee?) made a movie that actually showed a transsexual as a human being? Even looking at that from a cynical point of view it could be a box office hit – look at how successful Brokeback was…

[SpoogeMonkey]

Priscilla Queen of the Desert
World according to Garp
Boys dont cry

Sympathy was with 'trannies', played by top notch actors (Terence Stamp, John Lithgow, Hilary Swank).

A US studio is never going to do that (represent a transexual as 'normal'), too many retards who like sticking their cocks into the spines of bibles who will dictate otherwise and a law system which allows murder on transsexuals because of 'gay panic'.

[traLika]

Ah, I forgot about Priscilla but haven't seen the other two you mentioned.

You've got a point about US studios but there are also plenty of indie film makers...

[russtafa]

priscilla is an aussie film.it looks like gay marriages will be recognised soon in australia

[flowerboy]

"kiss of the spider woman"
"life on pluto"
"Hedwig and the angry inch"
"normal"
and the wonderful "all about my mother"

:)there is also pink flamingos http://www.hungangels.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=27898

[Inigo_Montoya]

There are quite a few actually that portray transsexuals in a very realistic light. Maybe not a whole lot pushing the happy go lucky romantic angle, but some try.

20 Centimeters (this one always makes me think of Mariana Cordoba)
TransAmerica
My Life in Pink
Agnes and His Brothers
Princessa
All About My Mother
Soldier's Girl
Bad Education

....the list goes on. Those are just the few I could think of off the top of my head.

[flowerboy]

also
problematic maybe... but

Johnny Depp in "before night falls"


and has anyone noticed her in "Spartacus Blood and Sand"?



*attached pics... not sure how to add to post

[traLika]

:)there is also pink flamingos http://www.hungangels.com/vboard/showthread.php?t=27898

Great film but it kinda fits into that pervy category I mentioned earlier... How could anyone ever forget that poop eating scene? :puke

I'll have to check out All About My Mother...

[traLika]

There are quite a few actually that portray transsexuals in a very realistic light. Maybe not a whole lot pushing the happy go lucky romantic angle, but some try.

20 Centimeters (this one always makes me think of Mariana Cordoba)
TransAmerica
My Life in Pink
Agnes and His Brothers
Princessa
All About My Mother
Soldier's Girl
Bad Education

....the list goes on. Those are just the few I could think of off the top of my head.


Blimey, quite a few here I haven't seen. Shows just how much I've gravitated towards thrillers, horror and sci-fi in the past 10 years... lol

[dietcoke]

Anyone see the tranny in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, she was actualy hot

[flowerboy]

Anyone see the tranny in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, she was actualy hot

great character :) and a fun movie

[giovanni_hotel]

Nel, or whatever the tgirl protagonist in The Crying Game was called, wasn't 'emotionally retarded' in my book, and so far is the ONLY movie where the tranny is the major love interest of both str8 male characters.

She had a hectic love life and one of her BFs had a violent streak, but I wouldn't call her emotionally stunted.

Still the most fully formed, complete portrayal of a transgendered woman IMO - i.e. just a normal chick living her life - that I've ever seen in a movie.

Yeah the movie got tons of hype, but deservedly so.

Most have listed movies where the TG is either an brick freak of a str8 man in drag,
( Jonathon Lithgow in The World According To Garp), or is a secondary bit character.

The Crying Game to me is still the gold standard for a tranny portrayal in a movie.

Recall that both her romantic interests were str8 men who happened to fall in love with her, not lowlifes or nightcrawlers. Also, it's really a tough trick to pull off a romantic movie without showing any intimate scenes, which happened in The Crying Game.

[almoststraight]

TransAmerica was a good one, I thought, and another movie that portrayed a m2f as relatively normal and well adjusted was Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil.

[traLika]

Nel, or whatever the tgirl protagonist in The Crying Game was called, wasn't 'emotionally retarded' in my book, and so far is the ONLY movie where the tranny is the major love interest of both str8 male characters.

She had a hectic love life and one of her BFs had a violent streak, but I wouldn't call her emotionally stunted.

Still the most fully formed, complete portrayal of a transgendered woman IMO - i.e. just a normal chick living her life - that I've ever seen in a movie.

Yeah the movie got tons of hype, but deservedly so.

Most have listed movies where the TG is either an brick freak of a str8 man in drag,
( Jonathon Lithgow in The World According To Garp), or is a secondary bit character.

The Crying Game to me is still the gold standard for a tranny portrayal in a movie.

Recall that both her romantic interests were str8 men who happened to fall in love with her, not lowlifes or nightcrawlers. Also, it's really a tough trick to pull of a romantic movie without showing any intimate scenes, which happened in The Crying Game.


The character was called Dil. I thought of that mad scene when Dil cut her hair and it stuck in my mind, even though it was just one scene in the film... So in hindsight I probably shouldn't have mentioned The Crying Game in that context. It was certainly a good movie...

[Dino Velvet]

Anybody mention Dog Day Afternoon yet?

[traLika]

Anybody mention Dog Day Afternoon yet?


Nope. Great film - one of Pacino's finest moments imho. Sad that John Cazale died so young...

[hippifried]

To Wong Foo, Thanks for everything! Julie Newmar

[traLika]

Some movies I really love with transgender charaters:
life is hot in cracktown,
beautiful boxer
Ma vie en rose
A soldier's girl
transAmerica


Hmmmm... I look at a lot of films but, with the exception of TransAmerica, I haven't come across any of these. They seem to be more popular in the US than in the UK. Some of them are not available in the Region 2 DVD format that we use here, so I suspect they only will have been played at specialist cinemas in London...

[bubbski]

I love the exceedingly normal friendship between Tina (Chris Williams) and Burt Munro (Sir Anthony Hopkins) in "The World's Fastest Indian". If you were friendly to the New Zealander character he plays, he didn't give a shit if you were green, orange, yellow or a cross dresser.

[traLika]

BTW, Reyna, what happened to your AV? It's disappeared. That was a nice photo!

Sorry for going off-topic there folks! :)

[Nicole Dupre]

The Badge (2002)@@AMEPARAM@@http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTkwMzE5OTM4OV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTc3MDEyMQ@@._ V1._SX99_SY140_.jpg@@AMEPARAM@@BMTkwMzE5OTM4OV5BMl 5BanBnXkFtZTcwNTc3MDEyMQ@@@@AMEPARAM@@SX99@@AMEPAR AM@@SY140 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0286493/)

Not too many people in the TS community are familiar with this film, it seems, but I thought it was really good. It's about TS getting murdered in Louisiana, and how a transphobic sheriff, played by Billy Bob Thorton, deals with solving the case. Patricia Arquette plays a stripper in it too. It has a lot to say about the overall apathy surrounding hate crimes against transsexuals; in this case, murder. The TS character doesn't really appear, other than in a few brief flashbacks towards the end. But the story is poignant and the acting is great.

The Badge - Video (http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1192065/the_badge/)

[traLika]

Not too many people in the TS community are familiar with this film, it seems, but I thought it was really good. It's about TS getting murdered in Louisiana, and how a transphobic sheriff, played by Billy Bob Thorton, deals with solving the case. Patricia Arquette plays a stripper in it too. It has a lot to say about the overall apathy surrounding hate crimes against transsexuals; in this case, murder. The TS character doesn't really appear, other than in a few brief flashbacks towards the end. But the story is poignant and the acting is great.



Yeah, I saw this film a few months ago. Picked up a DVD of it in a bargain basement at a local shop for £2. I expected it to be one of those crappy straight-to-DVD films but was very pleasantly surprised.

[Legend]

I can list a few more films with positive transgender characters,the king and clown grossed more then 85 million dollars in south korea and one of them main characters is transsexual.
http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3209/e6ab4c025537a0full.jpg

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
http://img839.imageshack.us/img839/6770/519txowxlql.jpg
The King and the Clown
http://img52.imageshack.us/img52/618/kingm.jpg

[traLika]

I can list a few more films with positive transgender characters,the king and clown grossed more then 85 million dollars in south korea and one of them main characters is transsexual.

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros


The King & The Clown is not available in the UK. Shame...

As for The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros: Amazon describes it as "the story of a 12-year-old boy who realises he is gay and falls in love with a local policeman." Yuk - that sounds pedo!

[Legend]

The King & The Clown is not available in the UK. Shame...

As for The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros: Amazon describes it as "the story of a 12-year-old boy who realises he is gay and falls in love with a local policeman." Yuk - that sounds pedo!

lol, its not like that at all.The character just has a crush and falls in love with the policeman, the policeman doesn't like him in any kind of way sexually he just feels sorry for maxi because maxi's family is a bunch of con artist and thieves and they use him.It's not pedo at all,its like when you develop a crush/like your school teacher but she doesn't like you back but at the same time she is still nice and still wants to help you.

[traLika]

lol, its not like that at all.The character just has a crush and falls in love with the policeman, the policeman doesn't like him in any kind of way sexually he just feels sorry for maxi because maxi's family is a bunch of con artist and thieves and they use him.It's not pedo at all,its like when you develop a crush/like your school teacher but she doesn't like you back but at the same time she is still nice and still wants to help you.


I hear ya. I guessed it might be something like this. I'll put it back on my list of films to check out. Thanks for clarifying! :)

[bsting]

The Philadelphia experiment where a sailor travels forward in time and winds up in jail next to a transsexual.

Also, the Last Seduction, a modern film noir with Linda Fiorentino seducing, and using, a rube who had a short marraige to a transsexual. Credit for the TS part went to Serena.

[Legend]

Thanks for clarifying! :)

No problem.

I was gonna list "Wild Side" at first but i forgot the name of it but its another postive film where the main character is a transgender woman who travels back home with her two gay male freinds and she takes care of her sick mother.

http://img248.imageshack.us/img248/134/coverzew.jpg

[peggygee]

Lot of good, and not so good movies mentioned.

I'm partial to Soldier's Girl, Princessa, Beautiful Boxer. And while I feel that
Life Is Hot In Cractown was pedestrian, I truly loved the transwoman
character in it, played by Kerri Washington.

Also check out these sites for more trans-themed movies:

http://theipowa.org/?q=content/movies-video

http://www.superliminal.com/melinda/tgmovies.htm

[pantybulge69]

There are quite a few actually that portray transsexuals in a very realistic light. Maybe not a whole lot pushing the happy go lucky romantic angle, but some try.

20 Centimeters (this one always makes me think of Mariana Cordoba)
TransAmerica
My Life in Pink
Agnes and His Brothers
Princessa
All About My Mother
Soldier's Girl
Bad Education

....the list goes on. Those are just the few I could think of off the top of my head.

also check out " Wild Life" and "Beautiful Boxer " which based off a true story of highly skilled Thai-boxer turned transgender.
Don't forget " The Badge" with Billy Bob Thorton.

wasn't there a famous TG frequenting in ABC's " Dirty Sex, Money and Lies" ?

transgenders in movies have been more displayed as crossdressers and TVs rather than TGs. And even moreso in FOREIGN films rather than the
U.S. films. i think we are still naive or non-receptive to transgendered related movies.

[traLika]

Thanks for the titles and links guys! I have already seen some of them but I’m surprised there are quite a few I haven’t…

But don’t forget a lot of us are film buffs or have a special interest in some of the movies in this thread because of their subject matter. A lot of the titles mentioned here are definitely ‘left-of-field’ (at least here in the UK) and would not be viewed by most of the general public, which brings me back to what I originally said…

EVERYONE knows Silence Of The Lambs, Psycho and to a lesser degree Dressed To Kill – even non-film buffs – and I still feel that the high profile of such films gives uneducated people an unfavourable image of transsexuals and the like. I think a huge trans Brokeback-style movie could do a lot of good…

[BLKGSXR]

dude its fucking porn how else would they portray someone who gets paid to fuck on camera? How ever the fuck they want thats how...

[BellaBellucci]

dude its fucking porn how else would they portray someone who gets paid to fuck on camera? How ever the fuck they want thats how...

So wait. In 2010, and for transsexuals (many of whom have no other source of income), getting paid to fuck on camera still necessarily means that one should be degraded for it? Some of us even enjoy it. I'll remember that you said this. :geek:

~BB~

[BLKGSXR]

So wait. In 2010, and for transsexuals (many of whom have no other source of income), getting paid to fuck on camera still necessarily means that one should be degraded for it? Some of us even enjoy it. I'll remember that you said this. :geek:

~BB~
Bella dont ever fucking try and flip shit like that, if you degrade yourself to do porn youve beat yourself up enough no im not saying its bad but you need to know that your image will be owned by so-and-so and they can do whatever they legally want to.that said who cares I sure dont.I treat people who arent bitches to me like friends, shiet I like to think were friends :p
But that said im entitled to my opinion wether no one likes it or not...at least im saying it straight forward.

[traLika]

Bella dont ever fucking try and flip shit like that


It seems to me that you were the one who was originally trying to 'flip shit' in the first place. Your comment had little to do with the subject of this thread. Unless I've got it all wrong and you can explain otherwise...

[BLKGSXR]

It seems to me that you were the one who was originally trying to 'flip shit' in the first place. Your comment had little to do with the subject of this thread. Unless I've got it all wrong and you can explain otherwise...
you do got it all wrong...Case closed, I know too much and well wont deal with the bs anymore.

[traLika]

you do got it all wrong...Case closed, I know too much and well wont deal with the bs anymore.

Well, that's enlightening...

[flowerboy]

dude its fucking porn how else would they portray someone who gets paid to fuck on camera? How ever the fuck they want thats how...

from what you write it would seem that all transsexuals and transgenders and everything to do with them relates necessarily and exclusively to porn.

somewhat narrow minded, wouldn't you think?


truth is there is so much beyond porn... gender issues in general, m2f transsexuals on all of their varieties, blurred borders, sexual preferences, and even blind biases and blunt superstitions, on all the questions and conflict they raise in our societies and cultures.

heck... did you ever check the percentage of posts on these boards that deal with "i like cock, am i gay?" etc'

there is much more to tell, to reveal, to show, to embarrass, to shock, to ask and problematise in order to make people doubt their beliefs, question themselves and change. cinema is a great medium to portray these issues

don't hide behind the "you didn't get it" curtain.
apologize for a lousy comment... it'd be better appreciated.


peace.

[BLKGSXR]

from what you write it would seem that all transsexuals and transgenders and everything to do with them relates necessarily and exclusively to porn.

somewhat narrow minded, wouldn't you think?


truth is there is so much beyond porn... gender issues in general, m2f transsexuals on all of their varieties, blurred borders, sexual preferences, and even blind biases and blunt superstitions, on all the questions and conflict they raise in our societies and cultures.

heck... did you ever check the percentage of posts on these boards that deal with "i like cock, am i gay?" etc'

there is much more to tell, to reveal, to show, to embarrass, to shock, to ask and problematise in order to make people doubt their beliefs, question themselves and change. cinema is a great medium to portray these issues

don't hide behind the "you didn't get it" curtain.
apologize for a lousy comment... it'd be better appreciated.


peace.
flowerBOY!!!
You know nothing of me I merely stated facts if they sell themselves as sex objects for entertainment,well the person paying can advertise it how they want to. I respect the girls shit Im one of few so before you say shit make sure you know who youre talking about that said, have fun ASS_uming you know me.

[mbf]

Myra Breckinridge (1970)@@AMEPARAM@@http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMTI3OTMyMDM1M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzE5MTUyMQ@@._ V1._SX99_SY140_.jpg@@AMEPARAM@@BMTI3OTMyMDM1M15BMl 5BanBnXkFtZTcwMzE5MTUyMQ@@@@AMEPARAM@@SX99@@AMEPAR AM@@SY140 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066115/)

Myra Breckinridge..... the movie is catastrophically bad, yet they had a tranny played by non other than the awesome Raquel Welch!

[traLika]

flowerBOY!!!
I merely stated facts if they sell themselves as sex objects for entertainment,well the person paying can advertise it how they want to.


So you're saying that ALL transsexuals sell themselves as sex objects for entertainment? And that's a 'fact', is it?

[BLKGSXR]

Well, that's enlightening...
Let me finally explain "sobered up a bit" I stick behind what I said. Its porn who gives a fuck...
If you watch porn you already lost your argument.
You already look at the girls as sex objects I mean you even titled the thread the "Portrayal of Tranny's in movies" You fucked up you referred to the girls as "trannys" not women which they are. The whole idea of porn is to intrigue someone to watch it which obviously you do, and their isnt much a difference between "transgender" and "Straight" porn all-in-all you look at the girls as sex objects so I mean its cool you like what you like...

[Nicole Dupre]

Why am I not surprised that the guy with the most retarded signature on the forum can't comprehend the actual topic, let alone think his way out of a paper bag?? lol

"That being said", somebody here's a big ol' dummy. ;)

YouTube- Sanford and Son - Big Dummy Beat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PlCIXZbfwA)

P.S. I'm also not surprised that Bella is bringing both apples and oranges to a gun fight. lol

[traLika]

Let me finally explain "sobered up a bit" I stick behind what I said. Its porn who gives a fuck...
If you watch porn you already lost your argument.
You already look at the girls as sex objects I mean you even titled the thread the "Portrayal of Tranny's in movies" You fucked up you referred to the girls as "trannys" not women which they are. The whole idea of porn is to intrigue someone to watch it which obviously you do, and their isnt much a difference between "transgender" and "Straight" porn all-in-all you look at the girls as sex objects so I mean its cool you like what you like...


BLKGSXR, you need to sober up a lot more...

For your information, 'tranny' is a shortened variation of the word 'transsexual'. And that's all it means - nothing more and nothing less. If you think it means 'transexual sex worker' then that's your problem...

[BLKGSXR]

BLKGSXR, you need to sober up a lot more...

For your information, 'tranny' is a shortened variation of the word 'transsexual'. And that's all it means - nothing more and nothing less. If you think it means 'transexual prostitute' then that's your problem...
who said Prostitute again bro you're not getting what I mean. Refer to the girls as "GIRLS" not tranny shemale transsexual transvestite.
I am merely saying they get paid to do porn ok they have to go by the storyline written out for the scene but the person paying them can make it look how ever the fuck they want it to,doesnt mean they are prostitute's per-say but it does mean they can be perceived as sex-objects....

Edit-Porn is not real life many of the girls I know are cool not all work some do. But if they do porn I dont look at them any worse or better then anyone else.People are people imo-if they are bitches they are if they arent they arent. :D

[mbf]

A Takeshi Kitano movie. The revenge taking son plays a tranny in 19th century Japan.

The Blind Swordsman: Zatoichi (2003)@@AMEPARAM@@http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjkyNjA1Nzg2OF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDk2OTUyMQ@@._ V1._SX93_SY140_.jpg@@AMEPARAM@@BMjkyNjA1Nzg2OF5BMl 5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDk2OTUyMQ@@@@AMEPARAM@@SX93@@AMEPAR AM@@SY140 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363226/)

[Jericho]

A tranny in Apple Pie 3 - The Wedding.

[flowerboy]

flowerBOY!!!

that's just lame....

almost like posting 2800+ times since 2009... more than 4 times a day!


get a life forum troll...:geek:

or a shrink.

:fu:

[Nicole Dupre]

Is everyone who's part of the IPOWA contingent an intellectually challenged putz? "Nuff said". lol

[Legend]

And now for a list of "transsexual" movies to avoid,meaning all of them feature transsexuals as psycho killers.I loved carpernia addams comment about these list of movies,


I think these movies are terrible, wongheaded depictions of trans people, of course. But it's good to have them all in a list, so that we can be aware of the history of our misrepresentation in horror films (and all the implications that come from being used in that genre).

15.TERROR FIRMER
14.UNHINGED (1982)
13.VULTURES (1983)
12.William Castle’s HOMICIDAL
11.REFLECTION OF FEAR
10.Dario Argento’s 4 FLIES ON GREY VELVET
9. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS
8. PRIVATE PARTS (1972)
7. DEADLY BLESSING (1981)
6. HE LIVES BY NIGHT
5. SEED OF CHUCKY
4. TERROR TRAIN (1980) & GIRLS NITE OUT (1984)
3. BLADE IN THE DARK (1983) & DELIRIUM (1987)
2. DRESSED TO KILL
1. SLEEPAWAY CAMP

http://www.horroryearbook.com/544026/the-top-15-transexual-killer-movies

[traLika]

Yep, that's exactly what I was talking about. I didn't realise there was a previous thread on this topic. During the 1980s, in particular, film makers seemed to have an obsession about making 'fucked up tranny psychopath' movies...

[Legend]

Yep, that's exactly what I was talking about. I didn't realise there was a previous thread on this topic. During the 1980s, in particular, film makers seemed to have an obsession about making 'fucked up tranny psychopath' movies...

That comment was from her website,she had somewhat of a writeup about those type of killer transsexual films on her website which was a sometime ago.

[traLika]

Water Damage (1999) is another completely implausible tranny psycho movie. I can't think of anything from the past decade though. I think the movie makers got bored and switched over to 'psycho terrorists' instead...

[Nicole Dupre]

Nicole Kidman played a TS. It was filmed about a year ago. It just hasn't been released yet,

[rockabilly]

Don't forget Z-Mans murder spree at the end of "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls".

[JoePitt]

And now for a list of "transsexual" movies to avoid,meaning all of them feature transsexuals as psycho killers.I loved carpernia addams comment about these list of movies,
9. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS


Dorothy Michaels was closer to being a transgendered character than Jame Gumb was.

[Prospero]

There is one very positive film i saw last year called "Strella'. It is greek and hasn't as far as I know had US or UK release. Check it out on line. Girl is a hooker in Athens but it all ends hugely positively. She i a very positive character. Moral and strong.

[Prospero]

And has anyone mentioned Transamerica... that was actually pretty okay as i recall

[Prospero]

Strella trailer

YouTube- Strella Official Trailer (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNP6IeO8cDw)

[rockabilly]

Anyone see "Orlando" w/ Tilda Swinton?

[BrendaQG]

Wow Prospero. I have no idea what they are saying but that trailer makes me wish I did.

[traLika]

Anyone see "Orlando" w/ Tilda Swinton?


Nope. I've been intending to see it for the past 10 years but haven't got around to it yet... Tilda is one of my favourite actresses!

[traLika]

Strella trailer



Looks interesting Prospero. Has the actual film got English subtitles?

[rockabilly]

Orlando is being re-released in select theaters this friday.

Maybe you'll get lucky and see it on the big screen.

[traLika]

Orlando is being re-released in select theaters this friday.

Maybe you'll get lucky and see it on the big screen.


That would be good. I'll keep an eye open to see if it comes round. Thanks for the tip!

[Prospero]

The version of "Strella" which I saw had subtitles. SHOULD have been released in UK/US but it might be out on DVD if you search.

[peggygee]

Anyone see "Orlando" w/ Tilda Swinton?

Saw it many years ago, really enjoyed it.

[Legend]

Tralika you should see "Different then Girls" the transgender woman who happens to be one of the main characters in it was a really positive character.

http://img815.imageshack.us/img815/9007/200pxdifferentforgirls.jpg