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Available From UC Press
Trans Cinema
Making Communities, Identities, and Worlds
An exciting introduction to cinema by the trans creators who are innovating filmmaking to imagine a more inclusive world.
Since the 1990s, a largely underground upwelling of trans creativity has helped new trans identities, communities, and political movements come together. In Trans Cinema, Laura Horak provides an entryway to the wildly diverse and creative cinema made by trans creators, including those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Overlooked until now, this rich collection of media ranges in genre from romantic comedies to horror films and asks essential questions about how to be human and how to craft a livable life in a world on fire.
Using the fundamentals of film studies, Horak reveals the innovative approaches taken by trans and gender-nonconforming artists to explore how we relate to other people, what it's like to have a body, and how we survive in an oppressive society. These filmmakers tackle the challenging paradox of representing trans lives when greater visibility is associated with ever-increasing levels of harm. In the process, they produce art that emphasizes trans survival and resilience and imagines a more expansive world for trans communities.
Since the 1990s, a largely underground upwelling of trans creativity has helped new trans identities, communities, and political movements come together. In Trans Cinema, Laura Horak provides an entryway to the wildly diverse and creative cinema made by trans creators, including those who are Black, Indigenous, and people of color. Overlooked until now, this rich collection of media ranges in genre from romantic comedies to horror films and asks essential questions about how to be human and how to craft a livable life in a world on fire.
Using the fundamentals of film studies, Horak reveals the innovative approaches taken by trans and gender-nonconforming artists to explore how we relate to other people, what it's like to have a body, and how we survive in an oppressive society. These filmmakers tackle the challenging paradox of representing trans lives when greater visibility is associated with ever-increasing levels of harm. In the process, they produce art that emphasizes trans survival and resilience and imagines a more expansive world for trans communities.
Laura Horak is Professor of Film Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, and founder of the award-winning Transgender Media Portal. She is author of Girls Will Be Boys: Cross-Dressed Women, Lesbians, and American Cinema.
"Trans Cinema is a revelatory act of reclamation. Laura Horak doesn't just illuminate a vital body of overlooked films—she shows how trans filmmakers have been reshaping the possibilities of cinema all along. Grounded in historical context and formal insight, this book is as expansive as it is incisive, offering new ways to think about image-making, identity, and artistic authorship. A bold and eloquent contribution to film studies and trans cultural history alike."—Isabel Sandoval, filmmaker, Lingua Franca
"This unprecedented, eye-opening study of films by trans people reveals a rich and relatively unknown history of media making. It's a welcome addition to the burgeoning scholarly field of transgender cinema studies."—Susan Stryker, codirector of Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria
"The history of trans cinema is rich, and Horak does a beautiful job of bringing it to life. Film critics can no longer declare trans cinema to be new, and professors can no longer get away with assigning the same two or three trans films. Nearly any reader will find something to learn in this thorough book by an exceptionally knowledgeable author."—Jed Samer, author of Lesbian Potentiality and Feminist Media in the 1970s
"Given the increasing pressure on trans people to disappear out of public life entirely, this crucial book redefines trans cinema and helps build toward much-needed understanding, compassion, and resistance to trans erasure. Horak asks why, even when we are discussing trans people, we continue to use frameworks that decenter their cultural contexts and contributions. Productively presenting a wealth of fresh resources and new approaches, this visionary book offers a cross-disciplinary and historically grounded picture of what 'trans cinema' is, and what it can do. This is work that meets and exceeds our moment."—Cáel M. Keegan, author of Lana and Lilly Wachowski
"With the poise of a mature film scholar and the voice of a friend you'd enjoy going to the movies with, Horak draws you into understanding how trans cinema engenders trans world making and possibility modeling. Offering a wealth of bibliographic information for scholars of all levels and an encyclopedic knowledge of media for large and small screens, the book is eminently teachable. The examples of careful reading by an allied cis scholar are a treasured resource, making it a perfect companion to the Transgender Media Portal. It achieves what I have long waited for: a thorough application of trans studies to the core business of film history and analysis."—Eliza Steinbock, author of Shimmering Images: Trans Cinema, Embodiment, and the Aesthetics of Change
"Trans Cinema offers the first comprehensive coverage of the history and burgeoning corpus of work by trans filmmakers, inclusively defined, through an aesthetic as well as a political lens—and, crucially, facilitates access for the viewers who most need to see these works. Developed in conjunction with the author's team of trans researchers for the invaluable Transgender Media Portal, this lucidly written and ethically researched book sharply engages themes emerging from hundreds of works. Horak's expertise as a historian of gender-nonconforming representation informs analyses of work from the last three decades, from rom-coms to YouTube transition videos, and offers extensive coverage of Indigenous and experimental media."—Patricia White, author of Women's Cinema, World Cinema: Projecting Contemporary Feminisms
"This unprecedented, eye-opening study of films by trans people reveals a rich and relatively unknown history of media making. It's a welcome addition to the burgeoning scholarly field of transgender cinema studies."—Susan Stryker, codirector of Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria
"The history of trans cinema is rich, and Horak does a beautiful job of bringing it to life. Film critics can no longer declare trans cinema to be new, and professors can no longer get away with assigning the same two or three trans films. Nearly any reader will find something to learn in this thorough book by an exceptionally knowledgeable author."—Jed Samer, author of Lesbian Potentiality and Feminist Media in the 1970s
"Given the increasing pressure on trans people to disappear out of public life entirely, this crucial book redefines trans cinema and helps build toward much-needed understanding, compassion, and resistance to trans erasure. Horak asks why, even when we are discussing trans people, we continue to use frameworks that decenter their cultural contexts and contributions. Productively presenting a wealth of fresh resources and new approaches, this visionary book offers a cross-disciplinary and historically grounded picture of what 'trans cinema' is, and what it can do. This is work that meets and exceeds our moment."—Cáel M. Keegan, author of Lana and Lilly Wachowski
"With the poise of a mature film scholar and the voice of a friend you'd enjoy going to the movies with, Horak draws you into understanding how trans cinema engenders trans world making and possibility modeling. Offering a wealth of bibliographic information for scholars of all levels and an encyclopedic knowledge of media for large and small screens, the book is eminently teachable. The examples of careful reading by an allied cis scholar are a treasured resource, making it a perfect companion to the Transgender Media Portal. It achieves what I have long waited for: a thorough application of trans studies to the core business of film history and analysis."—Eliza Steinbock, author of Shimmering Images: Trans Cinema, Embodiment, and the Aesthetics of Change
"Trans Cinema offers the first comprehensive coverage of the history and burgeoning corpus of work by trans filmmakers, inclusively defined, through an aesthetic as well as a political lens—and, crucially, facilitates access for the viewers who most need to see these works. Developed in conjunction with the author's team of trans researchers for the invaluable Transgender Media Portal, this lucidly written and ethically researched book sharply engages themes emerging from hundreds of works. Horak's expertise as a historian of gender-nonconforming representation informs analyses of work from the last three decades, from rom-coms to YouTube transition videos, and offers extensive coverage of Indigenous and experimental media."—Patricia White, author of Women's Cinema, World Cinema: Projecting Contemporary Feminisms