Cross dressing has largely been a subject of humour in the movies, if at times of an erotic kind. The film portrays brandon in many ways, shifting from bad guy, to good guy, to someone whom we should feel bad for. Boys dont cry to represent one form of female masculinity and examine the. The movie follows the melancholy vector of teena brandon, 19711993. Trans guy reacts to boys dont cry dumpster fire youtube. I subjected myself to boys dont cry and it nearly broke me. One of the many virtues of boys dont cry, one of the best films of the year, is that never once does it supply the tiresome phrase, i am a man. Boys don t cry is a moving but brutal drama based on the life and death of a young transsexual man, brandon teena hilary swank. Nov 12, 2001 boys don t cry analysis brandon was deffinately a very confused person, but yet seemed to have everything under control most of the time. Female born teena brandon adopts his male identity of brandon teena and attempts to find himself and love in nebraska.
The film is a dramatization of the reallife story of brandon teena, an american trans man played in the film by hilary swank, who attempts to find himself and love in nebraska but falls victim to a brutal hate crime perpetrated by two male acquaintances. The film opens with brandon teena hilary swank driving in the night. Boys dont cry film analysis the first problem of the media is posed by what does not get translated, or even published in the dominant political languages. Jan 28, 2019 boys dont cry starring hilary swank as teena brandon. Boys don t cry the movie is about a girl pretending as a guy. Oct 01, 1999 without sensationalism boys don t cry does a remarkably good job of explaining the specifics of brandons role playing. Hegemonic masculinity in boys dont cry 1999 inquiries. The following film notes were prepared for the new york state writers institute by. As a movie that deals with a transsexuality, boys dont cry touches on some of the major issues in social psychology, including prejudice, gender, discrimination, attitudes, attitude change, person perception, self, social influence, interpersonal attraction, personal relationships, helping behavior, and aggression. Brandon teena was a young transgender individual from nebraska that was murdered after the discovery of his being transgender. Hegemonic masculinity in boys dont cry 1999 inquiries journal. Boys dont cry is a tragic drama that illustrates the violent intolerance and cruelty that humans can display towards others who appear different, and packs some very powerful performances from. Boys dont cry though six years have passed since the brutal rape and murder of teena brandon, the complex protagonist of boys dont cry, the story has grown only more compelling and relevant.
Foucaults idea of the construction of homosexuality explains that homosexuality was born out of sodomy, the 16th century illegal act of sexual intercourse involving anal or oral copulation. The film is a dramatization of the reallife story of brandon teena, an american trans man played in the film by hilary swank, who attempts to find himself and love in nebraska but falls victim to a brutal hate crime. In spite of his extreme popularity with the girls in his new residence, brandon teena ignores them. Brandon and her lover find a fragile peace with the truth of who they both are and two young men who are torn apart by their own equally fragile maleness. The manager of the movie theater in falls city, jared kirkendal, shook his. It is a real life story that happened in lincoln in 1993. Directed by kimberly peirce, the movie released in the year 1999, focuses predominantly on brandons love affair with lana tisdel, a girl he met. Boys dont cry is a 1999 american biographical film directed by kimberly peirce and cowritten by peirce and andy bienen. Brandonteena as a character shows elements of being male but wants to be female, so there is conflict between his. Mar 05, 2012 the fictionalised depiction of the concluding events in the life of brandon teena as represented in the film boys dont cry invites a variety of angles of analysis and interpretation. How to nurture a healthy relationship with your son. Kimberly peirces boys don t cry is one of the eeriest, most deeply tragic films of recent years.
Teena, a livewire nebraskan with proclivities she herself. While the film compresses some of the data in a previous documentary. Brandon is a trans man who attempts to lead a new life with his girlfriend lana but loses his life in a hate crime perpetrated by two male friends john and tom enraged by. Also sign me up for fanmail to get updates on all things movies. Hes got a court date coming up for stealing a car, and his only friend brian is sick of his mooching. Boys dont cry how do we help boys grow up emotionally strong. Analysis of the movie boys don t cry 1708 words 123. Boys dont cry is not a film that only caters to the viewers pleaser, but a film that shows ones struggle with gender identity in a midwestern society. Overall, boys don t cry was a work of character, not simply the perfection created by swank and sevingy, but the work of all the films gifted actors and perceptive director. Boys don t cry how do we help boys grow up emotionally strong. Boys dont cry is one of three movies on this months list that i had never heard of prior to culling my top unseen titles from my fellow flickcharters charts. Kimberly peirces boys dont cry is one of the eeriest, most deeply tragic films of.
Teena is a girl but she acted and dressed herself like a boy she hid her secret to everyone whom she met and made friends with. Brandon is a trans man who attempts to lead a new life with his girlfriend lana but loses his life in a hate crime perpetrated by two male friends john and tom enraged by his double identity. May, 2020 social psychology of boys don t cry the movie boys don t cry is a premium example of how movies demonstrate social psychological phenomena. Boys dont cry and hollywoods ongoing obsession with trans. Sep 27, 2019 as it gets represented in the case study of the film, boys dont cry invites some interpretation and analysis. Listen to a recording of brandon teena being questioned by the police, which occurred when he went to report that he had been raped by john lotter and tom nissen. Reviewers made note of how the story of brandon teena, the trans man whose life and death inspired kimberly peirces film, was readymade for an episode of that 90s relic of trashy daytime television. Anna garcia 2122015 reading response paper boys dont cry socl 3600 gender and power dr. Apr 03, 2019 i subjected myself to boys don t cry and it nearly broke me. Essay analysis of the movie boys don t cry by kimberly peirce boys dont cry, directed by kimberly peirce, is an adaption of the reallife story of brandon teena. Brandon is not the smartest person on earth, especially at judging which kinds of risks to take, but he is one of the nicest, and soon he has fallen in love with a falls city girl named lana chloe sevigny. Boys dont cry cuts deep, to where the bullet breaks the bone the movie follows the melancholy vector of teena brandon, 19711993.
Boys dont cry stereotypes harm masculinity the baylor. The film is about a female to male transgendered person brandon teena looking to escape the restrictions of gender and sexuality present within his hometown prest, 2012. However, at a recent reed college screening that point was lost on a group of. Boys don t cry is one of three movies on this months list that i had never heard of prior to culling my top unseen titles from my fellow flickcharters charts. Nov 12, 2017 this video is about boys don t cry analysis. Brandon is not the smartest person on earth, especially at judging which kinds of risks to take, but he is one of the nicest, and soon he has fallen in. In the opening scene of boys dont cry, brandon leaves his hometown because his exgirlfriends brother discovers that brandon is. The girl pretending to be a guy went into a bar and met this girl called candace whom took him to falls city. In 1999, boys dont cry became the first film to represent transgender masculinity in a believable way. Immediately download the boys dont cry film summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching boys dont cry film. Kimberly based on a real story of teena brandon who was a homosexual person. With hilary swank, chloe sevigny, peter sarsgaard, brendan sexton iii. In 1993, brandon teena, a teenage drifter who was famous locally for romancing the females in falls city, nebraska, was found shot dead in a farmhouse just out of. December 12, 1972 december 31, 1993 was an american trans man who was raped and later, along with phillip devine and lisa lambert, murdered in humboldt, nebraska.
Brandon ignores him and enters the rink, which seems magical to him. The aforementioned quotation appears in the introduction of jinnelle aguilars analysis of the film boys dont cry a powerful film written and directed by kimberly pierce, based on the true story of brandon teena hilary swank, a transgendered femaletomale teen who lives in lincoln, nebraska. A young man named brandon teena navigates love, life, and being transgender in rural nebraska. The wholeview or objective view of society can be imposed in a sociological way on the movie. References to jerry springer appear all over the initial coverage of boys dont cry. The 1999 movie, boys dont cry, starring hilary swank, is a true story about teena brandon, a trans man hilary swank who is beaten, raped and murdered by his male acquaintances after they discover he is anatomically female. The film is an adaptation of the true story of a female to male transsexual named brandon teena, who was violently raped. She hid her secret to everyone whom she met and made friends with. Boys don t cry is a 1999 american biographical film directed by kimberly peirce and cowritten by peirce and andy bienen. In kimberly peirces 1999 movie, boys dont cry was based on real life events of brandon teena hilary swank who is a young femaletomale transgender individual. Boys dont cry and hollywoods ongoing obsession with. Kimberly peirces boys dont cry is one of the eeriest, most deeply tragic films of recent years.
Brandon and her lover find a fragile peace with the truth of who they both are and two young men who are. The debut feature of peirce, a cisgender woman, has a long, wellknown list of issues that continue to anger the trans community. Boys dont cry is an award winning biopic that tells the story of brandon teena who was tragically raped and murdered outside of falls city, nebraska on. Boys dont cry cuts deep, to where the bullet breaks the bone.
Sociological analysis of boys don t cry free essays. His life and death were the subject of the academy award winning 1999 film boys dont cry, which was partially based on the 1998. Analysis of the movie boys don t cry by kimberly peirce boys dont cry, directed by kimberly peirce, is an adaption of the reallife story of brandon teena. Brandon is a trans man who attempts to lead a new life with his girlfriend lana but loses his life in a hate crime perpetrated by two male friends john and tom enraged by his. He is going with his cousin, lonny matt mcgrath, an older boy who is gay, to a skating rink. The academy award winning movie boys dont cry is based on the real life story of teena ranae brandon, an american trans man who was raped and murdered in humboldt, nabraska on december 31, 1993. Dec, 2018 those questions were on my mind when i revisited boys dont cry recently, a film ive grown to have a complicated relationship with as a trans adult. This is the only reason that she was ever eve able to trick everyone into thinking she was a he. Teena is a girl but she acted and dressed herself like a boy. Even more interesting is how the movie demonstrates the interplay of these different. An analysis of gender roles acceptance in society on the example of the last time i wore a dress by steve otero and boys don t cry by janis thomas 1,194 words 3 pages. As a sensitive topic in our society, transgender is discussed with studies of sexual orientation in developmental psychology. Theres so much more of a latitude for people to let go of these sort of things.
A more comprehensive analysis demonstrated that a movie considers a lesbian narrative which broaches the issue crossdressing as well as the passing of men. Her goal, achieved by a mean trick, of leaving the baby in dantes care, leads to a nightmare scenario at least, most 17yearold boys would see it that way. Enter your location to see which movie theaters are playing boys dont cry near you. Trans students protest boys dont cry and the pain of.
When evaluating the gender based behaviors displayed in this film, initially i. Boys could easily have become either a sleazy piece of exploitation or a sanctimonious look at how awful the bible belt. The film boys dont cry occurs in a workingclass american setting, in the small town of lincoln nebraska. Boys dont cry is not sociology, however, but a romantic tragedya romeo and juliet set in a nebraska trailer park. Boys dont cry analysis brandon was deffinately a very confused person, but yet seemed to have everything under control most of the time. The film is about a female to male transgendered person brandon teena looking to escape the restrictions of gender. The movie boys dont cry can be seen from a sociological perspective focusing on issues of sex, gender, identity and sexuality in a societal context that is set out in the movie. An overview of the movie boys dont cry directed by kimberley peirce. Based on the killing of transsexual brandon teenateena renae brandon in 1992, the film is a double portrait of sympathy and misanthropy.
Boys don t cry is not sociology, however, but a romantic tragedya romeo and juliet set in a nebraska trailer park. This should come as no surprise because the movie takes its material from the real life story of brandon teena, a young preoperative transgendered individual, seeking to have his female sexual organs transformed through a sexchange operation, so that. The fictionalised depiction of the concluding events in the life of brandon teena as represented in the film boys dont cry invites a variety of angles of analysis and interpretation. It never gets beyond a superficial understanding of what it was like to be in the midwest as a stealth trans man in the 90s, and demonstrates little interest in exploring brandons psychological. As it gets represented in the case study of the film, boys dont cry invites some interpretation and analysis. Jacques derrida boys dont cry is an award winning biopic that tells the story of brandon teena who. The film boys dont cry, directed by kimberly pierce, brought mainstream media attention to the life and tragic death of brandon teena in addition to an unveiling educational debate. I would say im sorry if i thought that it would change your mind but i know that this time ive said too much, been too unkind i tried to laugh about it cover it.
An analysis of themes within the film is conducted to identify scenes which. Without sensationalism boys dont cry does a remarkably good job of explaining the specifics of brandons role playing. The academy award winning movie boys dont cry is based on the real life story of teena ranae brandon, an american trans man who was raped and murdered. What other tools, these writers seemed to suggest, did audiences have to make.
Boys dont cry starring hilary swank as teena brandon. Agnes riedmann the film, boys dont cry, is based on a true story and raises numerous realworld issues in its story of a murder case in middle america in which the victim was a girl who successfully passed herself off as a boy. The kimberly pierce film boys dont cry identifies the undesirable influences that the societal dominance of masculinity has on the structure of sexual identities. Boys dont cry in summary the film boys dont cry occurs in a workingclass american setting, in the small town of lincoln nebraska.
The movie boys dont cry the movie boys dont cry was directed by female filmmaker kimberly piercy. Brandon teena found a group of friends after a bar fight that. Though born biologically as a female, brandon identifies as intersexual as well as a male. Biologically female his given name is teena brandon the almost 21year old is in trouble. An analysis of how gender and sexuality affect societys activities in the movie boys dont cry. Brenda cooper this analysis argues that kimberly peirces. In 1993, brandon teena, a teenage drifter who was famous locally for.