Movies are almost always controversial, which often results in agitated viewers. No movie escapes criticism from one group or another, whether it is for being too unoriginal, too nontraditional, too diverse, or not diverse enough. Most recently, Mark Ruffalo, an actor best known for playing The Hulk in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film series, has been criticized for his upcoming movie, Anything.
Anything, which tells the story of a relationship between a recent widower and a transgender prostitute, casts cisgender actor Matt Bomer as the transgender character. The casting decision has received backlash from gender and sexual minorities. Many people in the LGBTQ community are suggesting that casting a cisgender actor in a transgender role limits the opportunities for legitimate transgender actors. This casting will also further support the idea that transgender women are just “men in dresses”.
“Dear @MarkRuffalo & @MattBomer: if you release this movie, it will directly lead to violence against already at risk trans women,” said trans actress Jen Richards on Twitter. “You will exacerbate the cultural belief that trans women are really men, which is the root of violence against us.”
“To the Trans community. I hear you. It’s wrenching to you see you in this pain. I am glad we are having this conversation. It’s time,” Ruffalo said on Twitter in response to the controversy.
Although it is good that Ruffalo took the time to listen and respond to what people were saying, this is not a new conversation. The conversation has been going on for decades, and it is disappointing that a movie intending to shine a positive light on transgender people is doing the exact opposite. This is not even the first time something like this has happened in recent history. In the past few years, the same argument has been made about Jared Leto in Dallas Buyers Club (2013), Eddie Redmayne in The Danish Girl (2015), and Jeffrey Tambor in the Amazon series Transparent. Again and again, cisgender actors are cast in transgender roles, and again and again the LGBTQ community speaks out about the problem with doing that.
Ruffalo said that he could not recast the role because taping of the film had already wrapped up. But he should never have considered Bomer as the transgender role in the first place. This debate was not sparked by this specific instance and it is not going to stop unless transgender voices start being heard.The argument should not have to start over again every time a new movie comes out.
The conversation has been had already. It’s time to stop apologizing and start (or, in this case, stop) acting.
