Story is Power, the Space Between Books and Imagination, We’ve Still Got Queer Movies
Written by CHEN Shao-Ren
In recent years, the popular phrase “Well-read, do not preach” has been used in social media bios. Serving as an “amulet,” the phrase is meant to ward off unsolicited and preachy comments from some ubiquitous and self-important trolls on social media, and to remind them that only “knowledge” is power.
It is even more true on the battlefield of queer issues. Feminism and queer theories have emancipated women, as well as those who identify themselves as gay, lesbian, asexual, transgender, pansexual, and non-binary. They no longer linger between the lines in books, but instead equip themselves with queer theories, marching onto the battlefield to protect their allies and themselves, creating their own Utopia.
Only that shields can also sometimes hurt people, and even create divisions among them. A quick browse through social media shows that the “Brave New World” of “Well-read, do not preach” is still far off. Instead, a world of “I read, therefore I preach” can be found, where people dismiss others’ real struggles as fabricated and label those who are not “queer” enough. Eventually, everyone is seen as an enemy. In their effort to dismantle stereotypes and oppression, they end up crushing others’ faiths in life, leaving no one with any pride left.
Please do not mistake me for an advocate of putting aside books or stopping arguing altogether. Arguing in moderation is an outlet for energy and is beneficial for physical and mental health. And of course, reading books is essential. Many answers to our questions have long existed in books, in literature, and in data. Therefore, what is most annoying is those who only have a sketchy knowledge of something, and probably just have learned a term or two, but entitle themselves to the right of labeling others, refusing to leave any space for empathy in their half-filled minds. Therefore, before criticizing, people should pause for a few seconds and think about what might be behind those stereotypical, regressive, or stigmatizing behaviors. After all, theories do not always align with everyone’s life experiences. Those unexplored spaces are the realities that the queer Utopia must confront.
So we need not only books and stories, but also different life experiences which are ready to be exposed in the sunlight. Otherwise, how can we discern if the shadow is the enemy of patriarchy or a scar of suffering?
I have been working as an interviewer for the last few years. Having listened to many stories and interacted with the interviewees whose words possess the power of taking me to the scenes of the real events, I learned that, often, there is no need to blatantly connect personal experiences to slogans or theories. Sometimes, simply telling the story alone carries enough power.
However, how can we find stories? Why not “carry” our books, rally in the streets, and walk into the fields? Stories are in parades, in gay bathhouses and nightclubs, in online chat rooms, and by food stands. And, of course, in cinema.
In the “The Queerest World of Fantasia” program, the stories in the five titles are both fiction and documentary. Regardless of whether the stories are real, the gender predicaments reflected in them are something that cannot be fully understood through mere imagination alone.
Directed and played by stand-up comedian Vera DREW, The People’s Joker has a classic queer narrative: a transgender woman leaves her rural hometown to figure out her identity and find her community in a big city. The film boldly borrows the back stories of The Batman and Joker, with the main character transforming into a female joker who performs stand-up comedy on stage. Together with other queer versions of Joker, Penguin, and Poison Ivy, performing “illegal” stand-up comedy.
Though unauthorized, since the film exploits elements of superhero movies, the most fascinating part is the subversion of the “superhero.” The joker played by Joaquin PHOENIX uncontrollably laughs since little and needs medication to manage it. However, in The People’s Joker, when the transgender joker grins, is it a form of empowerment or a side effect of her forced disguise?
Normally, smiles in films mark the beginning and end of reconciliation for a character. But in the real world, not every transgressive queer person will find reconciliation. Blue ID begins with a testosterone injection received by Rüzgar ERKOÇLAR, who is undergoing gender-affirming surgery. Before this, he was well-known as Nil ERKOÇLAR, a famous actress in Türkiye.
New identities bring about new challenges—not just physical changes, but also the struggle to coexist with a homophobic and even transphobic society. The fight for equality by sexual minorities is often expected to subside as people’s empathy increases through conversation and communication. However, reconciliation is often difficult because the forces of oppression can be so overwhelming, especially in the case of ERKOÇLAR, who lives in Türkiye, a country with the highest rate of transgender murders in Europe.
Some people fight for gender equality in their everyday lives, while others bring the struggles to the stage, transforming gunfire into rigorous sparks. Teaches of Peaches tells the story of punk rock icon Peaches and revisits her wild music career: from a folk singer to an electroclash musician belting out “Suckin' on my titties like you wanted me” and “SIS, IUD, Stay in school 'cause it’s the best.” Many may recognize this famous song “Fuck the Pain Away” of her from the series Sex Education. Now, even in her fifties, her energetic stage presence remains undiminished.
In the film, a music collaborator who has long worked with Peaches says, “Simply being alive is a political act. Every choice that we make, even in the most unnoticeable ways, bears the trace of politics.” This strongly echoes with Wisława SZYMBORSKA’s famous line from her poem “Children of Our Age,” as often quoted in protests, “Whether you like it or not, your genes have a political past, your skin, a political cast, your eyes, a political slant.”
Stories of celebrities often seem glamorous, but what is most remarkable about queer creation is its ability to illuminate the extraordinary within the ordinary and simple life experiences. The documentary Reas blends musical numbers into the story set in an Argentine women’s prison, where heterosexual, lesbian, and transgender women live together. One scene in the film is particularly dazzling and magical—a transgender woman skilled in voguing teaches lessons in prison, while the first step of practicing dancing is to pull her imaginary penis back between her legs.
All That You Could Be tells the story of four transgender friends through a long day filled with love, passion, but also discrimination and fight. It may seem loosely structured at the first glance, but is not that very depiction of everyday life precisely what we lack in our understanding of those who are different from us?
Year after year, the LGBTQ+ movement has strived to bring people of diverse gender identities into the public eye. Its significance not merely lies in them being seen, but also connecting one another in the gaps of life. Forging alliances not only relies on a figment of imagination, we must keep our imagination open in the face of stories. The famous Taiwanese writer LIN Yi-han’s remark at her engagement banquet, “I want to be someone with greater imagination for the suffering of others,” has been widely quoted and even memorized by many over the years. And whenever I encounter a new story, I remind myself of her words time and again.
(translated by Felix DONG)
