Melancholy, respectability, and credibility in Sean Baker’s Tangerine

Abstract

ABSTRACT A complex cinematic history of trans characters precedes contemporary representations of trans people — one of normalizing trans identity through class, gender, and race. In the context of contemporary American cinema, Sean Baker’s Tangerine (2015) demonstrates alternative strategies for representing trans characters and marks a turning point in trans cinema. Tangerine presents a grittier version of transgender experience than was seen in mainstream trans films released during the mid-2010s. The film challenges victimization narratives and the pathologization of the trans body, appealing directly to trans audiences. Moreover, the film’s trans-affirmative casting advocates trans agency, while its depictions of state and individual violence systematically critique conventional trans tropes in earlier trans films. However, the film’s paratexts re-affirm some of the industrial patterns that continue to marginalise trans industry workers. Prominent reviews and interviews with the cast and crew spotlight the redirection of this trans film’s cultural and financial capital away from trans workers and toward industry elites. Ultimately, Tangerine signals a complex turning point in trans media, whereby media industries increasingly value trans performers and consultants for their capacity to legitimize trans media, but trans industry workers continue to remain vulnerable within these industries’ complex power dynamics.