 |
| Left to right: Judith Light, Jay Duplass, Jeffrey Tambor, Gaby Hoffman, and Amy Landecker |
In a season packed with memorable, groundbreaking moments, the scene that immediately elevates Transparent into more than a well written, progressive series is also the least assuming. When transgender Maura Pfefferman (Jeffrey Tambor) has to go to the bathroom, she is met with some shocking revelations. She may be a woman to everyone, but to the patrons of this particular ladies room, she is a man in drag. A pervert. Even with the assistance of her daughter Sarah (Amy Landecker), it isn't enough to grant her access. Meanwhile, Ali (Gaby Hoffman) sits in the stall waiting for Maura and feeling embarrassed. It is more striking than when Maura attends a transgender camp or reveals some prescient issues about Ali's childhood. It is the moment where despite all of the progress, society still feels uncomfortable addressing the issue because in our most vulnerable moments, it's still hard to accept.
Transparent is as much about a transgender parent as it is about the acceptance progress of the Pfefferman family. Over the course of 10 episodes, the exploits become more personal and the discussion starts with the biggest questions of all: Is Maura a he or a she? From there, the tolerance grows and the characters' understanding evolves with the viewer. Despite being a lesson in transgender culture, it never resorts to preachy or manipulative techniques. Characters range from ignorant to accepting often without any crossover. The show treats the premise respectfully, going into territories that Orange is the New Black did, but only for one episode. Still, for a series that has a lot of heavy issues at hand, it does manage to discuss them in a breezy, accessible manner with additional drama revolving around the supporting characters.
The biggest benefit may come from creator Jill Soloway, whose work on United States of Tara and Six Feet Under remain excellent dramatic comedies that explore subjects such as homosexuality and mental illness. She brings an optimistic vibe to the subject, allowing the performances to feel natural alongside the somber moments. Even if Transparent has yet to capture the accessibility of those other series, there's still an audacity to the subject matter that makes it immediately endearing and noteworthy. It isn't just the series that made Amazon Prime into a legitimate competitor for original content. It is a series that will likely educate on a subject that for the most part has been reduced to supporting characters and gags in sitcoms. If Modern Family is progressive towards gay rights, this series is already 20 years ahead.
It helps that Jeffrey Tambor is committed to bringing the right elements to the character. Maura's opening up to Sarah about her past is a phenomenal scene of acting. It is full of vulnerability and humor that slowly spills out of the conversation. Even then, there's sincerity and a feeling of relief. For a moment that reveals both Maura and Sarah's personal secrets (Sarah was a lesbian), it handles the coming out moment with class and style. Even the laughter as Sarah drives away afterwards adds a nice touch to the awkwardness, especially since it is hard to fully accept that your father of 20+ years is now going to be a woman. Still, Maura is treated no less different as she does karaoke and buys make-up. She has confidence without being sassy. In a sense, the reason that the performance works is because Tambor makes Maura feel like her gender is secondary to her personality in a good way. After all, the transgender community are in fact humans like us all, which is the series' biggest triumph.
The series does dive into quite an interesting batch of LGBT topics as well. Ali dates a male transgender after taking a gender studies class. From there, the show covers all of its bases of acceptance and all in ways that are unique to those instances. Josh (Jay Duplass) dates a female rabbi (Kathryn Hahn). In the case of Ali, her transition from black body builders to a male transgender seems rather fascinatingly off the wall. However, it all makes sense when dramatic tension builds towards the end and it is revealed that as a child, Ali was not allowed to have a bat mitzvah because of her father's choice to go off to a transgender get together. The conflict is all present and explores the feelings of regret that came with hiding the secret for 20 years. It isn't all positive on the series, which makes it refreshing.
As the season ends with Maura, sitting at shiva, mutters "Oy gevalt!" (or "woe is me"), it isn't about being accepted as woman. It is about now facing the issues that she ignored while ignoring her true identity. The family dysfunction is all present and comes out in exciting, fresh ways that will hopefully be explored in more detail, provided that there's a second season. Still, it was a great note to end on because while the series became a wonderful embrace of differences, it also realized that there were some issues not even related to gender. Was Mort (Maura's former self) a good father? The flashbacks indicate an interesting dichotomy to this question. Nonetheless, each character has their own battle, and it will likely continue to be more prevalent with Maura accepting her family as she accepts her transition.
Transparent is a series that actually feels small in comparison to other series of its kind. Clocking it at around five hours, it is easy to run through the series rapidly. However, it is important to embrace the series as a whole. There are small moments that reflect the great writing. The performances are top notch. Also, it feels like it is breaking new ground for progressive programming. If nothing else, it is a solid crash course in how to treat and come to terms with transgender culture in your own family, as it is neither threatening to those who misunderstand nor pandering to those who do. These are people who deserve to be recognized as humans with passions. By the end, the taboo of Maura coming out was the least shocking moment of the series. It became about a conflict between Maura and Ali that may only get worse before it gets better. Nonetheless, ending the season by saying "Woe is me" feels like the perfect summation. It isn't about gender politics with the family anymore. It is about the family issues.
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Comments
Post a Comment