Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Jared Leto and his role in Dallas Buyer's Club

I stumbled upon this article, and thought it would be a interesting discussion piece whether you have seen the movie or not.

http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/feb/05/jared-leto-heckled-trans-misogyny-dallas-buyers-club

The article is titled "Jared Leto Heckled for 'Trans-misogyny' in Dallas Buyer's Club"

It is about comments made to Leto during a Q&A at a film festival. A woman in the audience said that Leto did not deserve an award for playing a trans-gendered woman because he is a man and not trans-gendered. She made the argument that most of the time straight actors play trans-gendered or gay characters. I haven't seen the movie, so I'm unaware of Leto's portrayal, however, I know he is a gifted actor. Whether Leto performed well or not isn't the question here. The article questions why the transgendered community does not get enough jobs or recognition in Hollywood. I don't have an answer for that, but I have a few observations. In many movies, critically acclaimed movies (Brokeback Mountain, Boys Don't Cry, Behind the Candelabra, etc), the lead characters who are gay/trans-gendered/bi-sexual have been played by straight actors. However, if actors or actresses who are LGBT are cast in these roles, is that typecasting? If a straight actor portrays a gay character very well, does that attest to their ability as an actor? I really do not have a position to take here, but I thought it would be a thought provoking discussion.

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