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Nov 23, 2023

CLUELESS Screening and Q&A! THEY NEVER SAID THEY WEREN'T: Projecting transness on CLUELESS

THEY NEVER SAID THEY WEREN'T: Projecting transness on Amy Heckerling's CLUELESS w/ CJ Kitten Miller & Candace Hansen - Film Screening + Q&A "Any character who never addresses their gender can be

THEY NEVER SAID THEY WEREN'T: Projecting transness on Amy Heckerling's CLUELESS w/ CJ Kitten Miller & Candace Hansen - Film Screening + Q&A

"Any character who never addresses their gender can be assumed to be trans." - CJ Kitten Miller‍

Cisgender identifying people rarely have to announce or address their identities: Being cisgender serves as the assumed default to such a profound degree it often invisibilises itself in processes of normativity. More often than not, media serves to reinforce this assumption of gender that already pervades the dominant and often cross-cultural perception of bodies.

For this transcentric film series we will be using this ubiquitous phenomenon against itself: most characters in most films can easily be trans or non-binary because THEY NEVER SAID THEY WEREN'T. We will use this idea to project transness onto notable films that are just begging for a more gender-expansive and critical lens.

With this in mind we ecstatically present director Amy Heckerling's CLUELESS (1995, Paramount/Swank, 97 min.). It's not easy being the most popular and glamorous girl at Beverly Hills High. Especially when you're the envy of scheming Betties, persistent Barney's, and teachers who freak out when you turn your homework in late! Yet somehow 15-year-old trans girls Cher (she/her - Alicia Silverstone) and Dionne (she/her - Stacy Dash) keep it all together, even finding time for extracurricular projects like finding a love match for their teacher and giving a dowdy freshly hatched egg (she/they - Brittany Murphy) a fashion makeover. But Cher's tidy world starts to unravel with the sudden appearance of two total Baldwins : a sexy and stylish new trans masc classmate and Cher's square but cute "ex-stepbrother" (he/him - Paul Rudd). Now Cher is about to learn that when it comes to love, she's... well, Clueless.

The film screening will be followed by a group discussion led by CJ Kitten Miller, a cinephile and gender educator/consultant, on how transness and gender expansiveness demonstrates itself in the film.

Candace Hansen is a musician, journalist, zinester, organizer, educator, and scholar. They are currently a PhD Candidate at UCLA, drumming for bands like Alice Bag and dimber, and freelancing for LA Times and Spin, covering queer and trans music, art, and culture.

As a journalist Hansen started writing for the OC Weekly, covering all of the amazing bands that were a part of their community. Now they take that same spirit to their work at the LA Times and Spin, thinking of every person as part of their extended queer family or friend group. From queer icons like Tig Notaro, Tegan Quinn, BenDeLaCreme and Pangina Heals, to current talent like Amina Cruz, Fatty Cakes and the Puff Pastries, and Josie Wreck, Hansen has covered some of the most influential and urgent queer and trans voices working in the industry and in the underground today.

At UCLA Hansen teaches courses from Lesbian and Trans Film to Equitable Music Pedagogy for Teachers, in departments like musicology, gender studies, LGBTQ studies, music industry, and English, and has organized events in the university that bring together musicians, poets, writers, intellectuals, artists and others. Working outside of the academy, Hansen has worked with large arts institutions, DIY organizations, and k-12 organizations on creative educational projects.

Hansen has been a professional drummer for 20 years and has recorded on countless records. They have also been organizing shows and live events since they were a teenager. Starting in backyards and garages, Hansen has organized nights, as well as day long and week-long music and arts events all over the Southern California area.

In the Clueless universe, Hansen most identifies with Christian, and dreams of one day having a closet organizer like Cher. They left yellow plaid pants at the Anaheim Goodwill in 2003 that they still regret not buying.