Neil Jordan & the Auteur Theory

The director of “Breakfast on Pluto”, Neil Jordan, has created what Wikipedia describes as an “idiosyncratic body of work”. It could therefore be considered that Neil Jordan is an auteur. One key fact that links Jordan with the auteur theory is that actor Stephen Rea has appeared in all his films to date, in Breakfast on Pluto he plays Bertie the magician.

There are also recurring themes throughout his work, such as unconventional sexuality and sexual relationships. Also, similarly to Stanley Kubrick or Martin Scorcese, Jordan takes characters who are not conventionally likeable and encourages the audience to empathise with them. This is shown in “The Crying Game” with IRA terrorist Fergus (Stephen Rea) and transgendered Dil (Jaye Davidson) and in “Breakfast on Pluto” with protagonist Kitten (Cillian Murphy).

Another recurring theme is the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Jordan was born in County Sligo, Ireland, in 1950. The Troubles- “a period of sporadic communal violence involving paramilitary organisations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and others in Northern” – took place from the late 1960s until 1998. They therefore affected him, in particular as he was related to one of the victims of the Dublin and Monaghan Bombings in 1974.

Wikipedia also says: “The Crying Game and Breakfast on Pluto both concern a transgendered character, both concern the Troubles, and both feature frequent Jordan leading man Stephen Rea. The two films, however, are very different, with Crying Game a realistic thriller/romance and Breakfast on Pluto a much more episodic, stylized, darkly comic biography.”

Filmography:
· Angel (1982)
· The Company of Wolves (1984)
· Mona Lisa (1986)
· High Spirits (1988)
· We’re No Angels (1990)
· The Crying Game (1992)
· Interview with the Vampire (1994)
· Michael Collins (1996)
· The Butcher Boy (1998)
· The End of the Affair (1999)
· The Good Thief (2002)

Breakfast on Pluto (2005)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Genre: Comedy/horror/musical

Plot: After Janet accepts Brad's marriage proposal, the happy couple drive away from Denton, Ohio, only to get lost in the rain. They stumble upon the castle of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, a transvestite who is holding the annual convention of visitors from the planet Transsexual.

Starring: Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon

"Taken at face value, the film could be considered ground-breaking for its frank (albeit comical) depiction of subjects such as transvestism, homosexuality, cannibalism, voyeaurism, adultery and even incest... Nevertheless, the film did not do well initially when released." -Wikipedia.org

However, since then, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" has become a cult film.

"Possibly the most famous and popular depiction of transvestism in the history of movies is Tim Curry’s iconic Frank-n-Furter, in the cult 1974 movie The Rocky Horror Show. Curry’s brilliant creation of brawny hussy-in-sussies has become an institution copied by millions of married middle-aged men at fancy dress parties throughout the world!Strangely this mixture of prima donna and man-woman grotesque, had an endearing quality and no doubt caused sexual consternation among many straight blokes who may have found Curry’s shapely stiletto strutting form, an arousing and confusing spectacle." -http://www.rainbownetwork.com/Film/detail.asp?iData=14849&iCat=92&iChannel=14&nChannel=Film

Cross-dressing in "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" could be classified as 'Transvestic Fetishism', although this form is usually undertaken by heterosexual males and protagonist Dr Frank-N-Furter is ambiguous in his sexuality. The above article suggests that transvestite Dr Frank-N-Furter may prove attractive to heterosexual males. However, this is an opinion expressed by a website predominantly aimed at homosexuals, who are often of the opinion that straight males have gay tendencies.

To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)

Genre: Comedy

Plot Outline: Three drag queens travel cross-country until their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town.

Starring: Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze, John Leguizamo

The above clip shows Vida Boheme (Swayze) and Noxeema Jackson (Snipes) after winning a major New York drag contest and a trip to Hollywood. They are persuaded to take the inexperienced drag princess Chi-Chi (Leguizamo) with them."To Wong Foo Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar" is an example of a film in which cross-dressing provides the element of comedy. All three actors cast as drag queens are masculine in appearance and are not convincing as females. This is typical of a mainstream film, using cross-dressing as comedy. The film was distibuted by Universal Pictures.

del.icio.us Links

EMPIRE MAGAZINE
http://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=117245
“Breakfast on Pluto” review. “Mixing dark humour with camp comedy, this romps through Patrick’s life with enthusiasm and an eye for glamour. Murphy looks startlingly pretty in blonde curls, lip gloss and fur…”

JAHSONIC: VOCABULARY OF CULTURE
http://www.jahsonic.com/Drag.html
Definitions of drag, cross-dressing, transgender and transvestism. “Drag: Word Origin. A male actor required by his role (or the lack of a female actor) to wear women's clothes on stage quickly discovers what women have known for centuries -- that long skirts and dresses often drag on the floor. Such roles became known as "drag" roles, and when cross-dressing became popular off-stage, the theatrical term was adopted for the practice.”

QUEER THEORY
http://www.queertheory.com/
Website about Queer Culture, Queer Theory, Queer Studies, Gender Studies and related fields.

GUARDIAN UNLIMITED: FILM & MUSIC WEEKLY
http://film.guardian.co.uk/News_Story/Critic_Review/Observer_Film_of_the_week/0,,1739678,00.html
“Transamerica” review. “As its punning title suggests, Trans-america is a road movie in which the 37-year old transsexual Bree (Felicity Huffman) crosses the continent from New York to California accompanied by 17-year-old rent boy Toby (Kevin Zegers), who's unaware that Bree (aka Sabrina) is really his father, Stanley.”

SCREENONLINE: UK FILM & TV ARCHIVE
http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tours/humour/tourBritHumour9.html
Website exploring the “Madness & Surrealism” of British Humour, including references to cross-dressing. “Monty Python's Flying Circus combined surreal skits about transvestite lumberjacks and delinquent grannies with the weird imagination of animator Terry Gilliam.”

BFI
http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/interviews/jordan-murphy.html
Interview with “Breakfast on Pluto” director and star, Neil Jordan and Cillian Murphy. “There's a long history of men dressing as women in film, you know, and so we just worked at it, I think. And I very much wanted the character not to have an 'on' and an 'off'. That Kitten was just Kitten, all the time. – Cillian Murphy”

MEDIAKNOWALL: WEBGUIDE FOR MEDIA STUDENTS
http://mediaknowall.com/gender.html
Characteristics of gender. “Essential elements of our own identity, and the identities we assume other people to have, come from concepts of gender - what does it mean to be a boy or a girl?”

TV ARK: THE TELEVISION MUSEUM
http://www.tv-ark.org.uk/
Opening titles from, among others, “The Dick Emery Show”. “The Dick Emery Show” featured several female characters played by Emery, such as ‘Mandy’, whose catchphrase was: "Ooh, you are awful ... but I like you!"

THE MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION STUDIES SITE
http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/sections/display.php?subcat=Queer+Theory&cat=Gender%2C+Ethnicity
Articles about gender and the Queer Theory.

MEDIA, GENDER & IDENTITY (GAUNTLETT)
http://theoryhead.com/gender/

Website about David Gauntlett’s “Media, Gender & Identity.” “Media, Gender and Identity provides a new introduction to, and analysis of, the relationship between the media and gender identities today.”

Key Words

Alternative: Describes any media product that challenges dominant or mainstream values and ideology.

"Breakfast On Pluto" features many characters from minority groups, such as disabled, ethnic minorities and obviously protagonist Kitten who is a cross-dresser. Furthermore, Kitten is a homosexual which also challenges society's norms.

Art House: A cinematic production generated by aesthetic and cultural production values rather than commercial considerations.

"Breakfast On Pluto" is an arthouse film. I found a website that looks at the box office takings for the film: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=breakfastonpluto.htm.

Butler, Judith (1956-): Professor of comparative literature and rhetoric at the University of California, Berkeley. Butler is associated with the 'queer theory'- studies that question sexuality, gender identity and their representation in the media.

The Queer Theory is very important to my independent study as cross-dressing is classified based on a clear definition of the clothing of each gender. If considered in terms of the queer theory, the label of cross-dressing would be redundant.

Circular Narrative: A narrative in which the story-line ends where it began.

The opening scene of "Breakfast On Pluto" is where the story finally comes to an end.

Coming-Of-Age Film: A film type that deals with puberty, adolescence, the growth of maturity and the search for sexual identity as set against the loss of innocence, childhood dreams and the difficulties of growing up.

The film begins with Patrick "Kitten" Braden left as a baby on the priest's doorstep and follows him from trying on his sister's dresses as a young boy to his schooldays as a teenager and beyond.

Counterculture: A subculture that rejects the mainstream values of a society and offers a parallel, alternative way of life.

This can be seen in Kitten's life as a transvestite, a prostitute and is evident in the 1970s glam rock movement.

Gender: Psychological and cultural aspects of behaviour associated with masculinity or femininity, acquired through socialisation, in accordance with the expectations of a particular society.

Gender is obviously a very important issue when discussing cross-dressing. The definition of masculinity and feminity in our society dictates what is classified as clothing or behaviour belonging to each gender.

Extra comments:

KIRANJIT
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34158691&postID=115865822697902552

JATINDER
http://filmauthorship.blogspot.com/

Historical Text: Some Like It Hot (1959)

(I finally found the clip I was looking for on YouTube and it has Spanish subtitles!)

Some Like It Hot

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon

Genre: Comedy/drama

Plot Outline: When two musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.

"Some Like It Hot" portrays cross-dressing in a comedic way. As the above clip shows, these two men are not fully convincing as women. This links with a quote I found from "Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts" by Susan Hayward:

"...why is it that we must not be allowed to be completely duped by cross-dressing? …Why is it that male sexuality must not be completely repressed?”

I think that these are really interesting questions, which I hope to look into in more detail as my research progresses.

I've done three comments but that was hard work! There's not really direct links to cross-dressing except in Avi's, so I linked with texts featuring homosexuality which is part of 'Breakfast on Pluto'.

ASHLEY
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=31113553&postID=115823338021553577

AVI
http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34131960&postID=115792775318661338

SAMhttp://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=34158663&postID=115802023521912306

Varieties of cross-dressing

There are many different kinds of cross-dressing, and many different reasons why an individual might engage in cross-dressing behavior. The following examples are by no means an exhaustive list.

Some people cross-dress in order to shock others or challenge social norms. Kemal BB6

Both men and women may cross-dress in order to disguise their true identity. Historically, some women have cross-dressed in order to take up male-dominated or male-exclusive professions, such as military service. Conversely, some men have cross-dressed in order to escape from mandatory military service. Mulan (1998)

Single-sex theatrical troupes often have some performers cross-dress in order to play roles written for members of the opposite sex. Shakespeare In Love (1998)

Cross-dressing, particularly the depiction of males wearing dresses, is often used for comic effect onstage and onscreen. Little Britain (2003-)

Drag is a special form of performance art based on cross-dressing. A drag queen is a male-bodied person who performs as an exaggeratedly feminine character, in an elaborate costume usually consisting of a gaudy dress and high-heeled shoes, heavy makeup, and a large wig. To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995)

A transvestic fetishist is a person (typically a heterosexual male) who cross-dresses as part of a sexual fetish. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

Some people who cross-dress may endeavor to project a complete impression of belonging to another gender, down to mannerisms, speech patterns, and emulation of sexual characteristics. This is referred to as "trying to pass". Some Like It Hot (1959)

(Text from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dresser#Varieties_of_cross-dressing)

Breakfast on Pluto-->

"Damn and blast the bleeding boring old real world with its prejudices and its sadness and its violence and its dreary old clothes...

Neil Jordan’s latest is the wild and wilfully fictional memoir of an introspective, romantic tranvestite who calls himself ‘Kitten’ (Cillian Murphy).

Sweeping us from Ireland to London, from rural backwater to the big smoke, Jordan presents this fast-flowing autobiography of a cross-dressing Dick Whittington in brief chapters that speed easily past the eye and are bolstered by a terrific soundtrack that skips from Cole Porter to T.Rex to Slade to ‘The Wombling Song’.

It’s breathless stuff – a whirlwind of colour, wit and imagination that is driven by a tender, nuanced central performance of charisma, wit and intelligence from Cillian Murphy...

‘Breakfast on Pluto’ is a delightful fairytale that uses the very real world and its hardships – a long-lost mother, terrorism, abuse – as the theatre for much camp playfulness and wish-fulfilment...

Kitten emerges as more than a fascinating caricature. He’s a splash of vibrant colour within a monochrome world, an antidote to (and reflection on) the Catholicism and conservatism of ’60s and ’70s Ireland and, on a more personal level, a credible reaction to his own abandonment and search for identity.

The film’s interests in cross-dressing, performance, the sex industry, our capital’s back alleys, the Troubles, messy childhoods and the journey from Ireland to London will be familiar to those who know ‘Mona Lisa’, ‘The Butcher Boy’, ‘The Crying Game’ and other Jordan films.

‘Breakfast on Pluto’ is a wild, imaginative and daring project that could equally be dismissed as chaotic and indulgent or as wild, imaginative and daring. I’d say it’s all these things – and it’s a hell of a ride for it." DC

Source : Time Out London Issue 1847: January 11-18 2006

Breakfast On Pluto Trailers

Wider Contexts

Social: In the 1970s when the film is set Britain was slowly becoming a more permissive society. In England and Wales homosexuality was decriminalised in 1967. The seventies were a time when a new generation of young people were exposed to new media and hence newer ideas in almost every field. In Europe, there was a surge of popularity in the early decade for glam rock, thanks largely to the rise of T Rex, David Bowie, and bands like Slade.

Historical: Shows life in 1950s Ireland, strict teachings of the Church. Also, much 1960s/70s history contained within the film such as the music of the decade and also the Troubles.

Economic: In the 1970s economy suffered due to issues such as the oil crisis. According to Wikipedia: The 1970s was perhaps the worst decade of Western and American economic performance since the Great Depression. Economic growth rates were considerably lower than previous decades.

Political: The Troubles, a generic and euphemistic term used to describe a period of sporadic communal violence involving paramilitary organisations, the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), the British Army and others in Northern Ireland from the late 1960s. Also featured in the film is the IRA an Irish Republican Paramilitary organisation which sought to end Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom.