I’ve been waiting for a while to see Ticked-Off Asterisks With Knives (which is now being billed as “The Movie GLAAD Doesn’t Want You To See” – oh, please … like that’s going to lure people to the theater).
I’ve followed the fray online, but did not want to jump in with an opinion until I had actually seen the film.
Now that I have seen it, I still don’t want to jump in, because the truth is that it’s hard to form an opinion when it’s not me being portrayed up there on the screen.
And the other truth is that I’m not sure who is being portrayed up there on the screen.
The trans women characters in this film are not like any trans women I know, and I know quite a few. But even though I have probably met a few hundred trans women over the years, that is still a small percentage of the trans women out there, so I can’t possibly make the generalization that “trans women don’t act like this.”
And many of the trans women I’ve met have been online, at conferences, and in the process of brief introductions. That doesn’t really give me a flavor for who these women are as people. I only have a sense of that with the women I know well, who are usually Colorado women, not New York or San Francisco women, and I would say that regional differences have some influence on persona.
So while the characters in the film (some of which are played by trans women) don’t ring true to me, there are no doubt quite a few reasons for this that have to do with my locale, my nighttime activities (which rarely involve nightclubs), and so on.
Regardless, Ticked-Off Asterisks With Knives didn’t offend me so much as it kind of left me cold.
I don’t like blood, gore, and violence, even if it is obviously over-the-top theatrics, so I had to look away several times. There was some odd racist banter and racially charged undertones (and overtones) that seemed stuck in for who-knows-what reason.
I got lost at times, I got bored at times, and although I did think the women were pretty fabulous and their dressing-room-and-bar banter was humorous, it wasn’t enough to endear the film to me.
I’m not sure that the film glorified violence against trans women, and I don’t know whether or not it will result in more violence toward trans women. The “bad guys” are so smarmy, slimy, and dumb that I can’t imagine anyone walking out of the theater thinking, “I want to be like them.”
I also don’t know that the film, as director Israel Luna has claimed, is empowering to trans women. You certainly want the bad guys to get it in the end – and they do get it in the end (for those who haven’t seen the film, that is a pun).
But with regard to any trans woman who knows someone who has, in real life, been brutally beaten or killed, and any trans woman who lives in daily fear that this kind of thing could easily happen to her, I can understand the potential for a range of emotions after seeing the film, from feeling vindicated to feeling hurt, disgusted, and used.
For me, when the whole thing was over, I just felt relieved that it was over – until the credits rolled.
On the particular screener that I was given, during the credits, the people behind the scenes come out and dance on a stage – mostly in their blue jeans and T-shirts and sweatshirts, looking like they probably looked the whole time the film was being made. The camera people, the costume people, the sound people, the special effects people – all of them just come out dancing and clapping and smiling and laughing as their names come up on the screen.
And suddenly, I was offended. All but one or two of these dancing, laughing behind-the-scenes people who are apparently so thrilled about making this film appear to be non-trans. Even if several of them are trans, my guess is that the majority are not.
So here is a group of primarily non-trans people happily celebrating this film that they made about trans people – this violent film, this stereotypical film, this film that did not particularly offend or hurt me (until right then), but that has offended and hurt a lot of other people. These non-trans people are celebrating their film about the “other” and taking their bows, as if they were terribly cool for having made this t****y film.
For some reason, at a real gut level, I found that highly offensive and highly condescending. And at that moment, I became one ticked off asterisk.
See it if you must – and, as the website says, it’s just in time for Halloween(?).
What do readers think?
(Note: Ask Matt Monday will return as more Ask Matt questions come in – click on the Ask Matt tab above to send in a question, and lend your wisdom to questions already posted by clicking on the Ask Matt link under Categories in the right-hand column.)
Thanks for the review because I had NO desire to see a film with the word Tr***y in it.
There is a social justice play coming out in the Spring and touring some colleges throughout the country that has a ftm character in it with a non trans actor playing the part. The playwright and the director had a hard time finding a ftm to put in the role and even after they found one who was willing, they turned him away to keep the cisman. It has nothing to do with acting skills or lack of.
I can’t articulate why that bothers me, but it bothers me.
“The trans women characters in this film are not like any trans women I know, and I know quite a few. But even though I have probably met a few hundred trans women over the years, that is still a small percentage of the trans women out there, so I can’t possibly make the generalization that “trans women don’t act like this.”
That is kind of a cop out Matt. You and I both know that the majority of trans women aren’t like this, whether we have met every trans woman or not. The problem is that the women in the film project every bad trans woman stereotype out there and to people who don’t know any trans woman (or think they don’t) they DO think that “trans women act like this”. I won’t even get into how offensive the movie is to trans women or why, there are lots of sites that do that better than I could but I am really disappointed in this post Matt, I have come to expect so much better from you.
Your point is well taken, and I can see how that can be taken as a cop out. I read a lot online about this film before I ever saw it, and I read both sides of the debate. But I wasn’t going to make a decision until I actually saw it. And then, as I said, it was hard for me to do because, as a trans guy, I wasn’t the one who was being portrayed in the film.
I felt like the characters were stereotypes (and I still do), but I also processed this with a friend who reminded me that there are a lot of different ways that people express themselves, and that to write off this form of expression (the snappy put-down banter, the revealing clothing, etc.) as both negative and non-existent was to dismiss those for whom this is a natural form of self-expression.
These characters are not typical trans women, in my book. But I can’t dismiss their presentation as wrong or bad. And that’s why the only opinion that I put out there before seeing the film was that, if theaters are going to show it, they need to offer some kind of real discussion with “real live” trans people, so that non-trans audiences can actually meet and talk to trans people. And I still believe that needs to happen.
It’s not going to solve the problem. Theaters are going to show this movie. And it has gotten so much attention that it’s growing far beyond what its overall merit warrants.
So I think the only thing that we can do now is “damage control” in the sense that we can let people know that this kind of violence against trans people, and trans women in particular, really does happen. And that it doesn’t really matter how the women act or how they dress or where they hang out or what they do – the violence is horrific, it continues, and it has to be stopped.
I personally don’t like the film, I don’t like the way it portrays trans women, and I don’t think it deserves the attention that it’s gotten. But it’s not going away, so maybe we can use it as a vehicle to say that it doesn’t really matter who the characters are – what matters is that the violence is real, and that’s what has to end.
Thanks for your comment and your thoughts. I am definitely glad to hear your opinion.
I haven’t seen the film yet, so I don’t have an opinion apart from seeing some confusing clip on youtube.
About showing negative stereotypes of transwomen- well, the same discussion has surrounded many earlier gay films. The question is: is the film in question showing gay/trans/other people from an othering perspective, without any knowledge of the real people?
Many films are a mixture of inside and outside view.
Films like the Boys in the Band have been criticized for showing gay stereotypes. But one of the (gay) actors said in an interview that he found it pretty accurate, that the gay community had many of these negative aspects at the time, and that he himself was full of self loathing which was well depicted in the movie.
Ticked off T. seems to show a part of the communities where gay and trans (woman) overlap. I was thinking of Paris is Burning for some reason. I have known trans women/self declared trannies who lived in the gay communities, did lot of cabaret work and only partially transitioned. Often they had a self identification of in-between or both
What I like about that part of the communities is that it shows that the boxes don’t fit. There are no simple binaries.
On the other hand, when I read about Hedwig and the Angry Inch (another film I haven’t seen yet), I was a bit pissed off by the way a gay director/actor showed a trans woman (who sounded more like a confused gay man). But then, many gay men have a transgender identity or go through a phase wondering if they are trans.
I agree with you in that trans people need to speak for themselves and not just allow cis people to produce their fantasies of what it’s like to be trans.
Just as you said about Boys in the Band, I have read comments from one of the women in Ticked Off who has really argued that it is empowering. I don’t know. For some people, it probably is.
But your last paragraph sums it up for me, too. I have been trying to think about how I would feel about this film if it were produced by trans people – if it were an entirely trans project.
I still don’t know if I would like it, but I might feel differently about it. I wonder if the community as a whole would feel differently about it.
I think those comparisons are great to bring up. I haven’t seen this film yet either, so I don’t want to comment on it just yet.
I do want to note however that John Cameron Mitchell, who directed and played Hedwig, has said several times that Hedwig is not trans. You could see her as trans if you use a broad definition, and you could see the movie/musical as a trans movie/musical—I know I relate well to some of the songs—but the character herself is someone who unwillingly underwent a gender transition and is just living with what she has. Perhaps Ticked Off *** With Knives is similar in that people who haven’t seen it are thinking one thing whereas the movie tells you something different. (Though of course I haven’t seen it so I can’t say that for sure.)
Hi, Matt.
Thank you for your very-fair review of my film. Even though you’ve been up to date on the controversy, I’m happy that you’ve taken the stance of seeing it for yourself before judging it.
I understand that this world of late night cabaret shows, outrageous costumes and “tranny-talk” isn’t a part of your world, but it does exist. Are they a bit over the top in my movie? Of course they are. Just like the Latinos speak in their stereotypical, Mexican accent, just like the red-neck is so red-neck.
You said it best in your comment “maybe we can use it as a vehicle to say that it doesn’t really matter who the characters are – what matters is that the violence is real, and that’s what has to end.” Here, here!
Thank you.
israel luna
Mr. Luna – welcome and thank you for dropping by. I hope you come back – we have some great readers here.
I appreciate that you’re reading all the different takes out there on your film. Thanks again for stopping by and come back anytime.
I like that you acknowledged regional diffs in accurate trans portrayals. the majority of the trans women i know (candis cayne, calpernia addams, all the dreamgirls, showgirls, etc) from LA/NYC/Miam/TX are showgirls so I think it’s awesome to leave room for the benefit of the doubt. I’d be shocked to find any of those ladies i know at a conference or anything like that ever too for any type of trans summit. lol.
smart boy. Wasn’t a cop-out at all as Wendy states.
Thank you all for your comments and I hope we get more.
Although I got to see a screener of the film, I’m not sure whether it will be shown here in Denver or not. I’m waiting to find out, because my hope is to get a discussion panel before or after the film, or both.
Will everyone in the audience come to it or stay for it? Probably not. But it’s a step. The most important thing is just putting a stop to the violence that’s out there.
No matter how people feel about the film, the film is there. The violence has to go away.
Matt – thanks for writing this. I’ve been pretty active and vocal in the online protest of the film, so I’m glad to see a trans male perspective of this.
I’m particularly grateful for the following:
“The “bad guys” are so smarmy, slimy, and dumb that I can’t imagine anyone walking out of the theater thinking, “I want to be like them.””
I’ve been trying to articulate a feeling about the bad guys and the “support” for the trans women in the film. In some respects, I think maybe the guys are too cartoonish and the violence seems too outlandish that it’s easy for the audience to justify their own transphobia because the watcher isn’t *that bad*.
During the initial NY screening, a trans woman was killed in her apartment. In the NYT comments there were very few people “rooting” for her or hoping her attacker got revenge. We had justifications for the crime, assumptions that she was to blame for the crime, and all the usual crap that happens when one of us dies.
Then the reviews of the film start to trickle in. Writers using the same language to describe the characters as were used in the NYT comments section. A few writers making the same assumptions about the trans lead character’s trickery, a few jabbs at their bodies.
One of the usual positives given about the content of the film was that the audience was rooting for the girls and booing the guys. I’m curious if the identification with the women was because the violence was seen as so unrealistic? The guys were so totally without redeeming qualities, the film-making was good enough that the director’s intent was followed. Rather than an honest challenge to the watcher’s anti-trans bias.
I’m not convinced that this actually challenges transphobic violence. It could actually help justify it in that it gives a picture of what a “real” trans-basher is – like the shadowy “stranger rapist” from years ago. Nobody roots for a rapist in the movies, but lots of guys rape.
Thanks so much for your comments and excellent insight. And you bring up a really important point that I didn’t touch on, which is the idea that somehow the woman “tricked” the attacker, justifying the “trans panic” defense.
I also like what you said about the violence being so over-the-top that viewers might not see it as real and the bad guys being so bad that who wouldn’t want to see them get theirs, even those people who might not, in “real life,” be trans supportive.
Really good points – thank you again for adding this to the conversation.
I have not seen the film yet either since I live in the hinderlands of upstate New York so unless Mr. Luna wishes to send me a screener (we do have a small theatre inhouse at our womens spirituality centre) I’ll have to wait until the dvd is released.
I’ve also followed the uproar about this film and checked out most of what is available online about it including the interviews. The trans in the film represent a very real group of drag and street girls and I’ve met a lot of these trans women as many have come and stayed with us over the years. Do they represent a woman of history such as myself? No, but neither do I find them or even the word tranny offensive like the majority of vocal non transsexual TGs online. I have gladly and proudly gone out and about with trans women like these shown in the film, they can be a lot of fun. These are the types of trans women who hung out with Andy Warhol and company back in the day. They are no less trans than other trans women despite coming up from within the gay culture rather than middle class hetero culture as the majority of vocal trans women do..
What I find quite interesting is how this group is totally denounced by the majority of TGs while they call women like myself elitists.
Now myself, I don’t represent anyone but myself. I am a Pagan priestess, avowed feminist and bisexual so many white bread hetero women of history don’t have much in common with me as well other than we are basically just women in the world. If, as reported, the film is “over the top” that would totally fit with the culture it represents and there is nothing at all wrong with that.
catkisser-
I came up through the drag scene, transitioned with the help of some kick-ass queens, and have ZERO issue with “tranny” as a term, much like “fag”, “queer”, and “dyke”. The issue with language is one of reclamation and empowerment – is it empowering for a non-trans gay man to use it and insist that it’s a perfectly harmless word? Among the trans women I know who use it, we understand that it’s a loaded term (not the worst by far, but loaded) and understand why others have a problem with it. Something many men (trans and non-) don’t seem to understand.
As far as the characters in the film, I can only think of a couple times where the criticism has been mainly directed at the gals. GLAAD being the most notable example, and I feel their involvement in this just distracted from the actual issues with the film. Most of the folks who are questioning/boycotting/protesting the film are well aware that trans women this these characters exist, and have always existed. They are the fuzzy area where gay male and trans female blur – one of the worst parts of the GLAAD involvement and discussion was it tried to draw a border through that part of the community and caused lots of hurt feelings.
I feel that the issues that are mostly discussed by the director , stars and media are the least important ones. The poster’s “It takes balls…” tag, coupled with a discussion about how god made a third sex to resolve some conflict between Adam and Eve, furthered by genitalia jokes, and a very ambiguous “trick” backstory I think are the points where the conversations would do better to center. Along with the point I made above about the bad guys being so bad they do nothing to actually challenge anti-trans violence.