Transgeneration

by Michael Edwards

It’s another ‘boy becomes girl’ / girl becomes boy story....

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People who know me personally and those who only know of me through my writing are a breed apart. By nature I am a comic, finding humor in every possible situation. Those who read my comments will often get the picture that I am intolerant in my beliefs, but this is because of my lack of writing abilities. Occasionally I have trouble getting my feelings out on paper (or computer) without accidentally offending someone who doesn’t understand who I am. Most of those who have to deal with me in my real life know that while I make jokes about every race imaginable (including my own Italian background). It is obvious to them that I am an equal opportunity offender. I make jokes about EVERYONE equally with no particular malice intended (unless it is directed against a particular person who has wronged me in some way).

Oftentimes my comments fit the times, for example homosexual cowboy jokes are de rigueur thanks to a recent rather controversial movie. So do I join in? Absolutely. Political correctness has no place in my life, and it shouldn’t in anyone’s. As for my personal feelings? Everyone has a right to be whatever or whoever they want, or believe in whatever religion they choose… as long as it does not infringe on the rights of anyone else. That’s when my jokes begin to take bite.

I recognize that almost everyone in this world is screwed up in some way or another, and that’s where the difference lies in my kidding around about people. For the purposes of this review, which is about the DVD release of a series called “Transgeneration,” I will use transgenders as an example. My jokes and comments only become personal when it is about a particular person, not a group of people. I make jokes about stereotypes, because face it, there are people living as stereotypes because they have no identity of their own. But I would never make a serious derogatory comment saying that all transgenders are crazy because that simply isn’t true. But, there are some that are crazy. Along a similar line I’ll be the first to say that not all homosexuals are screwed up in the head, but there are a few that are. I’d say the same thing about heterosexuals. I never feel anyone is screwed up because of what they are, but more because of who they are. I hope that makes sense (that darn writing issue…)

That said (or I should say rambled), I am actually quite fascinated by what makes people tick. Why do they do the things they do, and make the choices they make? This is why I love documentary features that are well made, and allow viewers to see more than one side of the story. A perfect example of this is the recently released “Transgeneration.” It is an eight part series that focuses on the lives of four college students, all of who believe they need to change what they are in order to become closer to who they believe themselves to be.

The subjects in question are: Lucas (female to male), who is a Neurobiology senior at Smith College, Gabbie (male to female), a Computer Science sophomore at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Raci (male to female) a Liberal Arts and Drama freshman from the University of California in Los Angeles and finally T.J. (female to male), who is a Master’s candidate in Student Administration at Michigan State University. Each of these students faces hard choices and various forms of discrimination, all for the camera… and the world to see.

As far as documentaries go, this series seemed to have more in common with the glut of reality TV shows that have flooded our homes, though only in format. In it, the camera follows our subjects around as they go to about their day to day activities, but also focuses on their interaction with family and friends. These experiences are then punctuated by snippets of interviews where we learn a little more about how our subjects feel about their lives and how others react to their choices. As you might expect, the reactions are extremely varied, most notably within the family units. Between the four, they have family members that choose to accept and love unconditionally and those who are so ashamed they are unwilling to even face their kin.

But what I especially appreciated about “Transgeneration” was in the creator’s choices to find their subjects, they opted to find four extremely diverse (there’s an unpopular word) people. Instead of locating subjects that all sounded like carbon copies of one another, and thereby painting a one-sided picture that all transgenders either crazy or perfectly sane, these four are so diverse at to see both sides of the canvas. There are some whose arguments for their choices are completely valid, and a viewer can have no question that they are making the right choice, while others are a little more questionable.

If I have any disappointment in the series, it is the same that I generally have for most documentaries, in that there are some areas left unresolved. I had hoped there might be a little bit of an update in the Bonus Features, but no such luck.

“Transgeneration” is an excellent documentary, and one that I highly recommend.