Critical Social Inquiry 0215 - Trans Film: Theory, Histories, and Futures

This course takes, as its critical object, trans representation in film. We will consider how visibility functions and operates in trans films, from The Silence of the Lambs (which shaped trans representation in the mainstream media for decades), to early trans films like Behind Every Good Man (which served as pseudo-documentaries for a curious cis public, exposing the lives of Black and Brown trans people), to contemporary trans film (geared to both arthouse and mainstream audiences). We will discuss the various tropes that have congealed into popularly circulating stereotypes about trans people and read theoretical texts that engage the material and technical aspects of film to understand the various complicated lives of these tropes. Together we will ask: what are the stakes of trans visual representation? How do these tropes evolve over time? In a largely white archive how is whiteness as power figured? When race, class, citizenship, or HIV status are thematized, what forms do these representations take? Keywords:Trans, film, archives, moving image, theory

Art and Politics Students should expect to spend 6-8 hours weekly on work and preparation outside of class time Library Materials: A Kid Like Jake Queens at Heart Boy Meets Girl Shinjuku Boys Tangerine Orlando, My Political Biography Sleepaway Camp All About My Mother Some Like It Hot Women in Revolt In a Year with 13 Moons Glen or Glenda? Pink Flamingos Orlando (Hampshire has DVD - this can be made available via Hampflix) By Hook or By Crook (Hampshire has DVD - this can be made available on Hampflix) Silence of the Lambs (VHS at Hampshire - this can be made available on Hampflix Books: Title:Corpses, Fools, and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema Author:Caden Mark Gardner & Willow Catelyn Maclay ISBN:1914420586 Cost: