<\/a><\/p>\nTangerine<\/em> focuses on Sin-Dee as she comes back\u00a0to the curb after leaving prison. Upon her return she learns her boyfriend has been sleeping with another woman, a biological female and the film follows her one woman hunt for this girl and her intent to corner her pimp boyfriend with the girl by her side on Christmas Eve, all culminating in a suitably everyday\u00a0donut shop. Spoiler alert \u2013 Alexandra has been sleeping with Chester, the pimp, too. The friends fight but Alexandra follows Sin-Dee and after she\u2019s attacked by a passing car, Alexandra\u00a0hands over her wig to a bare-headed Sin-Dee, a metaphorical olive branch.<\/span><\/p>\nDoes Taylor have any friendships strong enough to overcome something like that in real life? \u201cOvercoming something like that? No. Oh no! Hell no! If my best friend messed around with my man, I\u2019m gonna beat his ass, and I\u2019m gonna beat my friend\u2019s ass. And they both better hope that they don\u2019t get stabbed in the face. Because, you know, if your best friend messed with your boyfriend, would you still be friends with them? No, hell no! I wouldn\u2019t do all that and I definitely wouldn\u2019t be taking off my wig to give to her, no!\u201d Taylor eventually pauses to take a breath,\u00a0\u201cThe story is about friendship but what I would want is for people to see the way the transgender people live out there, it\u2019s not easy and we\u2019re so discriminated against, just ask yourself, why are these girls street working? Because they can\u2019t get jobs. I\u2019ve experienced that myself, that\u2019s why we came up with all of this.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nI\u2019m a teenager who\u2019s luckily been brought up in a place and time where I\u2019ve been taught that everyone\u2019s equal and that\u2019s the end of the discussion. It\u2019s interesting to see films classified by the gender of their stars, confusing even, that they\u2019re in some way separated. Without disputing the importance of\u00a0Tangerine<\/em>, trans leads included, wouldn\u2019t it have more impact if it were treated as less of a, dare I say it, (for want of a much better word) novelty? Or is that time coming in the near future? Am I, again<\/em>, being naive?\u00a0I say all of this aloud, realising I\u2019m undecided. \u201cWould you want the film to be defined by the fact that you and your co star are transgender?\u201d I conclude to Taylor.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s the first time I\u2019ve been asked that question, I\u2019m shocked,\u201d she smiles.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t really want it to be separate. Because, sure I\u2019m transgender, but that doesn\u2019t define me.” A publicist drops through the door to tell us we’ve got a minute left.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cI really want to give you more time, girl ask another question,\u201d Taylor’s beginning to soften, finally.<\/span><\/p>\nIf she doesn’t want her work to be separated, then how does she feel about her personal life? “Do you want to be seen as an activist for trans people, like Laverne Cox and Caitlyn Jenner?”<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. Most definitely. If we don\u2019t do it, us celebrities don\u2019t do it, who else is going to do it? I\u2019ve made it out of the homelessness and all of that, and now I have a platform, so instead of being selfish and just using it for myself, I really want to help other trans people because I know what it\u2019s like to be in that position\u2026\u00a0This is what I feel like. I feel like it\u2019s fucked up that people say \u2018Caitlyn Jenner\u2019 is the face of transgender. I love Caitlyn Jenner, I love the fact that she\u2019s white, I love the fact that she\u2019s rich, but, you can\u2019t just say, \u2018Oh this is the face of trans people!\u2019 She doesn\u2019t know all of the issues, she\u2019s going through her own set of issues but Laverne Cox came out before her and Laverne has accomplished more, to me. So I feel like Laverne would be the face, because Laverne inspired Caitlyn.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nIn turn, Taylor\u2019s hoping to inspire a few of her own. After we meet, a campaign has been launched to get both her and Rodriguez nominated for Academy Awards. It\u2019s the first Oscar campaign in history for openly trans actresses, backed by the Duplass brothers who produced the film. Whether they are recognised by the Academy or not, the campaign is receiving the attention it, and the stars, deserve. Hell if the Academy isn’t going to pay attention, Taylor’s going to make sure the rest of the world certainly will, she’s\u00a0developing a TV show based on\u00a0her transition, watch this space.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n‘Tangerine’ is out in UK cinemas Friday 13th November.<\/em><\/p>\nWords<\/strong>: Lily Walker<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sundance favourite Sean Baker\u2019s Tangerine arrives in cinemas Friday. We meet trans actress Mya Taylor who outlines the importance of this social commentary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":60318,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9416],"tags":[7714,7713,66,7710],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Tangerine: From Sidewalks to Sundance | Wonderland<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n