News Satire Roundup: June 5th

Sunday, June 5 – Trump’s enterprises have been sued 3,500 times.  As John pointed out, TV doesn’t have enough legal drama to cover that.  After adding up every episode of every Law & Order variation, he added other lawyer shows until he ran out, a great way to show how insane that is.  He also looked at Trump University, including tidbits from its skeevy “playbook” and a little on the judge who’s hearing the case, who Trump thinks should recuse himself because he has Mexican heritage (yeah.)  The main story on debt buyers continued the “slimeball” theme.  They buy old debts for pennies on the dollar and rake people over the coals to pay them, even if they’ve passed the statute of limitations, declared bankruptcy, or passed away.  Luckily, John is spectacular; he not only started a debt buying company to prove how disturbingly easy it is, he bought a bunch of debt and had nearly $15,000,000 officially forgiven at the end of the episode.

No Daily Show again this week.  One thing that I want to mention is that I really like how the show has covered bathroom bills and the issue of trans rights over the past couple of months.  I remember when the subject first came up on the show, I was a bit apprehensive; I hadn’t been overly impressed with what little LGBTQ-related stories they’d previously done (or with standup pieces I’d seen from Trevor dealing with LGBTQ people, honestly,) and while this was the first time I’d seen the show and/or Trevor talk about trans stuff in particular, I wasn’t sure how thoughtful the commentary or the jokes would be.

But really, I think they’ve hit it out of the park.  I love that they did an entire episode centered around trans folk, and their continuing coverage of the North Carolina situation, bathroom bills in general, and the Obama administration’s response has been excellent.  Every story they’ve done on this topic, for me, has been funny, informative, hard-hitting, and most importantly, very earnest.  The show is really standing with trans people here, and I’m glad to see that.

A lot of what’s sprung out of this continuing story is crazy and ripe for satire.  North Carolina suing the federal government when the DOJ tells them their law is unconstitutional?  And willing to lose billions of dollars of federal education funding over it?  A man who supports a law to discriminate against people appears on TV comparing himself to Martin Luther King, Jr., Gandhi, and Jesus?  That’s insane, and perfectly ridiculous.

But the show has made serious points as well, both with and without humor.  Trevor has addressed (and ripped to shreds) each of the various hyperbolic, fearmongering arguments against allowing trans people to use the bathroom that matches their gender identity.  “But how’s it supposed to work?!  It’s unnatural!!!”  (Progress is often uncomfortable at first, but it’s still the right thing to do.)  “So any man can say he feels like a woman and go into the bathroom to molest my daughter?!”  (There’s no correlation between being trans and being a pervert, and it’s not like perverts have been sitting on their hands waiting for a legal loophole they can use to their advantage – also, there’s never been a reported case of someone being molested by a trans woman in a public restroom.)  “But it’s absurd; why would anyone think this is something we should be doing?!”  (People once said the same thing about interracial bathrooms, and looking back on it now, you’d call that sort of forced segregation absurd.  Again, progress.)  He’s also brought up trans men – specifically, the fact that no one’s bringing them up in all their panicked, exclusionary rhetoric and the gross double standard therein.

News Satire Roundup: May 15th-May 19th

Sunday, May 15 – Quick round of Trump stories, including an invitation for John Miller, the fake publicist Trump posed as in the early ‘90s, to come on the show (in a later bit, Trump also took credit for Budweiser temporarily renaming itself “America.”)  The story on the queen’s criticism of Chinese officials allowed John to make a pithy, accurate summation of Britain’s entire colonial history.  We were also treated to a montage of racist/vulgar statements made by the governor of Maine.  The main story, on 9-1-1 centers, did not mess around.  It’s mind-boggling that the technology in so many 9-1-1 facilities doesn’t allow dispatchers to accurate pinpoint locations from cellphone calls, especially since, as John pointed out, the Domino’s app knows exactly where you are.  I wouldn’t say I find it hardto believe that a number of states place so little import on maintaining 9-1-1 centers, but it’s certainly depressing to believe.

Monday, May 16 – Like Last Week Tonight, things kicked off with a Trump story catch-all.  I liked Trevor’s comment that “John Miller” is such a good publicist, he’s completely distracted people from Trump’s tax returns.  More tales of Trump’s misogyny was gross but expected, and the description of the RNC chairman tasked with talking up Trump as “a hostage victim trying to get Stockholm Syndrome” was perfect.  New contributor Eliza did a piece on Trump’s obviously deplorable rapport with Latin@s and the GOP’s desperation to fix that.  I enjoyed the crack about Trump being a telenovela character come to life, although the resulting sketch was iffy.  Anthony Anderson was the guest, talking about Black-ish, and he was great.  I’m so used to watching him play Dre that it was jarring (but nice) to hear him talk as himself – his story about his mom and Obama rocked.

Tuesday, March 17 – Iran thinking Kim Kardashian is a spy is silly, but I loved Trevor’s riff on the US government deciding Iran might be right when they can’t explain why she’s famous.  The latest Supreme Court non-decision prompted a new story on Congress stonewalling Merrick Garland’s nomination hearing; my favorite part was the “one-act play” depicting a recent brunch between Garland and Senate Judiciary chairman Chuck Grassley.  We saw the first of a two-part field report by Hasan on Canada’s reception of Syrian refugees.  I hadn’t known that private citizens in Canada can raise money to sponsor a family’s resettlement themselves, but it’s very cool and I loved the panel Hasan talked to.  The guest was Dahlia Lithwick, who reports on the Supreme Court for Slate.  Naturally, she had plenty to say about Garland and the hole the Senate has dug itself into now that the next president will presumably be either Clinton or Trump.

Wednesday, May 18 – Opened on a few easy jokes about a politician who accidentally revealed a few of his porn tastes to the public.  Don’t you hate it when that happens?  I liked the coverage of Megyn Kelly’s interview with Trump, both the ridiculous pre-show hype and the completely toothless interview itself.  Hasan’s second piece on Canada’s acceptance of refugees featured a great interview with Prime Minister Trudeau, who had an excellent sense of when to joke and when to be serious.  The continued rumination of America as a nation of immigrants that loves hating new immigrants was great.  Jason Sudeikis was the guest, and while "”alking super-serious about the Angry Birds movie” is a blindingly obvious joke to pull, both he and Trevor did it so well.  Sudeikis blathering about his “process” was terrific, and I lost it when he started comparing the movie to Braveheart.

Thursday, May 19 – Opening blurb on protests in China.  I liked Trevor’s comment that the government spends its money gluing down bricks instead of addressing the concerns that make people want to throw them.  Trevor had a great monologue on the continuing issue of trans bathroom rights.  In my favorite bit, he compared it to past bathroom debates (against gay people and Black people,) demonstrating how absurd those arguments feel today and asserting that arguments against trans folk will feel just as absurd in days to come.  Roy and Eliza tag-teamed a piece as a pair of Sanders supporters with differing levels of zealotry, looking at violence and threatening remarks coming from some supporters; I laughed at Roy shutting down Eliza’s repeated attempts to give a Black Power salute.  Guest Arianna Huffingtontalked about her new book on sleep and the counterproductive myth that success can only be made by sacrificing it.

Beautiful Boxer (2004)

This is a flawed but interesting film about an even more interesting true story.  Beautiful Boxer chronicles the early life and fame of Nong Toom, a transgender teenager in Thailand who pays for her transition surgery by joining the world of professional Muay Thai kickboxing.  (Note:  the main character’s name is given as both Nong Toom and Parinya Charoenphol.  However, she uses a variety of names in and out of the ring, and for the sake of simplicity, I’m going to use “Toom.”  That would normally give me pause, since it’s her birth name, but even the real boxer’s Wikipedia page regularly uses it, so I think it’s probably okay?  No offense intended.)

From a very young age, Nong Toom realizes she isn’t a boy like everyone thinks.  Due to her family’s poverty, she thinks that having gender reassignment and “becoming a real woman” is just a pipe dream, until she discovers an unlikely talent:  Muay Thai.  She’s by no means a naturally violent person, but the promise of quick money through competitive kickboxing draws her in and she joins a training camp in the hopes of providing for her parents and funding her transition.  Along the way, she becomes hugely famous for her “gimmick” of wearing makeup in the ring.

It’s that last part that intrigues me the most.  Toom’s trainer is anxious to discover a boxer with a “hook,” and Toom’s secret love of makeup and female clothes seems to provide just that.  She’s a sensation, gaining instant notoriety and sparking debate over whether it’s just an act for publicity or if she’s a real “transvestite” (that’s the word the movie continually uses, although I’m not sure if that’s the actual concept they mean or if it’s just what they picked for the English subtitles.)  At first, it looks like it means Toom gets to be herself in the ring, but it’s a very limited, exaggerated “version” of herself, one that spurs scandal and mockery.  Not to mention, obviously, it’s motivated by someone else’s need for a gimmick and thus ripe for exploitation.

The toxic masculinity on display is both potent and ugly.  The more stereotypically-feminine Toom looks or acts in the ring, the harder her opponents kick her.  They shout transphobic insults at her and constantly try to tear her down, try to make her afraid of them, but these actions reflect their fears, not hers.  Yes, part of it is the self-assurance that they won’t be beaten by a “transvestite” coupled with the paradoxical terror that they will, just as part of it is a more general fear and hatred of what they don’t understand.  It’s so interesting that this brusque, hyper-masculine road is the one Toom takes to facilitate her transition.

While the themes are really neat (if, at times, conveyed a little heavy-handedly) and the Muay Thai is pretty cool, I’d say the overall quality of the film is a bit middling.  This is the first Thai movie I’ve ever seen, so I can’t say how it holds up comparably from a production standpoint, but it feels a little chintzy to me.  It’s like they have a good story but not quite the means to tell it properly, and that mutes its effect somewhat.

Warnings

Sexual references, boxing violence, language, drinking, and thematic elements.

News Satire Roundup: April 3rd-April 7th

Sunday, April 3 – I loved the description of the nuclear summit as the one place you want to see Putin, and Obama’s remarks about Trump’s grasp of foreign policy were terrific.  Good piece on the Yankees as well, with their snobbish aversion to fans reselling tickets, lest people in the premium seats be forced to sit with the proles – keep it classy, Yankees!  The main story was on congressional fundraising, i.e., what our representatives spend 50-60% of their time doing.  Some of the statistics were insane (the ideal schedule for a representative includes four hours of cold calls a day?!), and I loved the stuff about all the fundraisers at Taylor Swift concerts.  What’s really wild, though, is how much people on both sides of the aisle absolutely hate this part of the job, but neither side seems willing to change it.  The Cold War analogy was apt, as was John’s point that we at least got a moon landing and the third-best Rocky villain out of that!

Monday, April 4 – So-so opening on the growing friction between Clinton and Sanders.  My favorite part was the bit on Sanders bringing up the Clinton black marks he “wasn’t” mentioning.  Interesting to have the guest, DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, on in the second segment – wonder if we’ll be seeing that more often?  I liked her comments on her counterpart at the RNC, but she leaned too hard on using the Republican race to distract from DNC issues.  Love the story on South African president Jacob Zuma, especially the crack about missing Zuma’s corruption red flags because South Africans try not to “see color” post-apartheid and so they “only saw flags.”  This led nicely to an overview of the Panama Papers.  I enjoyed Trevor’s utter non-shock at Putin being corrupt and his despair at Jackie Chan being implicated.  “Remember, approach Jackie Chan as a group, but then fight him one at a time.”  Ha!

Tuesday, April 5 – Really enjoyed tonight’s show.  Great commentary on wage inequality between the US men and women’s soccer teams.  $.25 on the dollar is such a staggering disparity, and Trevor shut down every possible argument against paying the much-more successful women’s team equally.  The second story was another piece from the “Trump archives,” an old interview clip in which he objectified his 1-year-old daughter – I know.  Obviously, the clip itself was horrendous (the show had to cleanse our mental palates afterwards with shots of puppies and flowers,) but I really like the deeper point Trevor made with it: Trump’s misogyny is so automatic that he doesn’t even think about reducing his own infant daughter to a collection of body parts.  Nice interview with Jerrod Carmichael of The Carmichael Show. I’ve never seen it, but he may have convinced me to check it out; I’m intrigued.

Wednesday, April 6 – Fantastic show.  Other than a quick piece on the Wisconsin primary (as a thank-you for not voting for Trump, Trevor made it rain with cheese,) the episode focused on the trans community.  Trevor lambasted bathroom bills as being insane, hateful, and impractical; I loved his remarks on the Kansas bill (that thing is so crazy,) and the bigotry-Ebola comparison was perfect.  Jessica did a field piece on a trans woman who was arrested for checking into a hotel (yeah,) and she also spoke to a panel talking about the “trans panic” at the heart of this discrimination.  It was especially effective when they bombarded Jessica with common intrusive questions, from “Do you have a dick?” to “What's your realname?”  The guest, Angelica Ross, runs a tech organization for trans people.  It serves as both a safe space for Internet access and a training center to boost tech skills and increase employability.  In short, she was awesome.

Thursday, April 7 – We opened on a gun that looks like a smartphone, featuring Trevor’s many ways to accidentally shoot yourself.  Next was Cruz campaigning in New York, a.ka. getting insulted by New Yorkers; who doesn’t enjoy a good “Everybody Hates Cruz” segment?  A piece on Trump’s issues with women broadened into a larger story on politicians using their wives to appeal to female voters, with new correspondent Michelle highlighting the caveman logic of, “You woman.  Me have woman.  You vote me!”  Another Third Month Mania segment, in which Trump supporters were named the most infuriating subject.  I did like Roy and Hasan dragging out Jordan to accept the award since; as the show’s only white male regular, he was the closest thing they had to a Trump supporter.  Guest Juan Williams discussed his book that expands the idea of “founders” to those who have shaped the US, for better or worse, all through its history.

The Danish Girl (2015, R)

So I did see it.  I debated – even apart from the cis-playing-trans uncoolness, the reviews were fairly lukewarm – but in the end, I decided to see it.  First, I can’t have an opinion on something I haven’t seen.  Second, it sounds like Alicia Vikander may likely win best supporting actress.  Finally, the only other option I had for a third Oscar film this weekend was 45 Years, and Charlotte Rampling’s remarks on #OscarsSoWhite have lessened my interest in that film.

Einar Wegener, celebrated landscape painter, is on the edge of a precipice.  Einar’s wife Gerda recently needed Einar to fill in briefly when a ballerina, a model for one of her own paintings, didn’t show.  Wearing stocks and slippers, legs draped with tulle, something that’s hidden inside Einar for a very long time begins to unlock:  Einar is trans.  At first, Gerda thinks her husband’s newly presented femininity is a game they play, for titillation or amusement, but Einar is on her way to truly finding herself for the first time.  As she goes deeper and deeper into living as Lili, her “play” identity, she hopes she can make Gerda see her for who she really is.

I’ve heard this film described as a transgender movie for cisgender people, and I’d say that’s accurate.  In addition to using all the “trans tragedy” tropes (extreme fear/shame, horrifically barbaric “medical treatments,” teary conversations about identity, violent transphobic brutes, and numerous “transform in front of the mirror” scenes,) the trans basics are also a bit muddled.  Lili and Gerda speak of “Einar” and “Lili” as if they’re two separate people and Lili “becomes” one or the other depending on how she’s dressed.  To be fair, the 1920s didn’t really have words for transgender identity, so I could buy Lili and Gerda not knowing how to talk about what they’re going through.  And on the first point, I don’t mean to downplay violence, medical ignorance, or psychological turmoil; obviously, these things weren’t uncommon then and, for many, they continue today.  However, these struggles are often thought of as the trans narrative that it’s a bit, “Of course this is the story they elected to tell.”  The story does get points for its depiction of Gerda’s complicated journey and the ultimate message that Lili’s only choice is to be who she is.

On a positive note, the film looks exquisite.  The costumes are to die for (Lili lived in a terrible era for trans women’s rights but an excellent one for trans women’s wardrobes,) and the Denmark landscapes are gorgeous.  I like the way the paintings are realized in nature.

Alicia Vikander (lately of Ex Machina) is very strong here as Gerda, struggling to find the best way to love her husband as she comes to grips with what’s going on.  And lead-actor-nominated Eddie Redmayne gives a classic Oscary performance as Lili.  That sounds dismissive, and it is a bit.  While he obviously does well in the role, I’m distracted by the Oscar-baity-ness of it, the unfairness of his casting, and my overall iffyness with the character.  I don’t begrudge Lili being generally shy and terrified of what she’s doing in asserting her identity, but it also takes guts to break from society’s conventions like that, and unfortunately, a lot of Lili’s characterization is so timid and fragile that we don’t get much chance to see how tough she obviously is.

Warnings

Sexual content (including sex scenes and nudity,) violence, drinking/smoking, and thematic elements.

Tangerine (2015, R)

I’m putting this film with the other #OscarsSoWhite movies I’ve watched lately, though I don’t think it would have been a likely contender regardless of the main characters’ races.  It’s too small, too meandering, and too vulgar – while Oscar films can be any of these things, it’s rare to find one that’s all three.  However, I heard positive things about it and really wanted to see it, particularly since a movie starring trans actresses of color seemed like a really satisfying answer to (the, naturally, nominated) Eddie Redmayne playing a trans woman in The Danish Girl.

Tangerine follows a pair of sex workers through a tumultuous Christmas Eve in L.A.  Sin-Dee, fresh out of jail, has just learned that her boyfriend/pimp cheated on her while she was away.  Not remotely one to bottle her feelings, she’s on the warpath to find him and/or the “real fish” (i.e., cisgender woman) who’s been knocking boots with him.  Her best friend Alexandra tries to be supportive, but she’s dreading Sin-Dee’s flair for drama, and besides, she has her own concerns to be thinking about – her first onstage musical performance at a bar later that evening.

I don’t think this is quite the film for me, although that’s not down to its quality.  Instead, it’s more a matter of sensibility.  It’s a very “roll with what’s happening” movie, following Sin-Dee and Alexandra throughout their day.  That’s frequently outrageous, sometimes gross, sometimes trashy, occasionally humdrum, always serpentine.  While it has a definite throughline of Sin-Dee wanting to find and confront her boyfriend, the plot wanders toward it rather than building up to it.  It’s a super-indie trait that I can find tiresome when it’s sustained over a full movie.

But that’s why I didn’t connect with it.  I know many like that style, and I’d say the film does it pretty well.  Plus, while my attention wavered on the characters’ journeys, I enjoy the characters themselves.  Sin-Dee can be a self-involved piece of work with a hair-trigger temper, but she’s also funny, resourceful, and more vulnerable than she lets on.  Alexandra’s long-suffering support for her friend ranges from amusing to sweet, and I like her no-nonsense attitude.

And yeah, I love that these trans characters are played by trans actresses.  Neither Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (Sin-Dee) or Mya Taylor (Alexandra) had screen experience before this film, but both give spirited, naturalistic performances that embody their roles to a tee.  One thing I’ve realized about cis actors playing trans is that, for me, part of my attention is always on how well they play trans.  Never mind the character’s personality or emotions; there’s always a part of my brain going, “How’re they doing?  Can I buy that?  Is this portrayal respectful?”  But it shouldn’t be like that.  When I watch Jennifer Lawrence, I don’t think, “She’s great at playing a woman,” and Chiwetel Ejiofor’s films don’t make me muse, “He’s so believable as a Black man.”  Binary gender is understood, race is understood (though not as much as it really needs to be.)  Genders outside of cis-male and cis-female should be as well (along with disability, more consistently.)  Then, like here, we can get straight to looking at the nuances of the characters instead of concentrating on how the performer handles groundwork that ought to be background detail.

Warnings

Sexual content (including multiple sex scenes, solicitation, and some nudity,) violence, language (including transphobic and homophobic slurs,) drinking, smoking, and drug use.

Favorite Characters: Maura Pfefferman (Transparent)

Thought I might as well jump on this bandwagon.  I think by now most people have heard about the bombshell that starts off Transparent, but if not, consider this your last warning.  On the whole, I find Transparent to be a little uneven and entirely too in love with the fact that it’s an Internet series that can show as much sex and drug use as it wants, but I love the character of Maura.  Today’s post is all about the newly proclaimed Pfefferman family matriarch.

Although, like many LGBT characters, much of Maura’s storyline centers on her LGBT identity, it feels true to life here.  In the pilot, she’s finally preparing to come out to her adult children as trans, after she’s spent her life masquerading as the man they call their father Mort.  As she goes to meetings at a local LGBT center, introduces herself to her kids one by one, and navigates new gender waters with the help of a supportive friend, I recognize that state of being, that period when you first start coming out and it seems to eclipse everything else in your life.  It’s on your mind all the time, you’re equal parts terror and boldness, and once you take those early steps toward the light, you can get this sudden urge to run into the sunshine.  That’s what I see in Maura.  She’s jittery, a raw nerve, exploring everything, curious in an almost childlike manner, and generally a sweet trans mess.  That whirlwind, fear, and triumph all feel so authentic to me.

I love her forays into her real identity.  She’s so sincere and elated fluttering around her friend’s apartment, admiring the wardrobe and noting the womanly touches in the décor.  The rush she feels when she “passes” in public is lovely, I like that she finds the guts to perform at the LGBT center talent night, and of course she has an instantaneous placebo reaction to her very first estrogen pill.  I really like her relationship with her oldest daughter Sarah, who’s overwhelmed but trying to be supportive.  Whether she’s stalwartly defending Maura’s right to use a women’s restroom or warning her about the scam of “free” makeovers, Sarah is a great ally in training.

Obviously, though, not all of Maura’s experiences go as well as she’d like.  For every time a clerk calls her “ma’am,” there’s an instance of someone staring at her like she’s an aberration of nature.  Old friends react as if she’s burning their retinas, so-called concerned citizens call her sick and perverted, and a niece confides that she teaches a boy “who suffers the same condition.”  You ache for her when she bails out of an early coming-out attempt and shows up breathlessly late in men’s clothing.  When she tries being out with her grandchildren, their dad goes into an ugly, disgusted rage; her response to his diatribe is possibly the best moment of the season: 

“This is my family.  Leonard, I am so sorry.  This is my fault.  I should have called you.  Honey, I should have taken you out to lunch and we should have talked.  But I didn’t do that.  And I’m sorry about the ‘Mort’ and the ‘Maura’ and the ‘he’ and the ‘she.’  I’m just a person.  And you’re just a person.  And here we are.  And baby, you need to get in the whirlpool or you need to get out of it.”

There’s the heartbreak of her apologizing for who she is, but she answers his ignorant poison with such softness.  And ultimately, it comes from a place of strength, because she’s not backing down from asserting her right to be.  I know it’s condescending to tell queer people how “brave” they are, but she’s stunning here.  Faced with someone who denies her reality and seeks to make her dirty and wrong, she holds her ground and refrains from anger.  Maura Pfefferman rocks.