Emily's response
I agree with the general consensus of pervious posts in that films like Boys Don’t Cry have a large impact on public views of issues presented. I feel that this impact is both positive and negative.
I had a similar reaction to others as I left the classroom; feelings of empathy, despair, I had a really hard time jumping back into my day. How can there be so much hate in the world? This film acts to raise awareness and combat ignorance surrounding transgender issues. Many people fear and hate what they cannot understand, and Boys Don’t Cry may help people to understand Brandon.
But this is also the downfall of the film. They way that people understand Brandon may be the way the public understands all transgender people. Since this film is breaking new ground in mainstream media as depicting the transgender experience, it may be taken as the authority on the subject since its all some people have been exposed to. And because it’s based on a true story, many people will assume the narrative is accurate to true life, which isn’t likely. And even if it was, this is one person, not all transgender people. While the oppressed and marginalized people in a society all share that as a common experience, it’s really important to understand how much variation within a group there is. Look at feminism, with so many divisions of people saying “this is my experience, and it’s very different than yours�. As time progresses, we will see more and more varied representations of transgender people that reflect the huge variation of experience within this group of people. Until then, let’s keep in mind that Brandon is just one of many.