Zoolander 2 Is In Some Hot Water For Being Transphobic
(Source) — On November 18th, the much-anticipated trailer for the sequel to Ben Stiller’s hit film ‘Zoolander’ was released. In the “Zoolander 2″ trailer, an androgynous character played by Benedict Cumberbatch is asked by Zoolander and Hansel if he is a ‘male or female model’, and if they ‘have a hot dog or a bun’. Additionally, Cumberbatch’s character is clearly portrayed as an over-the-top, cartoonish mockery of androgyne/trans/non-binary individuals. This is the modern equivalent of using blackface to represent a minority. If the producers and screenwriters of Zoolander wanted to provide social commentary on the presence of trans/androgyne individuals in the fashion industry, they could have approached models like Andreja Pejic to be in the film. By hiring a cis actor to play a non-binary individual in a clearly negative way, they film endorses harmful and dangerous perceptions of the queer community at large.
Totally agree with this. Benedict Cumberbatch pretending to be someone he’s not is as offensive as it gets. In fact I don’t think boycotting a single movie is going to be enough for Hollywood to get the message that pretending to be people is hurtful, we’ve gotta boycott every fictional movie ever. Nothing should be allowed on screen if it isn’t a perfect representation of someone or something. You want to make fun of a androgyne/trans/non-binary individual? Well then you better get the only one in the world to play that part. You want to make a movie about Willie Mays? Hope he still fits in his uniform. Want to direct an alien movie? You better be in actual outer space. No one is allowed to act like something they’re not or it’s basically black face, and that’s a fact. Until Hollywood understands that pretending is mean then I’m only seeing documentaries.
