Girl Like Me <-- Movie

[Torn1990]

So yes! Kind of in the wrong section but not really. I don't want to talk about the movie necessarily because I'm experiencing difficulty continuing it. (I have to keep pausing to just take in the emotion lmao )
Let me start out by saying I have conjuctivitus (informally known as pink eye) and i'm just sitting in my bed alone, decided not to go to work obviously and thought i'd put this movie on! (im watching it from youtube)
I really do like sad movies, but i'm definitely having trouble watching this one because of how much I relate with it. It's like hurting my heart or something. I really want to continue, and i think I will...
BUT, does anybody else have trouble with this sort of thing? It's just like, every moment of conflict i'm suddenly enveloped in memories and emotion. Especially when Gwen would dress as a kid and present to a crowd of people by surprise or something, i remember all those stares, the laughing, and ultimately my parents dragging me away shamefully.. And not understand why.
I feel hopeless, you know? I'm now 20 years old in 22 days, I've gone through my childhood, I got through highschool (somehow) and now i'm trying to get through life, and it's almost even more difficult now then it was then. I feel stuck. I don't know.. You'd think i'd feel more free-- hah..
I don't know what i'm doing.. I guess I just wanted to talk to people.
I wish I was watching this movie with someone i could relate to. Instead of alone, like always.

[spacial]

I've just tried to watch it on YouTube.

I got to 15 minutes and had to stop it. It is so, unbearably slow, especially since we know what is going to happen.

Sorry I can't be more help. I don't watch much TV or many films. This is one of the reasons. Another being interminable adverts.

[Torn1990]

I've just tried to watch it on YouTube.

I got to 15 minutes and had to stop it. It is so, unbearably slow, especially since we know what is going to happen.

Sorry I can't be more help. I don't watch much TV or many films. This is one of the reasons. Another being interminable adverts.

  i can enjoy the story as well inbetween rather then dreading over knowing what's going to happen Which is the point of it being a movie. But I am concerning over the emotional side of it being pretty intense and all.  And yeah youtube has become media-influenced with adverts and such. Not too slow for me actually, it's covering everything well imo.

[spacial]

Sorry I wasn't clear. When I said slow, I meant the pace of the movie. YouTube is fine for me, most of the time.

The story seemed to drag. Especially when we already knew the ending. It was as if the script writer had written a story to last about 45 minutes but the director needed to pad it out to about one and a half hours.

[MillieB]

I liked the film but watched it at the same time as Soldiers Girl so I was left thinking, I want to see a film where the trans woman gets the guy, has a wonderful time and lives happily ever after. I know that both of these films are based on true stories but it does seem as though filmmakers are only interested in TS people when something horrible happens to them

I really think though that the pace of the movie wasn't that slow and I think that you needed quite a lot of background on Gwen to be able to understand some of her choices.

[Torn1990]

I really think though that the pace of the movie wasn't that slow and I think that you needed quite a lot of background on Gwen to be able to understand some of her choices.

Agreed.
I'll probably look into soldiers girl next. 

*edit* i just finished it. Brought me to tears.  It was well done.
Millie, actually Transamerica was somewhat like that! Except the guy was her son. hah. I loved how they finished transamerica, how they were talking and she told him to get his feet off the table or whatever, she was trumphant by the end of it!

[Fenrir]

Soldier's Girl was so sad! If you want a happy MTF movie, try Different For Girls (now on YouTube, I watched it a few weeks ago! Oh internet, I love you so )

[Torn1990]

Soldier's Girl was so sad! If you want a happy MTF movie, try Different For Girls (now on YouTube, I watched it a few weeks ago! Oh internet, I love you so )

I just watched the trailer! I can't wait to watch this tonight, it looks mood lifting which I specifically need atm. 
*edit* i am like "awing" my heart out at the beginning when he puts his jacket on him.. :[ 

*edit edit*
B'AWWW <3 Fenrir Thank you for this reccomendation so far it's fantastic.

[Fenrir]

Glad you like it! I loved it too. 

[Torn1990]

Glad you like it! I loved it too. 

I just finished it actually. I really liked it alot. I get really into movies, so this lightened my spirits a whole lot. Thanks again. 

[Inphyy]

I love TransAmerica, my mom has a boyfriend who has a brother that gave me the DVD for it, haha. I loved it. I've never seen a "sad" trans movie...But hearing these titles I might...

[MillieB]

Soldier's Girl was so sad! If you want a happy MTF movie, try Different For Girls (now on YouTube, I watched it a few weeks ago! Oh internet, I love you so )

Thanks, I'll have a look tonight Yeah, Transamerica really did make me smile at at times too.

[Inphyy]

Just finished watching Girl Like Me, I thought the pace was good...I have no negative feed it was great -- Though I could tell some things were tweaked and stretched to add more drama and length but overall it was a very liberating and touching film.

[Metamorph]

I remember watching different for girls when i was about 14. thanks for saying its on youtube, i never even knew!

[MillieB]

Yeah, it was only when I looked it up that I realised that I had seen it, years ago. Might still watch it again though.

[Inphyy]

Also by the way...I watched Soldier's Girl yesterday too, it was alright -- I liked Girl Like Me better though...But still a grand film! 

[Sandy]

Just to put my two cents in...

There is a lesbian themed love story movie called "Better than Chocolate".  And while the two main characters relationship to each other is touching (and steamy!!!) there is a trans character called Judy that I really identify with.  The character is played with compassion and wisdom.

She also sings a song in a cabaret called "I'm Not a Fncking Drag Queen!" sung to a tango beat, if you can believe that, that is really funny.  Her character was played by a male actor, Peter Outerbridge.  He played the part of Judy perfectly.  So much so that I could not be sure that it wasn't played by a woman until I looked up his credits in IMDB.

I finally watched Trans America a little bit ago and I did enjoy the story.  But I still am dismayed that it wasn't played by a male actor, despite what the director thought.  And while I do appreciate Dolly Parton's creation of the soundtrack for the movie, and her appreciation for "those people with that affliction" she did not connect with me.  It was a charity thing.  It felt like she was saying: "Oh let's help those poor trans people who are suffering."  Thanks.  It made me feel like I was a thalidomide baby or something.

Unfortunately most movies with trans people in them are played tragic ("Soldier's Girl") or we're portrayed as psychopaths ("Silence of the Lambs").  There *is* a lot of dramatic tension in most trans peoples lives (but *usually* not tragic or psychotic) and that tension can make for good story telling, but it is story telling using a distorted mirror to reflect our lives.

Perhaps this is progress.  I seem to remember back in the late 60's and early 70's gay people were portrayed in much the same way as society's consciousness of non-hetero people was elevated ("Diamonds are Forever").  Maybe in 30 or 40 more years being trans will have the same general acceptance as gays do now...

-Sandy