3 Generations

Trailer.

Available Summary:

"As a teen manages his mom and grandma's perceptions of his transition, his distant father unexpectedly becomes a required part of the process." -Netflix.

Jack's Summary:

Despite leaning on shallow trans tropes and crudely emphasising the struggle of cis family members in adjusting to a trans boy’s journey, this film is still very relatable for me. Elle Fanning (the actress cast to play the trans protagonist), for what it’s worth, approached the role with a great deal of respect, and much more respect than other actors involved. Fanning researched trans experiences and watched trans YouTubers' videos prior to filming 3 Generations, describing in interviews how she was moved to tears by trans kids' experiences.

This is an imperfect film, but not that bad if you manage your expectations and prepare for transphobia. Ray, the protagonist, has to fight off a bully who sexually harasses him and targets him with homophobic slurs, but Ray successfully escapes the encounter. He deals with being misgendered by family members in a similar way to my own experiences. There is a happy ending.

Ray's family members range from hostile and unaccepting, to accepting but creepy. His grandmother is insufferably intolerant and frequently misgenders him. His mother, after having sex with a cis man, quizzes him about what it's like to have a penis, clearly thinking about her trans child's genitalia. In a deleted scene, she chats with her mother's girlfriend about how Ray has sex, wondering "which gender" he has sex as, and whether he is "a boy or a girl" during sex. I can see why they deleted this scene; it's gross.

At the time 3 Generations was filmed, there wasn't as much discussion about trans actors playing trans people. That’s one reason, among a handful, that I dislike 3 Generations far less than I hate movies like A Good Man. Make no mistake, 3 Generations is not perfect… or, arguably, even that good. I’ll call it my guilty pleasure and leave it at that. Regardless of how much I personally enjoy moments in this movie, though, it is undoubtedly an example of an actress being considered capable of playing a trans man simply because she is slender, young, and White... An approach to casting too often employed across film and television, from Degrassi to Dead of Summer. Fanning's intentions might have been good, but we definitely don't need another film like 3 Generations.

WARNING: Unsafe chest binding.

Though Ray offhandedly mentions that he's no longer binding with ACE bandages, the blink-and-you'll-miss-it comment isn't enough to compensate for the unrealistic bandage binding which is shown earlier in the film. He is also shown lifting weights while wearing a chest binder, which sets a dangerous example for trans viewers who may harm themselves by attempting that same feat, as I once did. Learn about unsafe chest binding here.