Saturday, October 28, 2006
Week 11: Film, Politics and Sexuality
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
Country: Australia
Year: 1994
Director: Stephan Elliott
Length: 104 min
Language: English
Awards:
Critical Comment:
By now it is interesting to note that I have seen at least 3 road movies and out of 2 of them are made in Australia. The road movie provides a good inside scope of issues that filmmakers are making a statement about because we travel together with the characters of the road movie. We hear everything they say, we see everything they do and we can even know everything they are thinking. In The Adventures of Priscilla, our attention is placed on the questionable gender, thus the representation of sexuality is what the film is all about.
As suggested in queer theory, Priscilla is a provocative film. Since even to this modern day and age where sexuality (and their role in society, especially in Asia) is still a clearly divided boundaries. A male is determined by his physical features just as much as a female by her biological construct. Sexuality in film, the way Priscilla presents it, is ambigious. The question of sexuality also becomes part of an identity and it is that identity of ambiguity that can lead to discrimination. These are the real adventures of Priscilla and her passengers. The characters in
the film that even set foot in that bus are queer in nature. The main chracters, Mitzi, Felicia and Bernadette are queer for their appearance (Bernadette in particular has even changed physically), Bob the 'gentleman' is queer for his taste or appreciation for drags and their performances, Mitzi's wife is presumably lesbian and their son, is queer for being able to accept his ambigiously (or reversed) gendered father and mother.
While the characters find little acceptance on their journey ('Aids fuckers go home', the boys from the mines, Bob's hometown bar and their would-be Samaritan 'saviours' when their bus broke down in the middle of the outback), the film itself also finds little recognition. Their major awards come mostly for their costume while the acknowledge of the film comes mostly a year later. The greatest recognition comes from the GLAAD awards which considers it as an epitome of queer film which makes Priscilla a classical example of queer theory film.
To questions one's sexuality like Priscilla is a sign of resistance against the mainstream. Queer theory is naturally anti-establishments against the norm or what is accpeted by the majority.
The film style was the crucial key that makes Priscilla although provocative but light-hearted which I feel is a more effective way to change the attitudes. There is a strong tinge of social realism in this film because even though it can not be taken seriously, the queer issues the film addresses are very real. The film style was what made Priscilla considered as a comedy. It uses exagerating editing (like when the trio realised that they are stuck in the middle of the outback and Felicia says 'shit' which is echoed across the outback and the kaleidescope scope effect when the butch-femme in the Palace Hotel said she could only see female impersonators).
But what is most exaggerating of the film is easily the costume (which has been acknowledged) that I believe serves as an iconography of the film. The choice of using such 'frock's which comes as part of the job description of the main characters also makes it a musical. Wherever they perform, their 'frocks' together with their song and dance never fail to impress and inspire the awe of the Hollywood spectacle. Which brings out another question of performance and gender. As a male performers (although they call each other girls) who dresses in woman's clothing and lip-sync to songs sang by women (including 'fucking' Abba), it is a parody reminiscence of Singin' in the Rain where Kathy had to 'throw' her voice for Lina.
As performers whether on stage or on film, falsehood and illusion can happen. So is queer theory a kind of falsehood or misconception ('Mommy, maybe a trip to the desert could help me with this phase I'm going through...') or is an issue like sexuality (or other queer identities) able to hide behind the cover of the illusion and falsehood on the stage (or screen)? We have to think about how audiences see what they want to see during a performance regardless of who is the performer. The same people that watch your performance and cheer for you in one minute would discriminate you for your identity the next. It was easier for Mitzi and Felicia to find acceptance (like among their fans in Sydney and the aborigins they stumbled upon in the middle of the outback) when they perform rather than when mingling with the community with their identities (like Felicia when trying to mix with the 'boys club' from the mines). What is the difference between a performer and a person on the street that are both queer?
The 'frocks' in Priscilla can also be read as a insignia of empowerment. Felicia's dream to be dressed as a queen ('s'he even wanted to wear a tiara!) and stand on King's Canyon can a sign of personal resolve of a queer against the mainstream. The dazzling 'frock' gives strength to the characters that even though 'it hurts' (Mitzi) sometimes when they are discriminated or marginalized, it shows that they are 'toughen up' (Bernadette) and are proud to be 'a cock in a frock on a rock', which could be what the 'bloody country needs'.
Another meaning of the 'frock' that can be derived is the one that was turned into a kite with the shape of a female. The kite eventually landed in what can be assumed to be Japan, which could indicate that the adventures and challeges faced in Priscilla could apply in Japan or Asia in general. The distinction and the courage to stand up proudly as a queer is still closeted and people there could be unwilling to stand out.
Speaking of Asians, while Priscilla has values that are against mainstream society in terms of sexuality, their treatment of the Asian woman brings in another question. Queer theory are not appreciative of any representation of the queer in mainstream films. They accuse such films for stereotyping the queer characters who are normally terminated from the most ghastly to the most humorous fashion. It is ironic in a way that while Priscilla as a queer film also uses stereotyping of the Phillipine woman (or Asians in general). Either this was a gimmick of western cinema against the east or it goes into another area of how race is represented in film. Such issues could have more sensitive concerns and impacts than queer theory but perhaps the identity of an Asian in western cinema is already a form of queer theory itself due to the context of how it is used.
Readings:
Country: Australia
Year: 1994
Director: Stephan Elliott
Length: 104 min
Language: English
Awards:
- Best Costume Desgin - Lizzy Gardiner & Tim Chappel (Oscar)
- Best Achievment for Costume Design - Lizzy Gardiner & Tim Chappel (AFI)
- Best Achivement in Production Design - Owen Paterson (AFI)
- Best Costume Design - Lizzy Gardiner & Tim Chappel (BAFTA)
- Best Make Up/Hair - Cassie Hanlon, Angela Conte & Strykermeyer (BAFTA)
- Best Movie (Chlodrutis Award)
- Outstanding Movie (GLAAD Media Awards)
- Best Actor - Terence Stamp (Golden Space Needle Award)
- Best Film (Golden Space Needle Award)
Critical Comment:
By now it is interesting to note that I have seen at least 3 road movies and out of 2 of them are made in Australia. The road movie provides a good inside scope of issues that filmmakers are making a statement about because we travel together with the characters of the road movie. We hear everything they say, we see everything they do and we can even know everything they are thinking. In The Adventures of Priscilla, our attention is placed on the questionable gender, thus the representation of sexuality is what the film is all about.
As suggested in queer theory, Priscilla is a provocative film. Since even to this modern day and age where sexuality (and their role in society, especially in Asia) is still a clearly divided boundaries. A male is determined by his physical features just as much as a female by her biological construct. Sexuality in film, the way Priscilla presents it, is ambigious. The question of sexuality also becomes part of an identity and it is that identity of ambiguity that can lead to discrimination. These are the real adventures of Priscilla and her passengers. The characters in
While the characters find little acceptance on their journey ('Aids fuckers go home', the boys from the mines, Bob's hometown bar and their would-be Samaritan 'saviours' when their bus broke down in the middle of the outback), the film itself also finds little recognition. Their major awards come mostly for their costume while the acknowledge of the film comes mostly a year later. The greatest recognition comes from the GLAAD awards which considers it as an epitome of queer film which makes Priscilla a classical example of queer theory film.
To questions one's sexuality like Priscilla is a sign of resistance against the mainstream. Queer theory is naturally anti-establishments against the norm or what is accpeted by the majority.
The film style was the crucial key that makes Priscilla although provocative but light-hearted which I feel is a more effective way to change the attitudes. There is a strong tinge of social realism in this film because even though it can not be taken seriously, the queer issues the film addresses are very real. The film style was what made Priscilla considered as a comedy. It uses exagerating editing (like when the trio realised that they are stuck in the middle of the outback and Felicia says 'shit' which is echoed across the outback and the kaleidescope scope effect when the butch-femme in the Palace Hotel said she could only see female impersonators).
But what is most exaggerating of the film is easily the costume (which has been acknowledged) that I believe serves as an iconography of the film. The choice of using such 'frock's which comes as part of the job description of the main characters also makes it a musical. Wherever they perform, their 'frocks' together with their song and dance never fail to impress and inspire the awe of the Hollywood spectacle. Which brings out another question of performance and gender. As a male performers (although they call each other girls) who dresses in woman's clothing and lip-sync to songs sang by women (including 'fucking' Abba), it is a parody reminiscence of Singin' in the Rain where Kathy had to 'throw' her voice for Lina.
As performers whether on stage or on film, falsehood and illusion can happen. So is queer theory a kind of falsehood or misconception ('Mommy, maybe a trip to the desert could help me with this phase I'm going through...') or is an issue like sexuality (or other queer identities) able to hide behind the cover of the illusion and falsehood on the stage (or screen)? We have to think about how audiences see what they want to see during a performance regardless of who is the performer. The same people that watch your performance and cheer for you in one minute would discriminate you for your identity the next. It was easier for Mitzi and Felicia to find acceptance (like among their fans in Sydney and the aborigins they stumbled upon in the middle of the outback) when they perform rather than when mingling with the community with their identities (like Felicia when trying to mix with the 'boys club' from the mines). What is the difference between a performer and a person on the street that are both queer?
The 'frocks' in Priscilla can also be read as a insignia of empowerment. Felicia's dream to be dressed as a queen ('s'he even wanted to wear a tiara!) and stand on King's Canyon can a sign of personal resolve of a queer against the mainstream. The dazzling 'frock' gives strength to the characters that even though 'it hurts' (Mitzi) sometimes when they are discriminated or marginalized, it shows that they are 'toughen up' (Bernadette) and are proud to be 'a cock in a frock on a rock', which could be what the 'bloody country needs'.
Another meaning of the 'frock' that can be derived is the one that was turned into a kite with the shape of a female. The kite eventually landed in what can be assumed to be Japan, which could indicate that the adventures and challeges faced in Priscilla could apply in Japan or Asia in general. The distinction and the courage to stand up proudly as a queer is still closeted and people there could be unwilling to stand out.
Speaking of Asians, while Priscilla has values that are against mainstream society in terms of sexuality, their treatment of the Asian woman brings in another question. Queer theory are not appreciative of any representation of the queer in mainstream films. They accuse such films for stereotyping the queer characters who are normally terminated from the most ghastly to the most humorous fashion. It is ironic in a way that while Priscilla as a queer film also uses stereotyping of the Phillipine woman (or Asians in general). Either this was a gimmick of western cinema against the east or it goes into another area of how race is represented in film. Such issues could have more sensitive concerns and impacts than queer theory but perhaps the identity of an Asian in western cinema is already a form of queer theory itself due to the context of how it is used.
Readings:
- Goldstein, Lynda (1997) 'Getting into Lesbian Shorts: White Spectators and Performative Documentaries by Makers of Color' in Chris Holmlund and Cynthia Fuchs, eds, Between the Sheets, In the Streets: Queer, Lesbian, Gay Documentary, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 175-189. Although queer conquers the difference between gender and sexuality, it still faces barriers when it comes to race. Racial interpretation brings out different erotic or sexual expectations which accroding to this reading is predominated by the white spectator. So in queer theory, there are undertones of racial determinism that may not be accessable to other races. It is difficult to see this in Priscilla since there only other non-white characters themselves are not notably queer. However it is perhaps that since these characters are not queer that queer theory is a notion that is shared among whites. Queer theory is able to explore questionable sexuality but it cannot reach across racial borders.
- Doty, Alexander (2000) 'Queer Theory' in John Hill and Pamela Church Gibson (eds.), Film Studies: Critical Approaches, Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. Queer theory wants to explore film in a non-normative approach. While in the reading it is stated clearly that queer readings should pararelle with normative readings, it is a 'twisted' form of reading a film. It refutes the assumptions made by the straight audience and wants to see the film by dismissing the expected sexuality and political identity. The reading also gives a little insight about films made with queer theory in mind which Priscilla is one. It brings the question of queerness right into film as an element that requires queer reading. For example like in a normative reading of Priscilla, it could be engaged with the discourse of discrimination against the queer and the acceptance for queerness. However, from a queer perspective, Priscilla explores what feminism has to offer for the characters and how it can empower their identity as they explore about their true sexuality.
# posted by KC @ 7:47 PM 
