Visual presence and demarcation of trans characters in films: An analysis of four trans-themed films in the European film festival circuit
Otero Escudero, Sofía (2021)
2021
Master's Programme in Global Society
Yhteiskuntatieteiden tiedekunta - Faculty of Social Sciences
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Hyväksymispäivämäärä
2021-05-03
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202104122908
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:tuni-202104122908
Tiivistelmä
This Master’s thesis research analyzes the visual presence and demarcation of trans character in four films selected from four European international film festivals. The purpose of the research is to scrutinize the depiction of trans characters and the possibility of creating new and positive imagery of bodies within an international circuit such as the European international film festival and its official section. The theoretical framework of the thesis outlines a background of trans studies and its main concepts with a particular focus on trans cinema. In addition, there is a section that outlines the theoretical context of the European international film festivals, where the films selected for the research are framed, emphasizing the role the role of LGBTI topics and especially trans topics.
The research data consists of four movies from the official section of four international European film festivals (2010-2019) as a case study: San Sebastian International Film Festival with The New Girlfriend (François Ozon, 2014); Venice International Film Festival with The Danish Girl (Tom Hooper, 2015) and Berlin International Film Festival with both A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, 2017) and Touch Me Not (Adina Pintilie, 2018). For the analysis, I use a compilation of methods based on visual, aural, and narrative film analysis guided by the conceptual scheme of trans studies. Following the pattern and ideas established by Copier & Steinbock (2018) I analyze trans characters from four angles: their role within the plot, visual presence through body and voice, narrative arc, and visual demarcation in the key scenes.
The main results obtained from the analysis of the selected films are that even though most of the representations of trans character appear to uphold traditional stereotypes of a cisgender perspective, the more recent movies A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, 2017) and Touch Me Not (Adina Pintilie, 2018) also create and represent innovate and positive imagery of trans bodies for audiences, which is accomplished with transgressive cinematographic decisions such as blurring the line between fiction and not fiction or telling the story from the perspective of the trans character. Hence, this thesis explores how trans characters are portrayed and therefore the image of them conveyed to the audience, concluding that there is a little improvement in the more recent representation of trans characters in films screened in European international film festivals.
The research data consists of four movies from the official section of four international European film festivals (2010-2019) as a case study: San Sebastian International Film Festival with The New Girlfriend (François Ozon, 2014); Venice International Film Festival with The Danish Girl (Tom Hooper, 2015) and Berlin International Film Festival with both A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, 2017) and Touch Me Not (Adina Pintilie, 2018). For the analysis, I use a compilation of methods based on visual, aural, and narrative film analysis guided by the conceptual scheme of trans studies. Following the pattern and ideas established by Copier & Steinbock (2018) I analyze trans characters from four angles: their role within the plot, visual presence through body and voice, narrative arc, and visual demarcation in the key scenes.
The main results obtained from the analysis of the selected films are that even though most of the representations of trans character appear to uphold traditional stereotypes of a cisgender perspective, the more recent movies A Fantastic Woman (Sebastián Lelio, 2017) and Touch Me Not (Adina Pintilie, 2018) also create and represent innovate and positive imagery of trans bodies for audiences, which is accomplished with transgressive cinematographic decisions such as blurring the line between fiction and not fiction or telling the story from the perspective of the trans character. Hence, this thesis explores how trans characters are portrayed and therefore the image of them conveyed to the audience, concluding that there is a little improvement in the more recent representation of trans characters in films screened in European international film festivals.