Watch Out Luna, The T*****s Are Coming For You!

On June 12 and 13, The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)  will screen the controversial film “Ticked-Off Trannies With Knives” at the Egyptian Theatre on Capitol Hill in Seattle.   The film is the fourth by the gay film director Israel Luna.  If recent press is any indication, it's Luna who should be watching his back for packs of transwomen with a taste for revenge.

Even before the film was shot, it was coming under scrutiny by community members and by GLAAD, the LGBT media watchdog and advocacy organization. 

Luna expresses that he thought he would try his hand at the  “grindhouse”  exploitation/revenge film genre popular in the ‘70s in such films as “I Spit On Your Grave”. 

Despite early indications of likely community pushback, he claimed to be surprised at the level and nature of reactions that followed its release:

"I didn't think that it would be such a topical thing or an issue, but we've been getting stuff about the name, the title, and using the word 'tranny.' And then there are people who are like, is it right to do an eye-for-an-eye kind of thing?" he says of the film's critics. "When I was first writing the script, I just wanted to do an old-fashioned revenge movie. This group of people gets bashed. They come back for revenge. Done."

He goes on to explain that from his perspective he was just gently pushing the envelope and showcasing the issues of the trans community:

"I thought the gay thing's been done, the coming-out-to-the-parents thing has been done. We're just so past all of that stuff," he says. "Who's now the most under-represented and misunderstood? The trans community. And now with all the new rights [issues] coming up and murders [against transgender people] happening, that's what I wanted to do. Everyone says I have the corner on the market with the drag queens and the transgender women here in Dallas because I have them in all of my projects. I just have this fascination and love [for them]."

Not everyone is impressed with his cinematic efforts, including movie reviewers with no specific bone to pick about the representation of the transgender community or individuals. Eric Eisenberg in his review for Cinema Blend gave it an outright panning:

“GLAAD shouldn’t be protesting the film because it misrepresents transgender individuals. They should be protesting because it’s an awful piece of cinema.”

Not everyone found the film to be without redeeming values however. It’s worth noting that some individuals outside the community were brought to consider the problem violence against transpeople and official response, or lack thereof, to such violence.

John Anderson of Variety online gave the film a generally positive review  here and had this observation:

"'Trannies' isn't heavy-handed, but as its settles into its volleying pattern of ultra-brutality, it assumes, probably rightly, that there is no conventional recourse in the criminal justice system for the girls, even after two of their number are killed and Bubbles ends up in the hospital with a speech impediment (which is pretty funny). While justifying vigilantism, the pic also asks whether they have a choice. Charles Bronson probably did; not someone named Bubbles Cliquot.

From within the community, however, reactions have been predictably negative, deploring both the titling, promotion and substance of the film. Autumn Sandeen does a good job of covering the back and forth in her Pam's House Blend blog post here.  She expresses her incredulity that Luna could be so clueless about not anticipating beforehand or comprehending after the fact the strong negative reactions.

Barbara Sehr, presents another good perspective of the film in the context of other communities reactions to explotation films targeting their communites here: Ticked Off Trannies Gonna Git You Suckers!

She worries that all the hullabaloo will only enrich the filmmaker and possibly encourage repeats of what should have been a well earned wash-out.
(Note: Barbara Sehr is a member of the board of Directors of Ingersoll Gender Center and writes regularly for the Seattle PI)

Last but not least GLAAD went to the degree of raising a call to action regarding the film here. GLAAD expresses the concern that:

“Because of its positioning as a transgender film, viewers unfamiliar with the lives of transgender women will likely leave this film with the impression that transgender women are ridiculous caricatures of "real women." It demeans actual transgender women who struggle for acceptance and respect in their day-to-day lives and to be valued for their contributions to our society.”

Finally here is SIFFs take on the film :

"Long live the Grindhouse! The golden temple to exploitation films is alive and well in Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives. ... In his homage to the exploitation films of the ’70s and ’80s, director Israel Luna sets out to create a new and unique genre: “transploitation.” Loaded with titillating dialogue, bodacious bods, and extreme violence, this controversial revenge fantasy proves that it takes more than balls to get even."

Ingersoll Gender Center has not had the opportunity to see the film and as such takes no specific stance on the film. Any piece of art or entertainment placed in the public sphere must subject itself to the rough and tumble of opinion. Notable in recent years is the rise of many active voices in the trans community and from our allies, often taking advantage of the democratic electronic and social media, to react quickly and strongly to issues of concern, in life and art. Whether you think T-OTWK is raunchy fun, empowering cinema or despicable exploitation, let your voice be heard, see it or protest it.