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Critical film analysis is very crucial to ensure that the movie is well understood and the objectives of the movies are met. This paper seeks to criticize the film Boys Don’t Cry comparing the main character with that of the film Trapped. The main character in Boys Don’t Cry seeks to change her gender so as to fit in the society. This is a contrast to the main character in Trapped who is desperate to have the society accept her the way she is.
Boys Don’t Cry is the film of Teena Brandon a young woman who is faced with gender identity crisis. As explored in the article Hell in the Heartland: Boys Don’t Cry she was born a woman, but is desperate to change her gender to become a male though she can not afford the operation. Teena was not comfortable living her life as a woman and she did not want the society to label her as a lesbian because she was sexually attracted to women. Growing up, Teena had a problem with her sexuality and when she got a chance to go to a small town called Falls City in Nebraska, she saw this as an opportunity for her to live her life as a man where nobody knew her.
In contrast, Trapped is a film of Samantha Ross who was born a woman, but her body shape resembles that of a man. When growing up, she had a difficult time because when other girls were acquiring their feminine shapes during adolescence, Samantha’s body was changing to resemble that of a man. Many teased her and said that she was a woman trapped in a man’s body. She lost her confidence and unlike Teena Brandon, she had the chance to escape to another town where nobody knew her, but that would not make the situation any different. She knew that it would be the same cycle all over again. The worst time came when she won in athletics in the school champion games. The officials saw her body shape as a way of disputing her victory claiming that she had to be on medication that made her a fast runner giving her the masculine body shape. It was very embarrassing for her because it was demanded that she had to take a drug test to ascertain that she is not on any drugs. Samantha had been struggling with her identity for a long time; the worst thing is that she had to live with the challenges because there was nothing else she could do.
Both Teena and Samantha are struggling with their sexual identity and tend to associate with people from the gender they want to be identified with. While in Falls City, Teena becomes one of the guys and becomes a ladies man so as to assert his authority as a man. He abandons the name Teena and is referred as Brandon by the locals. According to the article “Boys Don’t Cry” by White his behaviour was normal at this stage because he felt that he was free to express himself here because nobody knew him. Samantha just like Brandon associates with other girls. She loves to shop and do other things that women liked doing. Her best friend Maria understands her and they do a lot of activities together. Although Samantha does not have many friends, she does not associate much with boys because most of them make fun of her. She is also afraid that when she mingles with boys, people might think that she is one of them.
According to the article “Sexuality and Gender in Boys Don’t Cry” Brandon was a man in his way of thinking and even in the way that he presented himself. It was just a matter of finding a facility that could successful transition the sexuality of Brandon to match up to his mental state. On the other hand, Samantha was a woman who wished the society could view her for what she was and not according to her body shape. Boys Don’t Cry and Trapped are films that explore the theme of identity. According to the movie review by Brundage, Brandon struggles with his identity where he wants people to view him as a man. He was born a woman and it was difficult for him to express himself as a man in Lincoln, Nebraska. When he moved to Fall City, he had the opportunity to start over and make everybody believe that he was a man. Samantha struggles with her identity because people refer to her as a man because of her masculine body shape. She thinks of escaping to another town where nobody knew her, but it was no guarantee that this would solve her problems. She struggles to have the society accept her although she seems physically different from other girls.
Conclusively, Boys Don’t Cry and Trapped are emotional heartbreaking films that talks about the sexual identity crisis faced by Brandon and Samantha. Brandon was a man who moved to a new town where he could express himself as a man though he was born a woman. While struggling with his identity, he becomes a ladies man so as to prove to himself that he was a man and not a woman. Samantha on the other hand goes through the struggle of proving her femininity though her body shape depicts otherwise. The theme of identity has been brought out in both films to indicate how people struggle with their sexual identity because of their body shape or because they are transgender.
Works Cited
Brundage, Jeffrey. “Boys Don’t Cry” Reviewed February 17, 2000
Jones, Chris. “Sexuality and Gender in Boys Don’t Cry.” Associated Content. Retrieved January 18, 2011 from HYPERLINK “http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/335064/sexuality_and_gender_in_boys_dont_cry.html?cat=38” http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/335064/sexuality_and_gender_in_boys_dont_cry.html?cat=38
Morris, Gordon. “Hell in the Heartland: Boys Don’t Cry” Bright Light Film Journal, 27, 2000.
White, Robert. “Boys Don’t Cry.” Rebirth of Reason. August 2000. Retrieved from HYPERLINK “http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/White/Boys_Dont_Cry.shtml” http://rebirthofreason.com/Articles/White/Boys_Dont_Cry.shtml
