Movie Review of Dallas Buyers Club

PSA for anyone who isn't educated on this topic:

Transgender: a person whose self-identity does not conform unambiguously to conventional notions of male or female gender.

Transvestite: a person who derives pleasure from dressing in drag/cross-dressing; not always the same as cross-dressers; not always homosexual.

Transsexual: a person who emotionally and psychologically feels that they belong to the opposite sex.

Genderqueer: people who do not subscribe to conventional gender distinctions but identify with neither, both, or a combination of male and female genders.

Cisgender: people who, for the most part, identify as the gender they were assigned at birth.

*There is a lot of cross-over here, and people do not fit into nice and neat little society boxes with pretty labels on them. This is for awareness.

{via}

Spoilers. Duh.

I want to first say that this was a very good movie. It was. I loved it. But all of the message that this movie puts forward to its audience is vastly diminished by Jared Leto's role as Rayon.

But, the Oscar? Shut up and listen. I'm not saying that Jared did not do an absolutely fantastic job in that role. Rayon was my favorite character hands down. He played her with grace; she was funny and kind and just awesome in general. But he should not have been cast in that role.

They should have cast a trans woman to play Rayon. Plain and simple. There is no excuse. Jared Leto is a cis man in high heels in Dallas Buyers Club, and director Jean-Marc Vallee should be ashamed.

The thing is, the whole premise of the movie is to promote the eradication of transphobia and homophobia. It was supposed to support the understanding of the AIDS epidemic that has and still plagues the LGBTQ community. So why get this beautiful film all put together on paper and say Hey, ya know what would really drive home the point of acceptance and equality? Not even trying to cast a trans woman as a trans woman. Yeah. That'll teach 'em.

WHY

I mean, Mcconaughey, did a great job. He was sweet at the right moments and violent at others, and he did a lovely job of showing the transformation, not just of his sick body, but of his own understanding and love. The film in general did a nice job of displaying how intense fear of a group of people, due to lack of research and active avoidance/hatred/violence, can completely erase someone's humanity. And I mean that in a general sense for the person harboring hate and in a point-of-view sense of the person being hated. Everyone is humane unless you steal that right from someone else.

The film is also an example of the less than honorable dealings that go on between the FDA and the pharmaceutical companies, which can impede the distribution of viable drugs HARMS AND KILLS A SHIT LOAD OF PEOPLE SO STOP DOING IT.

So yes, I really liked this movie quite a lot. The make up crew deserves a standing ovation for the fluctuations between good days and bad days. The acting was awesome. The story is important.

BUT FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THINGS HOLY. Cast trans men and women to play trans men and women. Then, you may actually be doing something good for humanity, instead of just making a movie about a horrible man who got sick and learned that there are no monsters but money, and nothing healthier or more normal than fighting for a friend.

With love,
Laney