Trans women of color aren’t valued - again, we exist only to serve and perform for men. I saw my experiences with men reflected in theirs and it fucking hurt. Chester was an awful abusive liar, but what choice does Sin-dee have? When validation and love come, even if it’s twisted and fucked up, you take it because otherwise you are just alone and sometimes the illusion of someone supporting you is better than nothing at all. They manipulate, take advantage of and abuse them. These were people who really and truly hated Sin-dee and Alexandra but said that they love them. The complicated relationship that these two trans women had with the men/love in their life was hard to watch. Because even in films that are ostensibly about us, we still have to deal with men and their feelings. So for this film to focus almost half of the narrative on this man and how hard he has it, is very frustrating. Trans women are murdered for the same reasons that men are shamed. But it is not men who bear the brunt of that violence, it is us.
Because the only reason Razmik and men like him get any kind of grief is because of transmisogyny. Whats more, I don’t care at all about men and how they’re impacted by transmisogyny. He is still exploits them - he just pays well. He reduces trans women to what we can do for him sexually, fetishizes our bodies and refuses to publicly acknowledge that he desires trans women. But he was just as awful as all the other non trans women in the film. He is just a poor misunderstood dude who lies to his wife and keeps his desire secret. But the narrative manipulates you into feeling sorry for him. Razmik is no better then the dude that tried to rip off Alexandra.
ACTORS OF TANGERINE BEAR DRIVER
One of the things that frustrated me was the way Razmik (an Armenian taxi driver who is a frequent customer of Alexandra and Sin-dee, played by Karren Karagulian) is juxtaposed to that terrible john. The story was only made real by the beautiful performance of the actors. The names of white men are on the script and white men directed the movie. And while the two stars did have a lot of input into the making of the script, white men are still the ones who get the credit. It was voyeuristic in the worst possible way. But the way it’s set up, how it’s shot, the progression of the plot - it’s clear that it is offering up the story to a mostly white, bougie audience. And don’t get me wrong, the story is real. I loved that they didn’t apologize for their lives or their existence.ĭespite this, the audience still laughed at really inappropriate parts, showcasing the way that the film itself fails the story it’s trying to portray. They were not respectable, they were surviving in the best way they knew how and they were supporting each other even though it was difficult. Mya Taylor (who plays Alexandra, one of the two trans leads) and Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (who plays Sin-dee, the other) were fucking brilliant.
ACTORS OF TANGERINE BEAR MOVIE
That’s what I got from the movie Tangerine. Why is it that trans women of color have to experience so much violence to remember that they have each other’s back? In this essay, Trans Latina writer Morgan Collado talks about her own experiences and issues with the film in greater detail. When I saw it I was extremely pleased overall, but had a few issues with the film. Note from Trans Editor Mey Rude: A few weeks ago I saw the movie Tangerine and wrote about my thoughts on the movie and its stars, Mya Taylor and Kiki Kitana Rodriguez.
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