Institute History
Description
This unprecedented documentary offers an eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender. Leading trans thinkers and creatives, including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono, share their personal reactions and resistance to gender stereotypes in some of Hollywood’s most beloved moments. Grappling with films like A Florida Enchantment, Dog Day Afternoon, and Boys Don’t Cry, and with shows like All in the Family, The L Word, and Pose, Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen traces a history that is dehumanizing yet also evolving, complex, and at times humorous. Examining this collective narrative provides a striking view of how our perceptions of trans characters have been shaped through the decades.
Insightful trans director Sam Feder confronts unexamined assumptions, reframing familiar scenes and iconic characters through a new lens. Where Jerry Springer and Ace Ventura once captured the American imagination, they now elicit new feelings. Disclosure provokes a startling revolution in how we see and understand trans people—but also media itself.