New Year’s has come and gone, America got to indulge in pizza and chicken wings while they watched their Super Bowl and Florida had its required one week of winter, which means it’s now my favorite time of year — Oscar season.
This year — while less than two months in — has been an abnormal one when it comes to Hollywood. Well, I guess it has been an abnormal year for a lot of people for many different reasons, whether it is the current hellscape that is the Trump administration systematically tearing rights away from the country’s most marginalized communities or one of the many countries that Trump has decided he wants to takeover and make additional states. I think he is up to five now.
When Trump was in charge the first time, little things like the Oscars became even more important as it served as a short-term distraction to those anxiety-filled days. Unfortunately, the Oscars come with its own bit of controversy this year.
Some of the controversies are small by comparison, like “The Brutalist” using AI in the film or the director of “Anora” not using an intimacy coach for his actors on set, while others have tarnished milestones that should be cause for celebration, namely that of “Emilia Pérez.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences selected an eclectic bunch for its 10 Best Picture nominees, several of which bring a much-needed spotlight to important subjects. “The Brutalist” deals with antisemitism and immigrants coming to the U.S. after World War II, “The Substance” looks at how women are perceived in society as they age, “Nickel Boys” takes on race during Jim Crow-era Florida and “Emilia Pérez” gave voice to the issues transgender folks deal with and the impact that cartels have on the Mexican people.
While the film has made a splash with award bodies — namely earning 13 Oscar nominations (the most of any film this year), 11 British Academy Award noms and 10 Golden Globe noms (winning four Globes) — audiences online have been less enthusiastic. On Rotten Tomatoes, “Emilia Pérez” currently has a 72% from critics and a 17% from audiences.
Criticism for the film has ranged from co-star Selena Gomez not speaking Spanish very well in what is a Spanish language movie to the film’s director (who is French) not researching Mexican culture to tell a very Mexican-focused story. The film has also been criticized for its insensitive musical numbers (I should mention that this film is a musical), glorification of Mexican cartels and the mishandling of transgender stories. These are not my criticisms necessarily, but what I have seen many people — both specifically from the trans community and from Mexican filmgoers — post about.
While the film has its issues, there were two individuals in “Emilia Pérez” that were universally praised. The first was actress Zoe Saldaña, who has earned several awards already, and Karla Sofía Gascón, who plays the titular Emilia Pérez and who became the first openly transgender actress to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress.
Gascón being nominated for Best Actress was, and still is, a huge deal and something to celebrate. That celebration, however, was tainted as many past problematic tweets from Gascón started to come to light. In the tweets, she attacked Muslims, Black Lives Matter, lesbians (which is odd since Gascón is married to a woman) and Korean filmmakers, to name a few.
As when past tweets come back to haunt, Gascón and the film’s distributor Netflix started on damage control, but Gascón went rogue and started putting out many of her own statements and giving interviews without Netflix’s involvement to basically say “I’m sorry you were offended” and called herself a victim of cancel culture. Gascón has since deleted her Twitter account and stated on her Instagram that she will now be silent in hopes that it “will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.”
This has cast a shadow over what should be a huge celebration for the trans community, especially given what the community has been faced with since Trump took office. LGBTQ+ people and their stories are scarcely represented in film, and transgender and nonbinary folks are represented even less so.
Gascón and “Emilia Pérez” had a worldwide stage to show why these stories matter and why they should be told and they have seemingly fumbled the ball the whole way but don’t let that turn you away from seeking out these stories.
There are a few films from the past year that tell queer stories and/or were created by queer filmmakers that deserve to be seen and you should take the time to watch if you haven’t already. “I Saw the TV Glow,” written and directed by trans filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun; “Problemista,” created by and starring queer comedian Julio Torres; and “The People’s Joker,” directed by and starring trans artist Vera Drew, are a few films that made a splash in 2024 and that share very personal stories about the community
