20 Years Later, ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ Still Inspires Admiration And Debate Review
The film Boys Don’t Cry came out in 1999, it was directed by Kimberly Peirce. The film is based on a true story about a transgender youth, Brandon Teena, who was murdered in 1993, in Humboldt, Nebraska. This film became a hit due to its portrayal of Brandon Teena’s journey in pursuit of acceptance and love. When the film Boys Don’t Cry came out, there was very little trans representation in film or on the screen, in fact there was not a whole lot of transgender visual at all. Back in the 1990’s, the term transgender was not something openly talked about. For this reason, Boys Don’t Cry has faced controversy in recent years. The controversy is over the actress who got the part of Brandon Teena, Hilary Swank, a cisgender actress. Many people have voiced that Brandon Teena should have been played by a transgender actor. Even though Boys Don’t Cry has received controversy, the film is ultimately an accomplishment for the transgender community on the screen, it paved the way for future transgender films where transgender actors could play transgender roles and it was one of the first films to introduce a transgender man to audiences, facilitating awareness, which was something not seen in its time.
Nick Adams, the director of transgender representation at GLAAD, stated, “As the first film to introduce mainstream audiences to a transgender man, Boys Don’t Cry was a landmark.” The film opened a lot of doors for other films to come in the future because Boys Don’t Cry is such a landmark. Kimberly Peirce did what no one else had done, she showcased the life of a transgender person, a thing that was not talked about. At the time, Pierce says, “. . . trans actors were harder to find than they are today.” Even though the actress who played Brandon Teena was cisgender, the film as a whole portrayed transgender people, allowing in the future for trans people to actually be seen on the screen, playing trans roles. Riki Wilchins the co-founder of Transsexual Menace, one of the first transgender rights organizations, states, “It’s not fair to go back and apply standards 20 years later that didn’t exist back then. What she did is a major, major accomplishment. It legitimated and made possible all of these other representations that we’ve has since.” By taking a risk socially with the making of Boys Don’t Cry, Kimberly Peirce had a bigger impact on the transgender community than most people realize. The film she created in honor of Brandon Teena’s life impacted the transgender community, from awareness of trans people on the screen to propelling the movement of future trans films with trans roles played by real trans people. The film Boys Don’t Cry heavily impacted the future of transgender visibility and made it mainstream, something talked about.
McCabe, Allyson. “20 Years Later, 'Boys Don't Cry' Still Inspires Admiration And Debate.” NPR, NPR, 21 Oct. 2019, www.npr.org/2019/10/21/771451650/20-years-later-boys-don-t-cry-still-inspires-admiration-and-debate.
Comments