透明家庭第二季

Just some notes and thoughts of the series after the binge-watching.

Since I did not watch the Emmy Awards ceremony last year, I had no idea of the show before and didn’t expect all this either. Generally, it's wilder and more independent and natural than other TV series.
Get quite impressed at start and finally, touched. Just as one critic says: it’s groundbreaking.

As for the title, certainly it refers to the journey of coming out, secrets revealed. But gradually you’ll break it down to “trans” and “parent”. What a clever use of pun! Must be a challenge for translation.

The creator of the show describes it as “funny, dirty, and sad”. It’s more than accurate. For instance, I really didn't mean to laugh but it just gets hilarious, even hysterical at some point.

It’s an Amazon original series and according to the series creator, the reason of choosing Amazon instead of HBO or Showtime is that there’s more openness of procedures. For example, too many adjustments of the original transcripts can be avoided and it will be on air in a short time.

Key Words: LA, religion, gender, sexuality, feminism, marriage, family, identity, secrecy, relationship, boundary.

1.Judaism
Before the series, the only thing I might know about Jewish customs is the Passover and Seder, a festival to commemorates the story of the Exodus. While the series just offers a great chance to get to know the Jewish customs.

<Bar Mitzvah is the coming of age ceremony in which boys become the son of the commandment at 13 while girls at 12. So when Ali said she didn’t believe in God, her Bar Mitzvah was cancelled.

Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year also known as the Day of Atonement coming with fasting and prayer. The appropriate greeting on this occasion is good Yontif.

Shiva is the week-long mourning period in response to the story in Genesis in which Joseph mourns the death of his father Jacob (Israel) for seven days. At the funeral, keriah is a ritual to tear an outer garment, which explains why Ali cut her necktie after the funeral of Ed. In the household, mirrors are covered during the Shiva, which is also a tradition shared by many nations.

The traditional Jewish wedding includes a ketubah (marriage contract) which is signed by two witnesses, a wedding canopy (chuppah or huppah), a ring owned by the groom that is given to the bride under the canopy, and the breaking of a glass. All of these are vividly depicted in the show and the Jewish songs and dances just appear to be really exotic. This wedding scene at the beginning of the second season is genuinely epic.

A rabbi is a teacher of Torah and the skullcap they wear is called kippah or yarmulke in Yiddish.

Sabbath is the seventh day of the Hebrew calendar week, which in English is known as Saturday.
Jewish Shabbat/Shabbath is a weekly day of rest, observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night.>

BTW, it’s the first time that I have found Jewish people so adorable and lovely on the screen (no offence). And when Sarah shouted "those WASPs" on her wedding day, the great rift between religions suddenly become obvious than ever, while I just couldn't help but laugh.

2.Family
The Pfefferman is a complicated family. They do not appear to be likeable, but you just cannot deny they are special and have a big heart. Just as Ali says, there is a great chasm in her family and it’s a house full of secrecy. It has three self-absorbed adult children and the parents also seem to be irresponsible despite their wealth and social status. They fight constantly but in the end they always get together. They are in the middle of family reconstruction.

3.Gender
It’s worth mentioning that It’s Jill Soloway who created this brilliant show. And she is a Jewish, a feminist and a lesbian, or rather, just being Jill Soloway. The story of the show is also partly based on her own family and her father coming out as a trans. Jill takes it as her “creative destiny” to display the experience of her family on screen.
The show is basically a lively community of LGBT, and people may dislike it because it’s full of drama or simply too unrealistic, but the incredible part of the show really lies in the potential possibilities it presents us. We have the choice to be a male, female, or gender-neutral; we are free to be asexual, bisexual, heterosexual or homosexual; we can just decide who to marry and remarry.
Since we all hate to fall into the situation of stereotypes or over-generalization, it’s very hard to make definitions or pin someone down with a label sometimes. Hence the definition and relation of gender, sexuality and marriage is simply not limited by one set of rules or modes. It’s kind of a discussion of power, rights, and possibly the morality. And in my opinion, from the standpoint of an individual, it all comes down to the point that we should have the freedom to choose and become who we really are, and to do what we really like without asking for the permission from others.
Having too many alternatives doesn’t always lead to wise decisions, but still we have to admit diversity is the essential part of the evolution of nature as well as our own development.

As I watch it, I’m in the same process of confusion and trying to understand them. But it’s really hard to imagine and put yourself in their shoes if you haven’t shared their experience before.

<Transvestism is the practice of dressing and acting in a style or manner traditionally associated with the other sex.

Cross-dressers are men who wear female clothing and often both admire and imitate women, but self-identify as different from both gay men and transsexuals, and generally deny having fetishistic intentions.>

 BTW, too much nudity might be one of the few uncomfortable parts of the show, and Jill herself also acknowledges it’s meant for the commercial reasons.

4.Identity
It’s never a complete story without sadness. Here, the death of Ed is sad, and seeing grandma sitting in the nursing home is sad. I guess it’s always sad to witness the loss of memory. It feels like you are losing yourself piece by piece and there is merely no way to fight against it. Still, without any doubt we spend all our life trying to find who we are despite the frustration and disappointment along the way or in the end. Just as Maura says, it’s OK to be sad.
LA is the ideal place for dreaming and becoming, living in the breeze under the sunshine. The feisty and vulnerable Pfefferman are stepping on a journey of healing and becoming, of learning and growing, and of experimenting and loving.
On this long road, probably the best thing we can say is: "I've always known you; I've always loved you; of course I still love you."

Reference:
http://www.npr.org/2014/10/30/360116374/funny-dirty-sad-the-holy-trinity-for-transparent-creator-jill-soloway#
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3502262/?ref_=nv_sr_1
//en.wikipedia.org.

Some new words:
limerence
sinsemilla
bidet(oscillate, pulsate)
mercury retrograde
hermaphrodite
scallop
wonky
speck
turret
absolve
heathen
vagabond
pariah
gander
mahogany
tangy
lupus
shingle
palisade
cantaloupe

The Pfeffermans are out of their minds. They literally shed themselves, heaps of souls on the floor, and out stepped the carefree, fun-seeking, trans-formed Pfeffermans. We can now binge-watch how they live their crazy to the fullest in Amazon original series, Transparent, thanks to the wonderful Jill Soloway.

First, it was crazy of a natural, familiar dose, like bickering over dinner while chewing Canter’s Deli barbecue ribs, but as the show spirals, it keeps bringing the game to new jaw-dropping levels. Former “poppa” of the family, Morton came out as a transgender, and has been reborn as “moppa” Maura; Sarah, the eldest sibling, divorced her husband for a dalliance with her college girlfriend; Josh, her younger brother, kept on impregnating women and losing his jobs thanks to numerous panic attacks; and Ali, the youngest and the craziest, dabbled and dived in drugs and lesbianism. The off-the-charts crazy detailed in sometimes too sexually graphic ways can be startling, but their crazy never rang hollow. It usually precedes irredeemable screw-ups in parenting, break-ups, sobbing in the restroom stall, or outbursts of road rage, and lives on a dangerous amount of egocentrism until there isn’t any.

I recognize some of their crazy. I live some versions of their crazy. I shivered when Maura acquiesced that she blackballed female applicants in grad school, and despite her gender identity, still refused to let go of the entitled, sexist Morty she was born as, or when Ali tried to talk her girlfriend into polyamory just to act on her infatuation towards her teacher (“What is being queer if not questioning everything?” she said, and by “everything” she meant, and I quote, “knee-jerk hetero-normative”), for I react just as badly towards ugly revelations, and bear the same lingering inconsistency. Even more frequently do I stumble to discover that I often feel lonely, from either getting my heart broken more than it should, or a lack of companion to help me stride forward, as do the characters, chugging tumblers of vodka, exchanging static eye contact with Chinese takeout in the microwave. Jill paints the life of a daring family where the audience could cull out and contemplate over their worst nightmares, but feel safe getting vulnerable along with the Pfeffermans. I, apart from all that, find her works rather intimate from where I stand. She’s trying to explore life’s infinite mutability through her feminine gaze. So am I.

性别，性取向，女权，身份认同，家庭，种族，宗教，大屠杀，衰老，死亡。。。当敝国的观众还在猛追宫斗婆媳乱斗时，美国人已经把电视剧推向的另一种境界。紧跟Netflix，亚马逊从2013年开始不满足于仅仅播放制作好的节目。或许亚马逊自制剧还没有达到像Netflix的纸牌屋那种流行程度，但是这部Transparent绝对是今年美剧中的惊艳之作。

刚开始看这部剧的时候，剧中出现犹太教家庭和LGBT原素让我认为这不过是一部夸张版摩登家庭，一部更加政治正确的美剧，但是这部剧绝不是那么简单。剧情以一家在洛杉矶的犹太家庭，退休大学教授父亲Mort出柜为线索。他对家庭承认自己是transgender(跨性别)，生理特征为男性，但是心理性别是女性。于是Mort变成Maura，爸爸变成了妈爸。大女儿Sarah貌似有完美的家庭，富有的老公和两个可爱的孩子；二儿子Josh貌似有高收入体面的工作，并整天被小美女们围绕；小女儿Ali似乎最不上进，没有读完大学，一直无所事事；离婚的母亲再嫁，和现任丈夫住在花园环抱的养老公寓。然而这一切都随着Maura的出柜而发生转变。

美国式的政治正确往往体现在种族和性取向这两个方面：这是一部以犹太家庭为背景的剧，其中还有黑人养女角色；性取向更是五花八门，比如说Maura出柜以后开始穿女装，性别认同为女性，但是她性取向还是女性，所以跨性别的她其实是女同性恋。Sarah和大学时的女友偶遇后如干柴烈火，闹到离开丈夫要跟女友结婚，但是她并不是女同，她最有可能的是性瘾和性受虐者。Ali一直处于探索自己性取向中，她甚至尝试和跨性别男性做爱，最终发现自己爱女人。Josh从小和保姆有不寻常的关系，如果从法律上说他是被猥亵长大。

当代对性别和性取向的定义不再是铁板一块，Facebook曾经给出56个性别选项。生理性别不再是决定人类性别的唯一标准，性取向也同样。除了极端异性恋和极端同性恋，很多人的性取向处于中间地带。如果真有神存在，他并没有把人类制造成完美的生物。他让人类天生缺陷，有些人类的生理性别和心理性别也许并不一致，这样的错位甚至来自基因。我们每个人都带着自身缺陷跌跌撞撞前行。而那些所谓正常只是相对而言，trans在大多数眼中也许是畸形不正常，可是当一个“正常人”进入trans的世界，他才是不正常的那个。

人的社会属性也决定着他的性别和性取向，而大部分时候人类屈从于这种社会属性， 所以Maura在68岁时才敢出柜，Ali在33岁时才认清楚自己喜欢女人。但是，这部剧里讲的最重要一点就是如何真实地面对自己，无论是性取向性别还是外貌。这里没有网红脸，没有刻意磨皮和化妆。每一张面孔都不完美，每一个人都是自私自利自我，像我们每一个人类。Maura第一次出柜未果时说：“他们真自私。我不知道自己怎么养大了这三个只顾自己的孩子。”唯有承认这些缺陷才能真实地面对自己。导演让这样一群缺陷的人生活在缺陷的家庭中，把他们每一个人的崩溃时刻和黑暗内心推到观众面前，不做判断和评价。让他们随意在观众面前更衣，沐浴，做爱，自然的就像我们自己的生活。我因此窥见了许多身体，皮肤的皱纹，松弛的身体，下垂的乳房。有一集是关于女性营地，我从来没有在一集中看到这么多乳房，这些乳房大都不完美，细小的肥胖的下垂的，甚至有一个切除了乳房。然而在这些不完美的形状中，是最真实状态的美。就像每一具人体，每一个自然之物一般，我们本该回到身体最自然的状态。

导演Jill Soloway是一个女权主义者，她的父亲2011年以跨性别的身份出柜。这绝对是部倡导女权的美剧，同时也颠覆着男权社会对女性的看法。当男教授们还在叫women study(女性研究)时，女教授就出来纠正他们：应该叫gender study（性别研究）。天文学男教授说：我们当然很欢迎有更多的女生加入科学家的行列。女生们在下面说：谁需要你的批准和欢迎。对女性的不公平体现在男权社会的点点滴滴中，那个女性营地因此而产生，一年一次聚会，在营地女性可以做任何她们想做的事情，裸体走在露天，不需要担心男人的眼光。一个女人说：我被男人强奸过，我们都被男人强奸过。她指的是这个男权的社会。这个营地是女性的安全天堂。然而女性们筹备了一年，在这里相聚时却更多是发泄对男人的仇恨。她们限定女性的定义是woman born woman，Maura们就被排斥在外。这部剧推崇女权的同时也批判女权运动，它和任何社会运动一样，被自身所局限。本来需要让更多人听见女性的声音，却和那个营地一样困在树林里。

美国犹太人的命运是这部剧里很重要的故事线。剧中祖母来自德国，1930年代逃到美国。祖母的哥哥也是一个trans，但是纳粹很快席卷德国，母亲带着女儿逃离柏林，儿子却被抓起来了。希伯来语是最古老的语言之一，美国犹太人从小接受希伯来语的教育，读希伯来语圣经。Sarah婚礼上的希伯莱语舞曲Hora Dance源自东欧舞曲，但是曲风分明像是来自游牧的沙漠，放牧人夜晚围篝火而舞。几千年来世界各地的犹太人依然是那个游牧民族，哪里才是他们想回去的神圣家园？

犹太人掌握着美国的经济命脉，但是往往生活低调。我的犹太朋友说除了犹太节日外他们很少庆祝什么。那么多犹太人对人类发展做出贡献，可是世人很少知道他们是犹太人。著名建筑师Frank Gary甚至为掩盖他的犹太身份而改名。他们的生活中充满罪恶感，犹太人每年最神圣的一天是Yom Kippur(赎罪日)，那一天他们高唱赎罪的圣歌，向周围的人道歉，请求宽恕，这样他们可以继续下一年的生活。犹太人的历史中充满泪水，这部剧更是笑中带泪。当Rabbi（犹太教老师） Raquel哭的时候，当Josh的哭的时候，他们的泪水和耶路撒冷哭墙前人们的泪水相连，他们用泪水去悲伤和悼念。

剧中最美妙的时刻是Ali念一首叫I always put my pussy的诗。既然男人们能够常常把阳具挂在嘴边，有些男诗人恨不得全世界闻他肿胀的荷尔蒙，女人为什么不可以让世界听听阴部的声音？
I always put my pussy
By Eileen Myles

I always put my pussy
in the middle of trees
like a waterfall
like a doorway to God
like a flock of birds.
I always put my lover's cunt
on the crest
of a wave
like a flag
that I can
pledge my
allegiance
to. This is my
country. Here,
when we're alone
in public.
My lover's pussy
is a badge
is a night stick
is a helmet
is a deer's face
is a handful
of flowers
is a waterfall
is a river
of blood
is a bible
is a hurricane
is a soothsayer.
My lover's pussy
is a battle cry
is a prayer
is lunch
is wealth
is happy
is on teevee
has a sense of humor
has a career
has a cup of coffee
goes to work
meditates
is always alone
knows my face
knows my tongue
knows my hands
is an alarmist
has lousy manners
knows her mind

I always put
my pussy in the middle
of trees
like a waterfall
a piece of jewelry
that I wear on my chest
like a badge
here in America
so my lover & I
can be safe.

我总是把我的猫
By Eileen Myles
我总是把我的猫
放在树木中间
像瀑布
像通往上帝的门径
像鸟群。
我总是把爱人的阴户
放在波浪
的波峰之上
像一面
我可以
宣誓效忠
的旗帜。
这是我的
国家。这里，
当我们公开
独处。
爱人的阴户
是徽章
是警棍
是头盔
是鹿的脸
是一捧
鲜花
是瀑布
是一条
鲜血汇集的河流
是圣经
是飓风
是占卜者。
爱人的阴户
是战斗口号
是祈祷
是午饭
是财富
是幸福
在电视里
有幽默感
有职业
带一杯咖啡
去上班
冥想
总是独自的
知道我的脸
知道我的舌头
知道我的手
是危言耸听
没有礼貌
知道她的心
 
我总是把
我的猫放在
树木中间
像瀑布
一件首饰
我带在胸口
像徽章
在这里，美国
爱人和我
是安全的。

透明家庭第二季影评

第二季比第一季好 因为第二季比第一季更深入了 家庭这个亘古不变的因素 如此多元化 也无比真实
这季心理学方面多了一些 例如讲三个人受家庭的影响然后成为了各自的样子 大姐说她缺少母爱 儿子说缺少父爱 艾丽说什么 抱歉我忘记了
景色很美 歌很好听 拍摄的手法是小时候穿插在现实中 很喜欢这种讲故事的方法
艾丽是一个实验性质的人 她一直在做实验 跟着感觉走 尝试她感兴趣的东西
儿子是一个懦弱的人
大姐是一个后知后觉的人
这故事告诉我们跨性别是有基因的 例如罗丝的哥哥就是一个跨性别者 所以罗丝的儿子也就是艾丽的爸爸也是一个异装癖
家人也会互不理解 家人也是人 人都会为自己考虑 这毋庸置疑
那么家人是什么意思 我想就是你出什么事情我就会陪在你身边 无论你出什么事情我都会陪在你身边
而不是无时无刻在你身边 因为各有各的事情
家人是 即使我可能不理解你 但我仍然愿意在你身边 家人是陪伴 虽然什么人都可以成为陪伴 但家人的陪伴是 充满安全感的 就是那种 无论什么时候 你需要 我就在这
但你不能经常需要 因为我也有我的事情 但是它是一个有归属感的存在
记得大姐和那个女生结婚的晚上 他们几个人在各自的房间里 镜头平移的时候 每个房间里的他们 我觉得很温暖 不是故意煽情 是真的 还有他们三个孩子在游泳池里面游泳 他们一起躺在房间里看电视 都让我觉得温暖 什么都不用考虑
就是我们在一起
写到这里 这篇影评我想探讨的是 家庭成员之前的关系问题
未必互相理解 各有缺点 可能都有自己看不惯的地方 但是求同存异 对 求同存异 这点很重要 互不干扰但互相依靠 没有猜忌没有隔阂 很安全的关系


家庭才是你成长最好的地方 因为无法拒绝 不像朋友 也不像恋人 可以转身走开 当成为了家庭 你们就是一个家庭的一份子 你们要学会求同存异

和朋友之前的感情就是互相尊重 一起走 有些话不能和家人说但可以和朋友说 无论和什么人接触都要互相尊重 各有各的选择 互相尊重 是最重要的一点


这剧集比较吸引我的一点就是它试图探讨每个人心里的创伤以及找出根源 期待第三季 不知道它会说些什么

处理的比第一季还要细腻 每个人的情绪都被放大了 但是不得不说 这个家庭的每个人是不被人爱的 每个人都有心底创伤 敏感的老小很受周围人的影响 矫情任性的大姐觉得可以随意伤害别人 到处跟别人说自己是缺乏母爱的祈求可以被原谅被爱 这是最不讨喜的角色 Moppa从心底里害怕外界对自己的看法 一点点小事情都会被放大成对自己的偏见 既然做出了改变 却不敢走的更远 很喜欢很喜欢片头 每次看都会觉得回到那个时代 每个时代都在追求自由 权力 但是 希望是在不伤害他人的基础上吧