I adored how Dee Rees uses the frame-within-a-frame technique throughout the film to show this feeling. Nothing feels more isolating than being in public, surrounded by people, and knowing none of them can really see you. Rees uses this most often when Alike is around her family because those are the people who are supposed to understand her and she knows they don't. Her father is the closest to really know her and there are several scenes where she realizes he doesn't. Even Laura and Bina can't seem to fully understand what she is dealing with at home and within herself.
I think that's there's always a sense of helplessness at being queer'd. You are told you made the choice to be queer'd and no one will tell you what those choices were in a reliable manner, you can't even tell them what those choices could have been. You have the choice of being queer'd by society taken away from you, so I think a lot of queer people are desperate for choice, desperate to make their own choices. Alike is told she should use a strap-on, she is told her experiences with Bina didn't mean anything, and she is told by her mother that her father is the cause of her othering. Honestly Alike makes all of two real choices about her life in the film: she chooses to change at school and she chooses to leave.
So when at the end Alike said "I'm not running, I'm choosing" I really felt the power in her words, I'm willing to bet it was felt in a similar way by any queer person watching. She made the choice not only to leave her family but to seek out a place where she feels she can be understood. Her writing is something that is meant to express herself in the most intimate way, so of course having a program tell her she was good enough to be accepted is a sign she can find some one in California who will want her for her.
Yes Ren!! I love everything about what you're saying here. I hadn't really consciously thought about/noticed the frame-within-a-frame technique as I watched, but that's so interesting!! (is that a common technique in other films??) I agree that Dee Rees' choice to use it (especially with the car scene between Alike and her dad) is soooo powerful.
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing about the isolation thought the camera, so thank you for finding the words! The frame-within-a-frame technique really stood out to me and made the film as effective as it was. While this is not that technique, the intimate camera on the bus when Alike was transforming to a more feminine appearance was VERY powerful. Thank you Ren!
ReplyDeleteRen, I agree about the feeling of isolation. To me, it definitely transferred beyond the screen because the film elicited those feelings from me as well. The quiet moments are deeply gut wrenching and your analysis of the techniques are helpful.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the statement about queer people being told that their choices are why they are the way they are. However they never tell people what those choices are. The fact is that they aren't really like that because of choices, it's just a way of blaming them for being the way that society doesn't want them to be. It's their way of justifying the way they treat queer people.
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