COMM 380:  Media Criticism

“It is time we remind the world who we are.” The powerful matriarch Elektra Abundance demands the focus of her house children to reclaim their honor as legendary performers in the pilot episode of Pose, an FX series co-created by Steven Canals and Ryan Murphy. This line echoes the heart of Pose; and not just the show’s storyline, but the stories behind the show. Pose has received acclaim, from critics and viewers alike, but most importantly, it has received love and praise for its groundbreaking transgender and queer cast and crew. The show has flourished as a leading voice in transmedia representation, walking the walk as a “for us, by us” story. 

 

Pose centers around the New York ballroom scene of the 1980s, a community of LGBTQ people living proudly in an artistic space that they built themselves. The main character, Blanca, played by MJ Rodriguez, is a trans, Afro-Latina member of the house of Abundance, led by Elektra (Dominique Jackson). Blanca leaves to form her own house: the house of Evangelista, and works to build a new family from the ground up. The show tackles transphobia, homophobia, racism, sexism, and HIV&AIDS, amongst other topics. The show is a love letter to trans people of color as it depicts them with care, compassion, and respect. It has proven to be a revelation for queer creatives and queer media consumers. Pose is one of the most important television shows of our time, not only because it is a touching story about queer people by queer people, but because it is one beautifully executed. And because of that, it has the extraordinary opportunity to possibly change how the world sees transgender people. 

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Today we certainly see a lot more queer representation in media than we did ten, twenty years ago. And in most recent years, we are experiencing another LGBTQ+ TV renaissance if you will. Queer characters are increasingly more diverse, with shows like Orange Is The New Black (2013-2019) and Pose (2018-) highlighting LGBTQ+ people of color. The characters are strong, complex, human; a great improvement from how transgender characters have been portrayed by media in the past. Past transgender representations, distanced the audience from transgender people, which did not allow for a healthy, genuine understanding of the characters seen on screen.

 

The influence of the television medium is undeniably widespread and potent, making the quality representation of queer people ultimately that more important. In their article Media’s Influence on Perceptions of Trans Women, phycologists Haley E. Solomon and Beth Kurtz-Costes explain that, “due to the small size of the Trans population, most Americans do not have opportunities to interact with Trans individuals in ways that constructively reduce feelings of transphobia. As such, fictional media representations of Trans women in film and television may be the only way that some individuals receive information and impressions about real Trans women”. They go on to detail how stereotypes of trans women perpetuated by media have an impact on how trans women are treated in the “real” world. Many trans women still face violence and discrimination in the real world, due in part to how the media has represented trans people with images of, “sensationalism, distortion and fear-mongering” (Ryan).

 

And because these representations have such an impact, those who create, write, and produce trans stories, the ones behind the camera, who construct the very portrayal of an already misrepresented community, are incredibly important. Through stories, creators communicate something to an audience, the people receiving messages through those stories. And if the creators of the stories do not understand the messages they are sending to audiences, it can be very detrimental to the people being represented by those stories. Therefore, trans people must be allowed to write trans stories and play trans characters so that these representations are not unqualified to teach viewers about the LGBTQ+ community. And the industry must give them more room to do so. 

 

Because the film and television business is run predominately by White, straight, cis men, POC and LGBTQ+ filmmakers rarely get a seat at the table, and even more rarely, a throne. And if those who run the business are not going to create a space for us, we have to carve one out for ourselves. We are seeing more of this now with creatives recognizing their positions and using them to make room for others. Lena Waithe, Tyler Perry, and Lin Manuel Miranda are all artists who have used their place in the business to employ and uplift those in their respective communities. Ryan Murphy is a great example of an influential show creator and producer who uses his platform to provide other LGBTQ+ creatives with opportunities. 

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 Steven Canals, an artist from the Bronx, dreamed of making a television show about queer ballroom culture in 1980s New York. And in 2016, after years of his idea being turned down by executives, he got to sit across from his TV idol Ryan Murphy, who wanted to produce his project, Pose (Canals). He was ecstatic about the opportunity and said that Murphy believed that, “Providing everyone with the tools they need to be successful is key”. Because the show revolves heavily around its transgender women characters, Murphy and Canals, cis men, made sure to hire trans writers such as Janet Mock and Our Lady J, along with trans-co-producer, Silas Howard. And most importantly: all of the transgender characters in the show are played by trans actors. Pose has a “history-making number of transgender actors in series regular roles for a scripted series and largest LGBTQ cast ever for a scripted series” (Nilles). 

 

Pose writer Janet Mock said in an interview about the importance of the show’s representation both in front of and behind the camera: “I think there was a craving to make sure that those people who were trans were actually centered for once. I think viewers demanded it and wanted a more diverse writers room” (Sharee). And that’s why the trans storylines in Pose are so palpably authentic: it is to the credit of trans writes telling trans stories and those who made it happen. “By increasing the number of transgender actors in films and executives in boardrooms, the chances increase that a transgender voice will help to shape transgender representations” (Miller). 

 

I will progress this analysis of the lack of diversity in trans representation on television by citing a quote from trans activist and performer Peppermint: “A lot of the time, Hollywood makes these stories about queer, trans and minority folks and they get it wrong: there’s offensive material, tragic storylines, one-dimensional, stereotypical characters with little depth” (qtd. in Pollard).

 

As trans representation is making waves in film and television, the quality of those representations must be able to keep up with the current. Pose does just that with the writing of its trans characters. They are beautiful, broken, driven, complicated; especially the leading women characters of Pose. They, “aren’t just one-dimensional side chicks, sidekicks, or fantasies — they’re also sisters, mothers, and saviors to the people around them” (Willis). All an actor wants is to play a beautifully complex character, and Pose has provided its trans talent with this same opportunity as their cis counterparts. Yet the show acknowledges that these characters still face immense struggles because of their gender and sexuality, especially since the show is set in the 1980s. Queer audiences don’t want to see yet another queer film or show about an LGBTQ+ character’s adversity. But it’s important to include: “queer and trans narratives — especially those of people of color — are still so often eclipsed by or laden with tragedy. Pose doesn’t shy away from the hardships, but elevates the celebration and fellowship of these groups to the same level of importance” (Willis). Pose brings dignity to its trans characters by balancing their narratives, something that I have very rarely seen in an LGBTQ+ show like this one.

 

The wonderfully written stories of these characters are brought to life by the astoundingly talented cast. MJ Rodriguez is a revelation in the series. As Blanca, she brings the motherly love, raw grit, and determination that makes the character so charismatic and inspiring. The performances on the show are captivating. And it’s not just viewers who think so. Pose has been critically acclaimed for the actors’ performances in the series, particularly Billy Porter, who has received two Emmy nominations, and one win last year as a supporting actor for his role as Pray Tell. However, the trans actresses who lead the show have not received the same award recognition, though their performances on the show are just as impressive. Some voiced their dismay about how trans talent is still not as praised as it should be. But although they might not be receiving recognition in the form of award nominations, they are receiving well-deserved praise from viewers and fans for their authentic performances.

 

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And it’s not just the lead actors that bring such a genuine spirit to Pose. There was absolute dedication when it came to building a queer space on the set, an initiative which proved to be so valuable. The show is a prime example of how research and representation of a culture can help to accurately and beautifully represent them. Pose succeeds because of, “the work put into the creation and production of the show…the Pose team conducted months of research prior to the production of the series. They hired ballroom elders as consultants to ensure accuracy, voguing legends like Leiomy Maldonado as choreographers, and trans crew members. Paris Is Burning alums play the roles of ballroom judges” (Devin-Norelle). Even the vast majority of extras on the show are LGBTQ+ community members. As a queer person watching the show, I can feel the authenticity of the community in the ballroom scenes. To many queer people, those scenes feel like home. The atmosphere of the community is warm, familial. Welcoming. For so long, people of color have had to relate to white characters, queer people have had to relate to straight characters, and trans people have had to relate to cis characters. But Pose flips the script. Because of the complexity of the show’s characters, any viewer can find something in themselves that they relate to Blanca, Pray Tell, Elektra. Because of the inviting atmosphere and the importance of family at the heart of the show, everyone can fall in love with Pose. “Early episodes prove that Pose is versatile, capable of both universality and vivid specificity” (Fienberg).

 

Pose is one of the most important queer television series of the modern era, if not the most important. It is a work of art created by trans and queer people for trans and queer people, specifically trans and queer people of color, a group whose voices and talents deserve to be taken seriously. When it comes to the show, one can find that there is not only necessary attention to cast and production representation, but there is quality in the storytelling. The narratives of Pose’s characters are raw, unflinching. They dissect the good and the bad, the glamorous and the dangerous, all the ups and downs of living in 1980s New York as a trans woman of color, following her dreams beside her ballroom community. It’s a beautiful queer story. And it’s an important one. Pose is important. And its legacy will be remembered as such. Tens! Tens! Tens. Across. The board.

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Works Cited

 

Canals, Steven. (2018, May 24). “FX’s 'Pose' Creator on His Difficult Journey Bringing the Groundbreaking Trans Series to TV.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast Company. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/fxs-pose-creator-on-his-difficult-journey-bringing-the-groundbreaking-trans-series-to-tv.

 Devin-Norelle, D. (2018, July 18). How 'Pose' Changed My Life - And Season 2 Will Change the Future. Retrieved from https://www.them.us/story/pose-fx-will-change-the-future 

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Fienberg, D. (2018, May 22). 'Pose': TV Review. Retrieved from https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/pose-review-1113758

 Miller, J. R. (2012). Crossdressing Cinema: An Analysis of Transgender Representation In Film. Retrieved from https://oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/bitstream/handle/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2012-08-11672/MILLER-DISSERTATION.pdf?sequence=2

 

Nilles, Billy. (2018, May 9). “Ryan Murphy Will Donate Pose Profits to LGBTQ Charities.” E! Online, E! News. https://www.eonline.com/news/933897/ryan-murphy-announces-100-percent-of-his-pose-profits-will-be-donated-to-lbgtq-charities.

 Pollard, Alexandra. (2019, Jan 13). “Should Straight Actors Play Queer Characters on Screen?” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/straight-actors-playing-gay-roles-characters-ben-whishaw-darren-criss-cate-blanchett-rachel-weisz-a8723421.html.

 

Ryan, J. (2009). Reel Gender: Examining the Politics of Trans Images in Film and Media. (Electronic Thesis or Dissertation). Retrieved from https://etd.ohiolink.edu/!etd.send_file?accession=bgsu1245709749&disposition=inline

 

Sharee, T. (2018, July 07). "The Family Concept Is What Is Most Powerful To Me" Janet Mock Shares Ball Culture Is Life On FX's "Pose". Retrieved from https:// madamenoire.com/1031799/janet-mock-shares-why-pose-is-so-important/

 

Solomon, H.E., Kurtz-Costes, B. (2018). Media’s Influence on Perceptions of Trans Women. Sex Res Soc Policy 15, 34–47 Retrieved from https://doi.org/10.1007/s13178-017-0280-2

 

Willis, R. (2018, June 03). 'Pose' Is the TV Series Queer and Trans People of Color Deserve. Retrieved from https://www.them.us/story/pose-fx-qtpoc-representation