Boys Dont Cry
By: Vika • Essay • 1,256 Words • November 9, 2009 • 2,296 Views
Essay title: Boys Dont Cry
Boys Don’t Cry: List # 1
PLOT
Boys Don’t Cry is a film about the real life of Brandon Teena. Brandon Teena was a
young transgender individual from Nebraska that was murdered after the discovery of
his being transgender. Brandon Teena found a group of friends after a bar fight that
got out of hand and found a home like atmosphere in their presence. However, his new
found friends did not know that he was born a woman and Brandon Teena does his best
to keep his identity a secret. Unfortunately, Brandon Teena has had some problems
with the law, meanwhile he is trying to form an intimate relationship with one of
the girls in the group named Lana. Lana seems to know that there is something
different about Brandon, but she is enchanted by this outsider and his softness of
sorts. The story starts to unfold when the group together starts to get in trouble
with the law through a high speed chase and various careless acts that take place in
this impoverished area where there is little to do other than cause trouble!
. Eventually, the truth is discovered, and this leads to a brutal sexual assault by
the friends of Lana upon Brandon, and after reporting the assault to the
authorities, Brandon Teena is killed in front of Lana as they were attempting to
run away together.
CHARACTER UNDER DISCUSSION
Brandon
Brandon is driven by the need to be accepted by all those that cross his path. You
wouldn’t know it being that a lot of his time is spent pretending to be tougher than
he really is. He is small in stature, with a clean cut hair cut. He comes from
Nebraska so he is often found in flannels and jeans. He is very unsettled both
psychologically and emotionally. With his family disowning him and his cousin
kicking him out, he really has no place to call home. This can lead to severe
anxiety and it has for Brandon as he is a pathological liar and changes his story
with those around him to suit his needs. He also lies to the women he seduces in to
thinking he is a biological male, not transgender. This is likely due to the
conservative demographic in that town, but also due to the response he has already
gotten regarding his being transgender. Brandon is a “pleaser” as he does not go out
of his way to create conflict with anyone. In fact, his adaptability is pretty
amazing as you ha!
ve to be a relatively perceptive person to have the quality of adaptation. He might
even be a bit naпve as well, which creates a bit of a paradox in his personality.
He is torn to both be a pleaser and to be pleased with his life circumstances. He
has difficulty with intimate relationships as he does not want any person, not even
one that he cares so deeply about to discover his secret. He struggles to be
realistic in the outcome of his current situation. He is overwhelmingly optimistic,
but has a tendency to be aggressive when insecure. He is young and never had anyone
to tell him how to take the right path. He became a criminal for survival and it
then became second nature.
DIAGNOSIS (WITH SPECIFIC REFERENCE TO AND DISCUSSION OF DSM-IV CRITERIA)
Diagnosis: Gender Identity Disorder ( Page 352, Durand and Barlow )
? Brandon has strong and persistent cross gender identification, as he