Image from:
http://www.netflix.com/WatchNowMovie?movieid=70044071&trkid=203119
We have taken genetic men/womyn and made them "real". (quote from the movie by a doctor that was an "expert*") Ok, admittedly, that is not the first thing that comes to mind when I saw the cover of this documentary called "Let me Die a Woman" [sic]. The movie discusses the importance of being able to appear as a womyn in every sense of the word- and most importantly, for their bodies to match how they feel. The problem with the film is much like Bell Hooks's critique of Paris is Buring. The "experts" describe FTM and MTF transsexuals as subjects, discussing the physical and mental "problems" that make them feel the way they do. While the film does not mean to be offensive in its approach, the descriptions of the "how and why" people want to change leaves something to be lacking. (This movie was also a cult classic and was rereleased).
"Any audience hoping to be entertained would not be interested in the true life and testimonials narrated. ..the cinematic narrative makes the ball the center of their lives, yet [who makes it so]?" Is Paris Buring? Bell Hooks, p 155
Much like Paris is Burning, the movie Let me Die a Woman [sic] glosses over the real lives of the people, focusing on the sensationalist views, the medical explanations, everything but the briefest looks at how people really felt. Even those were quite scripted.
*I think the idea of the expert has changed quite a bit, obviously it is constructed, but the advent of the internet makes it easier now for people to be experts in a field. Of course, this film is from 1978...
