We see each other : a Black, trans journey through TV and film

We see each other A Black, trans journey through TV and film

Tre'vell Anderson, 1991-

Book - 2023

"WE SEE EACH OTHER is a personal history of trans visibility since the beginning of moving images. A literary reckoning, it unearths a transcestry that's long existed in plain sight and in the shadows of history's annals, and further contextualizes our present moment of increased representation. The films and television shows that Tre'vell covers include: Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil, Psycho, Holiday Heart, Boy's Don't Cry, America's Next Top Model, Some Like It Hot, Survivor, Tangerine, Pose, RuPaul's Drag Race and much more. Though there have been trans memoirs and histories, there has never been a book quite like this, nor is anyone more suited to write it than Tre'vell. "I do...n't remember exactly when I was taught to hate myself," says Tre'vell Anderson in We See Each Other's introduction. As the narrative unfolds, Tre'vell knits together the history of trans people on screen with stories of their life growing up and their formative experiences as a Black, trans journalist."--Amazon.

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Subjects
Transgender people in motion pictures.
Gender nonconformity on television.
Black people in motion pictures.
Black people on television.
African Americans in motion pictures.
African Americans on television.
African American transgender people.
Motion pictures > History.
Published
New York, New York : Andscape Books, an imprint of Buena Vista Books, Inc 2023.
Language
English
Main Author
Tre'vell Anderson, 1991- (author)
Edition
First edition
Physical Description
234 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-225), filmographies, and index.
ISBN
9781368081733
  • Foreword
  • Introduction
  • Transcestors in Action: A Primer
  • Chapter 1. Cross-Dressed for Success
  • Chapter 2. Possibility Models
  • Chapter 3. Reality Bites
  • Chapter 4. Laverne
  • Chapter 5. A Tangerine Girl
  • Chapter 6. The Lavender Expanses
  • Chapter 7. Live. Work. Pose.
  • Chapter 8. Masc for Masc
  • Chapter 9. Beyond the Binary
  • Transcestors
  • Afterword
  • Acknowledgments
  • Selected Sources
  • Further Reading
  • Index
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Journalist Anderson's stellar debut surveys pop culture representations of trans people. Criticizing the entertainment industry's rocky history with trans stories, Anderson argues that such films as Tootsie and Mrs. Doubtfire perpetuate harmful stereotypes by suggesting that trans women and femmes are "men in wigs," and that the graphic depictions of self-mutilation in Netflix's 2018 film Girl, in which a cis actor plays a trans ballerina, are gratuitous and voyeuristic. Singling out reality TV as the "place where perhaps the best, most varied images of trans folks happen," Anderson writes that trans model Isis King's stints on America's Next Top Model "awakened something within me." Among other "hella personal" takes on trans figures, Anderson devotes a chapter to how Laverne Cox's rise to fame after starring in Orange Is the New Black inspired them to start "using the language of 'gender nonconforming' to describe my unfolding gender expression." Anderson's keen critical eye and humor ("I've been rooting for everybody Black since I was in utero, honey") add to a deeply personal take on the trans film and TV canon that emphasizes the ability of such stories to open "a world of possibilities of what life could be and look like." Incisive and candid, this dazzles. (May)

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Review by Library Journal Review

The awards that journalist Anderson (host of the podcasts What a Day and FANTI) has won for writing about marginalized people and communities in entertainment and pop culture give this volume about trans visibility in film and television a solid pedigree. Merging memoir and media study, the author spotlights trans narratives, past and current, while reflecting on the ways those stories have crossed their own personal journey of identity. The advancements in and frustrations of media representation are sharply observed, but the gems of this volume are Anderson's spotlights on people (Laverne Cox; RuPaul), TV shows (Pose), films (Tangerine), and characters who, though often unacknowledged, have provided instances of LGBTQIA+ visibility that are just as vital. Anderson effectively demonstrates the power that self-recognition--even in slivers and fragments--can fuel those that are hungry for it. VERDICT An excellent examination of the current state of on-screen trans representation and its real-life effects. Anderson also offers some insight into the ways gender, sexuality, and race are handled in different media.--Kathleen McCallister

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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