I know I already posted this week, but I encountered a
conversation this weekend I wanted to blog about. I was talking to my
co-workers and telling them about my class (an abridged version J) and told them about
our blog topic this week involving Queer representation in our culture. I
thought it was interesting the first movie that most of them mentioned was To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie
Newmar. I can see that for a lot of Americans—I am not going to lie and say
I don’t like the movie for the amusement of seeing Patrick Swayze, John
Leguizamo and Wesley Snipes in drag…especially Wesley Snipes with the idea his
previous roles—would like this movie for its comedic style. Yet this movie
doesn’t really make the viewer sit up and have an emotional response. The
scenes are carefully controlled to include humorous situations so as to not
make the viewer uncomfortable with the content. Even more telling is the MPAA
rating of PG-13 “for subject matter involving men in drag, a brief scene of
spousal abuse and some language.” Rather than a person who dresses in drag
being seen as just a person, there has to be a warning for viewers to beware
something that will upset their delicate sensibilities. Even in terms of choosing
actors to play these parts, the production company chose famous yes but
masculine men so as to make it obvious they were men and they used this to
enhance the comedy of the situations encountered in the film. I don’t know if
anyone watches America’s Next Top Model, but I adore Tyra and am proud of it so
I do watch it. J There
was a contestant, Isis, on a few seasons back. Now she, as she has had the gender
reassignment surgery, was allowed to compete on the show before her surgery. I
thought this was done for two reasons: obviously for ratings but also now that
I have been reading in this class I see it as recognition of the fact that
despite being born with male genitals,
Isis was being recognized as her chosen
gender of female in the competition. She was allowed to compete as herself,
whereas as I feel with Too Wong Foo,
the production company cared more about the comedic aspect of the idea of these
famous actors parading around as drag queens—not that they were representing a
community within America.
I agree with your impression of To Wong Foo. Clearly it has made it into the country's pop culture psyche. So, what might we look for in the movie that moves beyond non-trans guys dressing up for a role?
ReplyDeleteMaybe its campiness, and maybe in the positive visibility, understanding there are "real" narratives that don't have Hollywood endings. Sylvia Riveria's, for example. In other words, it can be a starting place, like Will and Grace, an innocuous way to bring people to the conversation. But not the ending place. That's were we begin to queer.