#THE WACHOWSKI SISTERS

[texaschainsawmascara]

The Matrix (1999)

[haveyouseenthismovie-poll]

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Bengiyo's Queer Cinema Syllabus

For those of you who don’t know, I decided to run the gauntlet of @bengiyo’s queer cinema syllabus, which is comprised of 9 units. I have completed four of the units (here is my queer cinema syllabus round up post with all the films I’ve watched and written about so far). It is time for me to make my way through Unit 5- Lesbians, which includes the following films: The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love (1995), Bound (1996), Water Lilies (2007), Saving Face (2004), D.E.B.S. (2004), Set It Off (1996), The Handmaiden (2016), Carol (2015), Imagine Me and You (2005), Two of Us (2019), Rafiki (2018), and The Color Purple (1985). 

Today I will be talking about 

Bound (1996) dir. Wachowski Sisters

[Run Time: 1:48 , Language: English]

Summary: Tough ex-con Corky and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caesar. Cast: - Jennifer Tilly as Violet - Gina Gorshon as Corky __

OKAY! THIS MOVIE KICKS ASS! What a gift to dykes everywhere, let me tell you. I cannot believe this was the Wachowski Sister’s directorial debut. It makes so much sense to me how they would have gotten such success off of The Matrix and Sense8 if this was their first foray in to directing because it is evident how strong of an idea they have for the story they are telling and what they want their audience to see. Maybe it helps that they wrote it as well, but still they know exactly what they want to do in every scene. 

It’s really fun watching Bound knowing that it was made before Lana and Lily Wachowski came out because it is so clear to me that queer women made this film. Corky and Violet are so horny for each other, we get multiple on camera lesbian sex scenes, they are both hot as fuck and the camera lets us know it in a way that somehow (for me at least) manages to convey both a carnal desire to Tap That without feeling like it is objectifying the women on screen.

I think it is really interesting that this entire heist took place across two rooms in an apartment complex, and that all of this could still go down. I loved how run down the apartment Corky was fixing up looks and how grandiose Violet’s apartment is. The class disparity is there, but we know where Violet stands because she always places herself in Corky’s spaces. 

I saw a little interview from the Wachowski’s talking about what is one of my favorite shots in the film, when the camera transitions birdseye between Violet on the phone in her bedroom and Corky on the phone on the other side of the wall. They were talking about how these two women are trapped and how caged in they wanted the set to feel, so not only did they keep them in those rooms but they covered the apartment in squares to just keep them caged and caged and caged at every level. And you can see it, even though it is sometimes subtle. It’s in the wallpaper, it’s on the floor, the concrete slabs, etc. (You can see an example in the gif above)

I liked that Corky set the plot up so well by telling Violet that if they were going to steal the money that she needed to know her mark as well if not better than she knows herself, and how the rush job to take the money backfires so spectacularly at the very last part of the plan because Corky doesn’t know Ceaser well enough to realize he is going to stay and fight rather than turn tail and run when he realizes the money is gone. 

I talked a few times about the color red and the symbolism associated with it in Heartbreak Alley, how every time I saw blood on screen in the back half of Unit 4 the only thing I could think about was AIDS. So it is really interesting moving in to Unit 5 to spaces where we see a lot of blood and where suddenly that symbolism is gone. Now the blood is prison and freedom all in one. I love the way Ceaser’s blood mixes with the white paint at the end. The blood dripping on the white tile of the bathroom, on the toilet. All the ways in which sins and crime can be wiped clean, and how white makes everything else stand out, until it doesn’t. I was struck by the transition between Ceaser bleeding out in that pool of white paint, and the Landlord Special room we transitioned to with all those impossibly white walls. 

Favorite Moment: 

Oh god, there are so many little things I loved, the shot of Corky and Violet’s lips an inch apart and then crashing together to make out. Their fingers intertwining in the car at the end of the film. The fact that Corky wears her lockpicks as earrings, #innovation. But I think my absolute favorite little moment in the film is when Ceaser has Corky bound at his feet and he’s interrogating her about the money, and he points the gun at her face and he says: “Fucking queers you make me sick” which sounds like a weird choice to have as my favorite moment, but it is entirely because of the second after that line when Violet’s eyes flick upwards to look at him. Because she, too, is a queer woman and we are not allowed to forget that just because she spends so much of the film bound to this man because of his money and his power over her. 

Favorite Quote: 

“I had this image of you inside of me. Like a part of me.” 

It’s repeated a few times in the film though it always feels kind of randomly placed. But I like it for the simple fact that it is like calling to like. Queer woman trapped in her own life calling out to a queer woman trapped in her own life. I like that we get the counterpart to this quote at the end when Corky asks Violet “do you know what the difference is between you and me, Violet?” // “No.” // “Me neither.”  It’s just such a lovely parallel that comes at the end of all of their suffering, their abuse, and the freedom they have gained. 

Score

10/10

Gina Gershon hot.

What else is there to say?

[moviemosaics]

Bound

directed by The Wachowskis, 1996

[quillkiller]

you should talk about sense8. if you want to.

lives were changed on this day..

[nine-frames]

"Go, Speed Racer, go."

Speed Racer, 2008.

Dir. & Writ. The Wachowskis (based on the manga by Tatsuo Yoshida) | DOP David Tattersall

[enbycrip]

Yeah, this is a more detailed version of my theories about The Matrix et al.

I have thoughts about the Oracle being in an alliance with Morpheus too - I think he was a previous “failed” One who got wise to the plan and essentially made an alliance with her to guide another One in a way closer to what she wanted, with the threat of creating a much more destructive revolution if she did not agree, to give himself time to manipulate Neo *and* Zion into creating what actually did happen.

In general I read The Matrix et al as a subtle critique of the Great Man Theory of History that pretends to be a movie about it. It’s so much cleverer than it pretends to be.

[queer-ace]

@ transphobes, your fave could never

[texaschainsawmascara]

The Matrix

[crunchbuttsteak]

If I had a nickel for every director who made a genre-defining movie trilogy in the early 2000s and got their start directing a sapphic crime drama, I’d have two nickels, which isn’t a lot but it’s weird it happened twice.

[heavenlycinema]

The Matrix 1999

Dirs. Lana & Lilly Wachowski

“You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes.”

[abattoirstars]

buying and wearing this tshirt purely out of my love for speed racer (2008)

[magicspeedwagon7]

i watched Don (2006) recently, and spoiler: i don't like it.

this film piqued my curiosity because of the poster and in general the aesthetics, which seems quite inspired by the Wachowskis' Matrix (1999). After all, this film sets a new standard for action films.

Action films before The Matrix were power fantasies featuring macho-men and explosions everywhere. The Wachowski sisters came in with their fashionable hero(ine), their choreographed action scenes modelled on Hong Kong action films, their abundant use of slow-motion, spinning cameras and other filmmaking techniques that make Neo look cool. The quintessence of coolness being achieved in the iconic 'bullet time scene' which combines all the above elements.

so when i saw, the theatrical release poster of the film Don (2006) i wondered if it was an Indian remake of the Wachowski sisters' masterpiece because why not ? after a quick Wikipedia research, I realised that it actually was the remake of the Hindi film of 1978 and, on paper, that sounds like a great idea. revamping an action film from the late 70s with new filmmaking techniques in a post-Matrix era; that makes sense, I was quite optimistic.

unfortunately all the inventive filmmaking techniques are used just to make Shah Rukh Khan cool and every other scene is mid. After the intermission, we even abandon the green filter because apparently for the filmmaker The Matrix = green filter. like i said, The Matrix emulated Hong Kong martial arts films for their action scenes, and so did Bollywood films in the 80s. so why does Farhan Akhtar (director of Don (2006)) decides to emulate the worst of Hollywood incomprehensible action scenes. Its countless cunts which create superficial 'smoothness'. why? my little theory is that Farhan Akhtar just want to make his protagonist 'look cool' but with a very superficial understanding of what makes a protagonist cool.

in this film, Shah Rukh Khan plays a dual role: the cruel drug lord Don and his lookalike Vijay, a kind-hearted man from humble origins. but he's too busy trying "to look cool", his acting is identical whether he plays Don or Vijay. moreover, we minimize how cruel Don is because of the "coolness" of Shah Rukh Khan. his "wittiness" defuses the emotional scenes that require seriousness.

to conclude, i'm so happy The Matrix was such an influential film but unfortunately people all around the world liked it for superficial reasons. for so many people, The Matrix is just green filter and slow motion, and that saddens me.

[zippocreed501]

Bound (1996)

directed by Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski

[thekotaroo]

Profiles of Pride: June 16th! 🏳️‍🌈Lana and Lilly Wachowski🏳️‍🌈

Lana Wachowski (Born June 21, 1965) and Lilly Wachowski (Born December 29, 1967) are American film and TV directors, writers, and producers. They are siblings, and are both trans women. After dropping out of college, the Wachowskis ran a house painting and construction business in Chicago while writing for Marvel Comics' Razorline imprint, namely Ectokid (created by horror novelist Clive Barker) in 1993. They also wrote the series Clive Barker's Hellraiser and Clive Barker's Nightbreed for Epic Comics.

Collectively known as the Wachowskis, the pair made their directing debut in 1996 with Bound, and achieved fame with their second film The Matrix (1999), a major box office success for which they won the Saturn Award for Best Director. They wrote and directed its two sequels: The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions (both in 2003), and were deeply involved in the writing and production of other works in that franchise.

During production of the first film, the Wachowskis and Spencer Lamm, who ran the film's official website, developed comics based on the setting of the film, which were published free of charge on the website. These and a few short stories were released in three series from 1999 to 2003, with several of them (along with new material) collected in two print volumes in 2003 and 2004. The Wachowskis themselves contributed "Bits and Pieces", a prequel to the movie that explains the origins of the Matrix, featuring illustrations by Geof Darrow, the movie's conceptual designer. Other writers and artists that contributed to the series include Neil Gaiman, Dave Gibbons, Paul Chadwick, Ted McKeever, Poppy Z. Brite, and Steve Skroce.

After Lilly Wachowski came out as transgender, she encouraged looking back on her and Lana's works "through the lens of our transness", saying that the themes of identity, self-image and transformation are apparent in The Matrix.

Following the commercial success of The Matrix series, they wrote and produced the 2006 film V for Vendetta (an adaptation of the comic of the same name by Alan Moore), and in 2008 released the film Speed Racer, which was a live-action adaptation of the Japanese anime series of the same name. Their next film, Cloud Atlas, based on the novel of the same name by David Mitchell and co-written and co-directed by Tom Tykwer, was released in 2012. Their film Jupiter Ascending and the Netflix series Sense8, which they co-created with J. Michael Straczynski, both debuted in 2015.

The siblings have worked as a writing and directing team through most of their professional film careers, until the second season of Sense8 in 2016. At this point Lilly took an active break from writing and directing, with Lana continuing the TV series solo, which has marked the first time that the siblings worked separately.

Rumors that Lana Wachowski was transitioning spread in the early 2000s, though neither sister spoke directly on the subject at the time. In 2003, Gothamist reported the possible transition. In a 2007 interview, Joel Silver, the producer of numerous Wachowski films, said that the rumors concerning the transition were "all untrue", saying that "they just don't do interviews, so people make things up." Crew members working on Speed Racer said similar things.

Lana publicly revealed her transition after Speed Racer's release in 2008 and by at least December 2010, after which trade magazines and newspapers referred to her as Lana Wachowski. In July 2012, Lana made her first public appearance after transitioning, in a video discussing the creative process behind Cloud Atlas. Lana is the first major Hollywood director to come out as transgender.

In a September 2012 interview with Aleksandar Hemon of The New Yorker, Lana described an incident in third grade at Catholic School when she was hesitant to join the boys' line and unconsciously accepted herself as belonging to the girls'.

In October 2012, Lana Wachowski received the Human Rights Campaign's Visibility Award. In her acceptance speech, she revealed that once during her youth, she had considered suicide because of her feelings of confusion about her gender identity. Her acceptance speech was one of the longest public appearances by either of the reclusive sisters. Lana said that, although she and Lilly had not publicly commented on her transitioning during the previous decade, it was not because she was ashamed of it, nor had she kept it a secret from her family and friends. Rather, she stated, the two are generally shy about the news media and prefer to maintain their privacy. Comparing media exposure to losing one's virginity as an irreversible event that only happens once, the Wachowskis had tried to stay out of the public eye. They feared losing their privacy and the ability to go to public places without being noticed and harassed as celebrities.

In March 2016, Lilly Wachowski also came out as a transgender woman, issuing a statement to the Windy City Times after a visit from a reporter from the Daily Mail newspaper who had attempted to get an interview with her about it. In that article, she said, "I am one of the lucky ones. Having the support of my family and the means to afford doctors and therapists has given me the chance to actually survive this process. Transgender people without support, means and privilege do not have this luxury. And many do not survive."

Her first public appearance since beginning transitioning was a few weeks later, at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards, where she accepted an award for her Netflix series Sense8 for Outstanding Drama Series. She said, "I didn't feel obligated to be here, but I wanted to do something. And it's serendipitous that the awards were a couple of weeks later and our show was up for an award."

[rawwkingrimmie64]

Trans sisters in the 90s who don't know they're trans yet write a movie about a guy named Neo (meaning "New") who lives in a world where everything around him is an illusion created to keep him stuck inside the status quo. A woman named Trinity, who he initially assumes is a man, is the one who starts to help break the illusion around him. He then has a tracking bug extracted from his body through his umbilical cord scar before being taken to the god of dreams.

The god of dreams offers him a choice to stay as he is by taking an anti-depressant, or to see the world as it could be by taking a hormone pill. He takes the hormone pill.

This leads him to finally learning that the real world is cold, dark, and void of life, except for at the very core, where people like him are trying to simply survive a war. He finally learns that world he used to know is fabricated and, even worse, literally anyone around him could attempt to kill him at any given moment without warning. Specifically, he learns this after being mesmerized by a woman in a red dress, who then tries to kill him.

He goes on to do things that he once thought impossible. He alters his appearance in the fake world to suit his own personality, leaps building gaps, and even flies. He is being hunted down simply for existing, and is told multiple times that he will either die, or those who helped free him will, once by a man, once by a woman, both times by an artificial being created in the fake world. His enemies blind him physically, yet he is still able to see the world, literally, through a new light.

He goes on to fight his oppressors and sacrifices his old self in the fake world in order to save everyone in the real world from the war that they are going through.

And guess what? Then those trans sisters find out that they're trans and write a follow up movie where the woman lead is the one that is trapped in the false reality, and she ends up being the hero that saves the day.

Say what you want about The Matrix and it's follow-ups, but you can't deny that trans people, especially trans people who have come out since watching these movies, have a justified and logical reason to view these movies a trans representation.

The Matrix 1999 | dir. The Wachowskis