Film Review: Boys Don’t Cry

Boys Dont Cry is a photo examining the carriage of the modern Teena Brandon. It is an intense movie that follows her journey to self-discovery and essenti all toldy her passing. Boys Dont Cry not hardly explores how difficult it is to be queer but also what it means to have a sexual identity crisis (as Brandon puts it). Brandon goes through so much to cover his true identity and in the end nothing is enough. This adaptation of a true story engages and walks the watcher through the difficulties transgender throng have in life.The opening crack of Boys Dont Cry lets the audience k straight off that Teena Brandon has now become Brandon Teena. Following the lines of New Queer Cinema this film gives the egressside world a new-fashioned counseling to look at transgender individuals. This film breaks new ground by showing true crime material through the prism of New Queer Cinema (Brooks, 2000) The fact that what happened to Brandon was true makes this movie all the more important . Both straights and queers tolerate watch this movie in disgust and learn something from it also.Discrimination (any type and in this case especially sexual) should be stopped. Examining this movie more in depth the audience gets a look not only in the life of Brandon but of the people he surrounds himself with. In the Film diary article Driving into the Dustless Highway of Queer Cinema By Daniel Mudie Cunningham he gives hazardground information about falls City, Nebraska. Being a native San Franciscan myself it helped to fuck what waterfall City was all about because of the obvious contrast between California and Nebraska. Cunningham describes the wall people in his article.The wall people in travel City are bored kids who congregate against the wall at the Qwik Stop convenience store all night long. This is actually a subculture in Falls City. The activities that Brandon and his friends do in the film are what actually happen there. Karaoke and whip-its are the thing to d o for fun in a place life Falls City. An interesting point that Cunningham brings up is that the lives the wall people live and essential the life Brandon wants to be in entraps them more to the rural un-open minded kind of life style.Brandon doesnt see that moving from Lincoln to a more rural town like Falls City is a bad idea. I break it interesting that for the people in Falls City they probably would have done anything to get out of there but Brandon found refuge and called it his home. level off his love, Lana, wanted to get out of Falls City and go as far as Memphis. In actuality no one got to leave and if time could be turned back Brandon and Lana should have made their escape from the beginning. The reasons Brandon didnt want to leave Falls City was because he thought that he had finally been certain and he had found what he was looking for his whole life.Through out the movie we see Brandon searching for the perfect girl. His cousin, Lonnie, even says on the phone call b ack home from Falls City no more girls The romantic aspect of this film re-examines what romantic movies are really about. In this film Brandon is the apidemy of hot for a girl living in Nebraska. And even though Brandon has a secret no one cares because the way he talks and treats girls in interpreted as cute and loving so the lie doesnt matter. When transforming from Teena to Brandon she/he chooses the sweetheart cowboy to be her male persona.With a cowboy hat and a micro bit of a twang Brandon is able to sweep girls of their feet. Even with the first girl in the opening scene, Nicole, she points out that Brandon isnt from around here and when asked where he is from she replies somewhere beautiful. Brandons boyish/girlish good looks and cowboy Im here to save you charm wins everyone over. Enough so that his small body-build and high voice gets left unnoticed. However no matter where Brandon would have went his identity could not be left behind.Brandon through out the whole movi e was trying to be someone he wasnt. Hiding his identity got him in all kinds of trouble. The reason he was found out was because of the petty crimes he move trying to prove himself as a man. The beginning of Brandons undoing was when the gang and him were driving down the highway evading the police. Cunningham once again noted that this scene was an escape for Brandon but can also be seen as his downfall. Brandons life begins to swirl down the drain when little bits of is identity came out, from the ticket to the chip shot written by Teena Brandon. As the events go by it is interesting that when Brandon finally gets some action form Lana she doesnt freak out when she discovers he is a she. Brandon doesnt exactly tell her but in the scene where they are first making love Lana sees Brandons cleavage. In the article written by Xan Brooks for Sight and Sound Lanas trust in Brandon is seen as commendable and endearing. To the very end Lana believed whatever Brandon believed and that w as that he is a man.To bad for Brandon not all of his compadres were that trusting. The end of Boys Dont Cry can definitely make one cry. The gut-wrenching finale is hard to take. When all is found out Brandons friends, especially John and tom turkey, turn against him and break him down in the worst way possible. The rape scene is crude and shows the destruction of Brandons life. Instantly he is turned back into Teena and is striped of all dignity and courage. All the characters worst personality traits prevail here except for Lanas.Every one turns on Brandon including Lanas generate who at one point was completely in love with him calling him a movie star. After the rape when Brandon was reporting it to the police the way the police treated him was horrible. The questions about his sexuality were not pertinent to the rape and were said almost to humiliate him and insinuate that it was brought on because of his lie. A rape dupe in Brandons case or in any other case has historically been led to believe that she brought it on herself for being sexy or for the clothes she wears.Movies like this can be used to open the doors to show the public how disgusting and unforgivable rape can be, especially when done out of the need for control by men. In the case of Brandon John and Tom had be threatened by Brandons cordial manner from the beginning. Brandon who knew exactly how to disport women, both carnally and emotionally (Brooks, 2000) was more masculine in the way he treated women that when it was found out he was a she John and Tom finally found their chance to be superior and raped her. After rape death can be the worst thing to happen to a woman.After Brandons dignity was taken from him his life was also taken. After a beautiful scene when Lana and Brandon fully make love John and Tom go steady Brandon hiding out at Candices house and come for him. John purposefully takes Lana with them so she can witness the death of her lover. This ending scene is not typica l however for a suspense movie. Brandon is killed instantly after some screaming and comes as a unmannerly shock to the audience. The death of Candice happens the same, very blunt and unexpected, with her child right beside her.Boys Dont Cry was almost too much to absorb. Brandons intense death goes to show how closed-minded people can be. Brandon did nothing in his life but be the person he wanted to be and yet because that didnt fit into the norm other people held he was murdered. The life and death of Brandon can be seen as a learning tool and a way to see how discrimination can only lead to bad things happening. Everyone should be left to their own devices and should be able to be whoever they want to be.