A short video exploring Longlegs and the history of weird, transphobia and queer coding in the horror genre follow me on ig: @freakonaquiche (not active atm) love you!
I think Longlegs was meant to portray a caricature of “satanism” he’s androgynous, was a glam rocker, and was seemingly asexual. I think that Oz’s goal wasn’t to demonize these things but portray them as unrelated and in a very tongue in cheek way suggest Longlegs himself is the root of these stereotypes not a result of them being true.
I remember seeing Longlegs and with the opening scene, seeing Longlegs' lips, long hair, slightly higher voice, my first thought was "Oh no, are we really pulling a Buffalo Bill in 2024?" Glad I'm not the only one who got the vibes tbh
In my experience, the queer coding of longlegs is very much in the vein of the matrix where you'll only get it if you get it. I saw the movie with some friends, I saw the gender ambiguity in longlegs presentation, they didn't, but speaking with a different friend afterward we connected and confirmed what we both saw. I think in the longrun the amount of damage longlegs can do is somewhat mitigated by the coding it's doing, but as someone who got what they were going for it still bothers me a lot. It's not that the movie did something wrong, but the context it exists in puts oz, cage, and the movie in a bad place. It's 2024. The right is explicitly calling trans people devil worshipping satanists coming for your kids. And a movie came out that wanted to tell a story in good faith, and for some reason that story had to be about a satanist coming for your kids with a "monstrous he-she glam rocker" look. As interesting as the autobiographical analysis is, it's hard to to overlook that fact.
Interesting research and synthesis of ideas. But a fascination with the opposite gender, including being the opposite gender, is not just a meaningful consideration for those who consider themselves to be trans to explore. This is absolutely something that “cis men” can meaningfully explore without eyerolls and simplifications of their intent. While transitioning is a meaningful life choice, the curiosity towards experiencing life as the opposite gender is a fascination since antiquity. And on a spectrum like anything else. Films often symbolically hyper-represent such deep considerations like a dream, i think as David lynch often says. And such heightened symbolism is bound to cross wires with a lot of things - including queer coding - so calling films like silence of the lambs transphobic is seeing a tree for the forest imo.
I think it's a little disingenuous to say that Angela kills due to her forced transition in Sleepaway Camp. The twist is definitely played up for shock value, but it is a well incorporated aspect of her character, and runs parallel to bullying, childhood trauma OUTSIDE of her forced transition, and in some cases self defense as her motive for killing. Angela is an incredibly sympathetic killer, especially for a trans character, and it gives me brain damage when people misrepresent Sleepaway Camp in this way.
This is a fair criticism! I think I definitely simplified Angela’s situation in the video and I like the way that you put it. That being said, I do think that the forced transition does complicate Angela’s experience of transness, as it kind of takes away a lot of her agency. That plot point just made me feel really icky
It could go both ways tbh. The rep can be seen as harmful or it can be seen as good. Im not gonna say people are wrong/right, im just saying its 50/50 kinda. Think what you want and putting that aside I think Longlegs was a great movie.
idk if anyone said this in the comments yet, but the movie title, "They/Them", is supposed to be understood/spoken as "They Slash Them", which I find to be pretty creative 😆
I saw Longlegs the first day it came out and didn't pick up on any queer vibes, but I do like this reading. It reminded me of The Exorcist which came out earlier this year, and both felt like they had a lot to do with child abuse in religion. I'm interested in watching it again with this reading in mind
I feel like "Dressed to Kill" got a bit overlooked, as well as "Color of Night". Both are wildly transphobic, and probably are best forgotten, but if you're compiling a list...
as a preemptive disclaimer: i am trans. i never got a single trans vibe from longlegs. i still highly disliked it. the movie borrowed a LOT from silence of the lambs, se7en, etc, so maybe that's what threw me off from considering it as an intentional option rather than just someone failing to emulate two good movies. because the movie is just... bad. it treats its audience and characters like they're stupid (and to be fair, the characters are incredibly stupid), its central themes are barely explored before the ending voiceover just explains the whole plot to you, and i don't understand why so many people seem to like it!
Silence of the Lambs, the book, does a much better job of explaining Buffalo Bill, and is takes some pains to let the audience know that 'no, trans people arent psychokillers, in fact Bill might not even really be 'trans' as we understand it'. Still some problems there, but overall the book was sympathetic in its discussion on trans people, and careful to be aware of its own role in presenting its killer as what the average audience would simply see as "A Transsexual".
Hannibal Lector explains what "Buffalo Bill" is and is not. He tells Clarice that Billie "thinks" he's a transsexual, but he is really not. I expect he thinks he is a lot of things.
when people say it’s so silence of the lamb coded, i’m like “it’s supposed to be!!” the Director is the Director of silence of the lambs kid!!! and has many references to it
the most confusing part of Longlegs was all the 1 star reviews I read before watching it. Longlegs looked so weird though, reminded me of Simon Cowell if he just kept getting more Botox
I find your speech very well structured. It is particularly impressive in your longer videos; even with lots of ideas involved, your trail of footprints is very clear and easy to follow. I do however think from my perspective as someone who is not on twitter (an example from this video) that when guiding us through a more personally experienced perspective of a topic/idea, it would be really great to see more use out of the visual opportunities you have with a video. Displaying a screenshot of a tweet that you feel best captures what you’ve experienced… I don’t know, you are the talented creator. But just something small to put us in your shoes through those experiences would go a long way at least for me. As well as getting more use out of the fore-mentioned visual opportunities. Just a subjective thought and nonetheless loved the video as always. Cheers.
@@clarkwest2112 yesss you’re so right! I actually had the screenshot of the tweets ready but felt weird about posting random people’s tweets with like 6 likes lol. I guess if theyre posting it publicly its fair game? Anyways, I appreciate the feedback a lot and I will keep it in mind for future videos- thank you so much:)
It has been said that Oz wrote this movie about his and his parent’s relationship. It’s about the willingness to protect by hiding painful truths instead of guiding, directing children through unfortunate events.
Interestingly, Nick Cage said that Oz Perkins told him, the story is about his mother. In an interview Perkins mocks himself about how his mother scared him as a kid when she put up her cold cream and than turned around saying " Cucko!"
![CHILE vs. BRASIL [1-2] | RESUMEN | ELIMINATORIAS SUDAMERICANAS | FECHA 9](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5ObJt_71AYc/mqdefault.jpg)
We all know that the gayest character in Longlegs is the receptionist at the psych ward.
I think Longlegs was meant to portray a caricature of “satanism” he’s androgynous, was a glam rocker, and was seemingly asexual. I think that Oz’s goal wasn’t to demonize these things but portray them as unrelated and in a very tongue in cheek way suggest Longlegs himself is the root of these stereotypes not a result of them being true.
I actually found Lee Harper quite queer coded but Longlegs never came to mind
She's also autism coded
I remember seeing Longlegs and with the opening scene, seeing Longlegs' lips, long hair, slightly higher voice, my first thought was "Oh no, are we really pulling a Buffalo Bill in 2024?"
Glad I'm not the only one who got the vibes tbh
In my experience, the queer coding of longlegs is very much in the vein of the matrix where you'll only get it if you get it. I saw the movie with some friends, I saw the gender ambiguity in longlegs presentation, they didn't, but speaking with a different friend afterward we connected and confirmed what we both saw.
I think in the longrun the amount of damage longlegs can do is somewhat mitigated by the coding it's doing, but as someone who got what they were going for it still bothers me a lot. It's not that the movie did something wrong, but the context it exists in puts oz, cage, and the movie in a bad place.
It's 2024. The right is explicitly calling trans people devil worshipping satanists coming for your kids. And a movie came out that wanted to tell a story in good faith, and for some reason that story had to be about a satanist coming for your kids with a "monstrous he-she glam rocker" look. As interesting as the autobiographical analysis is, it's hard to to overlook that fact.
Yes! I completely understand and agree with this criticism of the film
Interesting research and synthesis of ideas. But a fascination with the opposite gender, including being the opposite gender, is not just a meaningful consideration for those who consider themselves to be trans to explore. This is absolutely something that “cis men” can meaningfully explore without eyerolls and simplifications of their intent. While transitioning is a meaningful life choice, the curiosity towards experiencing life as the opposite gender is a fascination since antiquity. And on a spectrum like anything else.
Films often symbolically hyper-represent such deep considerations like a dream, i think as David lynch often says. And such heightened symbolism is bound to cross wires with a lot of things - including queer coding - so calling films like silence of the lambs transphobic is seeing a tree for the forest imo.
I think it's a little disingenuous to say that Angela kills due to her forced transition in Sleepaway Camp. The twist is definitely played up for shock value, but it is a well incorporated aspect of her character, and runs parallel to bullying, childhood trauma OUTSIDE of her forced transition, and in some cases self defense as her motive for killing. Angela is an incredibly sympathetic killer, especially for a trans character, and it gives me brain damage when people misrepresent Sleepaway Camp in this way.
This is a fair criticism! I think I definitely simplified Angela’s situation in the video and I like the way that you put it. That being said, I do think that the forced transition does complicate Angela’s experience of transness, as it kind of takes away a lot of her agency. That plot point just made me feel really icky
You cooked with this one I fear
It could go both ways tbh. The rep can be seen as harmful or it can be seen as good. Im not gonna say people are wrong/right, im just saying its 50/50 kinda. Think what you want and putting that aside I think Longlegs was a great movie.
Literally left the theater saying that felt queer felling so validated
idk if anyone said this in the comments yet, but the movie title, "They/Them", is supposed to be understood/spoken as "They Slash Them", which I find to be pretty creative 😆
I saw Longlegs the first day it came out and didn't pick up on any queer vibes, but I do like this reading. It reminded me of The Exorcist which came out earlier this year, and both felt like they had a lot to do with child abuse in religion. I'm interested in watching it again with this reading in mind
Don't forget Lee's autism superpowers!
title on the thumbnail image made me chuckle 🤣
Dressed To Kill was my first "trans-murderer" movie. I was a kid then, and trans-ness was portrayed so negatively that I was really impacted😢
Hold that thought while I check with Brian DePalma ... nope
I feel like "Dressed to Kill" got a bit overlooked, as well as "Color of Night". Both are wildly transphobic, and probably are best forgotten, but if you're compiling a list...
as a preemptive disclaimer: i am trans. i never got a single trans vibe from longlegs. i still highly disliked it. the movie borrowed a LOT from silence of the lambs, se7en, etc, so maybe that's what threw me off from considering it as an intentional option rather than just someone failing to emulate two good movies. because the movie is just... bad. it treats its audience and characters like they're stupid (and to be fair, the characters are incredibly stupid), its central themes are barely explored before the ending voiceover just explains the whole plot to you, and i don't understand why so many people seem to like it!
Yeah, a bit. He was like an evil Emo Philips with a big NB energy.
Silence of the Lambs, the book, does a much better job of explaining Buffalo Bill, and is takes some pains to let the audience know that 'no, trans people arent psychokillers, in fact Bill might not even really be 'trans' as we understand it'.
Still some problems there, but overall the book was sympathetic in its discussion on trans people, and careful to be aware of its own role in presenting its killer as what the average audience would simply see as "A Transsexual".
Hannibal Lector explains what "Buffalo Bill" is and is not. He tells Clarice that Billie "thinks" he's a transsexual, but he is really not. I expect he thinks he is a lot of things.
when people say it’s so silence of the lamb coded, i’m like “it’s supposed to be!!” the Director is the Director of silence of the lambs kid!!! and has many references to it
that's not true, the director is oz perkins, son of anthony perkins (not anthony hopkins from silence of the lambs), who played norman bates in psycho
great video
I’ve not seen this film yet, been meaning too, will watch this video once I have seen it!
I had the same thought as you, as a trans woman; I'll wait for streaming
It is
UM. HELLO.
So interesting
the most confusing part of Longlegs was all the 1 star reviews I read before watching it. Longlegs looked so weird though, reminded me of Simon Cowell if he just kept getting more Botox
I vibe
I find your speech very well structured. It is particularly impressive in your longer videos; even with lots of ideas involved, your trail of footprints is very clear and easy to follow. I do however think from my perspective as someone who is not on twitter (an example from this video) that when guiding us through a more personally experienced perspective of a topic/idea, it would be really great to see more use out of the visual opportunities you have with a video. Displaying a screenshot of a tweet that you feel best captures what you’ve experienced… I don’t know, you are the talented creator. But just something small to put us in your shoes through those experiences would go a long way at least for me. As well as getting more use out of the fore-mentioned visual opportunities. Just a subjective thought and nonetheless loved the video as always. Cheers.
@@clarkwest2112 yesss you’re so right! I actually had the screenshot of the tweets ready but felt weird about posting random people’s tweets with like 6 likes lol. I guess if theyre posting it publicly its fair game? Anyways, I appreciate the feedback a lot and I will keep it in mind for future videos- thank you so much:)
@@emmakredl you could always censor account names but still show the text of the tweet, if you felt comfortable with that
I think Oz consciously/subconsciously hates his closeted father. It's just so obvious.
oh well theres a take . curious indeed
It has been said that Oz wrote this movie about his and his parent’s relationship. It’s about the willingness to protect by hiding painful truths instead of guiding, directing children through unfortunate events.
Interestingly, Nick Cage said that Oz Perkins told him, the story is about his mother. In an interview Perkins mocks himself about how his mother scared him as a kid when she put up her cold cream and than turned around saying " Cucko!"
Reporting this garbage for being cringe
do u think that’ll get it taken down or smth?