Bibliography: Books

Bennett, Peter; Slater, Jerry; Wall, Peter (2006): A2 Media Studies: The Essential Introduction. Routledge

This book features a number of issues that are key to my independent study including representation of homosexuality (pg 81, 89-91). It also includes Judith Butler, a theorist associated with the Queer theory, and mentions her book 'Gender Trouble' (1990) (pg 101). Lastly it mentions 'Third Wave Feminism' (pg 229) and the Queer Theory itself (pg 230-231).

Bruzzi, Stella (1997): Undressing Cinema: Clothing and Identity in the Movies. Routledge

This book is really useful as it looks at cross-dressing indepthly and the importance of clothing to identity in cinema. It also looks at other texts I'll be covering such as Priscilla Queen of the Desert. A particularly good section is Chaper 6 (pg 147) entitled 'The Comedy of Cross-Dressing'.

Hayward, Susan (2000): Cinema Studies: The Key Concepts. Routeledge

There is a section from this book on page 164 which looks at the example of cross-dressing and it's relation to the concept of gender.

Tasker, Yvonne (1998): Working Girls: Gender and Sexuality in Popular Cinema. Routeledge

This book has a section entitled 'Cross-dressing, aspiration and transformation' (pg 19-49) and features subtitles such as 'Genres of Cross-Dressing' (pg 21) which suggests that cross-dressing is only portrayed in thrillers and comedies, making it either humourous or scary.

Ginibre, Jean-Louis (2005): Ladies or Gentlemen: A Pictorial History of Male Cross-Dressing in the Movies. Fillipachi Publishing

Although a visual history this book also contains analysis of a number of films which feature cross-dressing, including 'Some Like it Hot' and 'Tootsie'.

Blog Buddy 2

My blog buddy from 13D is Harpreet. The link here is that both of our independent studies look at alternative representations and also Big Brother has featured cross-dressing in the past (Pete Burns, Kamal etc.)

From Harpreet's Blog: "How are women represented in the media? Big Brother has become the most popular reality TV show broadcasted on channel 4 and exclusive programmes on channel 4 and E4...

The main focus of this topic is to research in depth of how women are insulted by the term 'bimbo' but are the female housemates showing the streotypical comments to be right?"

Areas of Overlap:

• Gender and female roles. This is important to my study as female roles may apply to cross-dressing males
• Male gaze. May also apply to cross-dressers.
• Theorist Laura Mulvey.

What I've Learnt from Harpreet's Blog:

As the main link between the two texts and studies is the representation of gender of some kind, the most useful information from the blog to my study is about theorist Laura Mulvey and the male gaze. This could apply to cross-dressing males and is one of many theories applying to female representation that could cross over in this way.

Blog Buddy

My blog buddy from 13C is Kelly. This was an obvious choice because both of our topics are very similar.

Kelly's study: "How has the representation of transvestites changed throughout film and the media, with particular reference to 'Kinky Boots'?" This is from her proposal: "I am investigating how the representation of transvestites have changed in film and media. I chose to use 'Kinky Boots' as my text as it shows a transvestite and how he is now portrayed. This shows him to be a much exaggerated and theatrical character, as these features show that he seems to be very controlling in situations."

My study: "How is cross-dressing portrayed in modern cinema and television? With particular reference to "Breakfast on Pluto"."

Areas of Overlap:

• Both to do with cross-dressing
• We will both be looking at similar texts such as "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" (1994) and "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar" (1995)
• The Queer Theory is important to both studies
• Both focusing on non-Hollywood texts (British/Irish)
• Gender representation

What I've Learned from Kelly's Blog:

There's some really good links I didn't find such as this website on transvestism in film: http://www.glbtq.com/arts/transvestism_film,2.html which has some interesting information that could benefit my study. Also there is a link to the 'Cross-Dresser Movie Guide'. 'Kinky Boots' would also been a good other text for me to look at because the contrast between the portrayal of the cross-dressing in that film to 'Breakfast on Pluto' shows the different representations of cross-dressers.

Self Directed Research

Time Out Film Review: Breakfast On Pluto
http://www.timeout.com/film/83333.html

Varieties of Cross-Dressing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-dresser#Varieties_of_cross-dressing

Historical Text: Some Like it Hot (1959)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053291/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Like_It_Hot

Other Text: To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (1995)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114682/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Wong_Foo

Historical Text: The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073629/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocky_Horror_Picture_Show

Neil Jordan & the Auteur Theory
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neil_Jordan

Madonna-Whore Complex
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madonna-whore_complex
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=madonna-whore+complex

More Key Words

Male Gaze: The term used by Laura Mulvey in her essay 'Visual Pleasures and Narrative Cinema' (1975) to describe what she saw as the male point of view adopted by the camera for the benefit of an assumed male audience.

This theory could be adapted to male-to-female cross-dressers who may also be considered to be under the 'male gaze'. Throughout 'Breakfast on Pluto' Kitten is taken in by several older men who consider him attractive.

Method Acting: A style of acting involving actors merging themselves psychologically into the characters they are representing and becoming those characters.

This could be considered in Cillian Murphy's case. In an interview he replied to be asked how he went about researching the character: "I spent a lot of time observing women. Neil said, "Go and treat yourself like a lady," which I did. It involved buying a lot of products and getting facials and massages and just thinking about stuff that most men generally don't think about."

Norms: Culturally determined, value-based rules of the type of behaviour expected in different social situations.

Cross-dressing challenges these norms by going against what is defined as appropriate clothing for either gender.

Patriarchy: Male domination of the political, cultural and socioeconomic system.

This is important in considering that within male-to-female cross-dressing the males are never totally convincing as females suggesting that male sexuality cannot be repressed- therefore reinforcing the idea of a patriarchal society.

Pluralism: The view that where a society is comprised of a wide range of social and ethnic groups with different values, politcal and ideological beliefs, representations by the media will naturally reflect this diversity.

'Breakfast on Pluto' contains characters from many minority groups including cross-dresser Kitten, ethnic minority Charlie and their disabled friend with Downs Syndrome.

Prejudice: The pre-judging of an issue or social group, usually in a negative or stereotypical way.

Cross-dressing faces prejudice throughout society and the media.

Queer Cinema: A term used to describe films representing the lifestyle and experiences of gays a lesbians.

Many cross-dressers are gay, in the film 'Breakfast on Pluto' Kitten has several gay relationships- although this is not an issue which is properly addressed within the film.

Representation: The process whereby the media construct versions of people, places and events in images, words or sounds for transmission through media texts to an audience.

The key concept representation is important in finding out how cross-dressing in portrayed in modern television and cinema.

Simulacrum: Any stage in the relationship between the real world and its representation where the distinction between reality and its image, between signs and what they refer to, have been progressivley broken down.

In 'Breakfast on Pluto' director Neil Jordan ofter employs techniques in order to represent scenes as a sort of 'dream-like' version of reality which allows the audience to connect with Kitten's own version of the world.

Status Quo: Leaving things as they are.

This is important in terms of cross-dressing as it naturally challenges the status quo. Cross-dressing goes against society's norms which therefore is no leaving things as they are.

Madonna-Whore Complex

Something I found interesting while looking at which scene to do for the textual analysis is the contrast between the way in which the protagonist Kitten cross-dresses. It reminded me of the Madonna-Whore complex. Towards the end of the film Kitten dresses conservativley to go and see his mother and also while living with his father, the priest, behaves in a way which echoes the actions of the maid earlier in the film by bringing in the milk. (S)he also is shown at both the beginning and end of the film pushing a pram with a baby, completing the typical domestic role of housewive and mother.

In contrast, at points during the film Kitten seems to become the 'whore'. During a night out (s)he wears bright red high heels and a red coat which connotes sexuality and confidence. At one time Kitten is, literally, a whore when picked up by a man whilst 'curb-crawling' in London. (S)he also becomes part of a peep show. Yet, in both instances Kitten is still not portrayed as 'bad'. In the peep show Kitten is shown writing a letter to her friend and seems uninterested in pleasing customers.

It will be interesting to research into if other theories for representations of females apply to male-to-female cross-dressers too.

Textual Analysis: “My Showbiz Career”

I choose this scene to look at in detail for my textual analysis as it is the first time the audience see the protagonist Patrick “Kitten” Braden fully cross-dressed. Also, it’s one of the few scenes that shows a general reaction to Kitten dressed as a woman.

MEDIA LANGUAGE: The opening shot of this scene begins as the camera pans over a crowd of young people dancing. Generally their clothes are quite conservative and typical of the 1970s era. Protagonist Kitten, lead singer Billy and the band are onstage. Both Kitten and Billy are wearing gold that connotes glamour and riches. Kitten is also wearing glitter, this links with the glam rock era. Editing includes fades which creates a romantic, dreamy atmosphere. A close-up of the face of Billy and Kitten shows their facial expressions. Kitten looks infatuated with Billy while he returns an intense stare. The camera circles them to show both expressions but focuses on Kitten, the protagonist. Dark lighting in the scene also creates romance. Kitten is dressed as a squaw; this connotes an “enslaved and voiceless child bearer” (wikipedia). This costume therefore shows Kitten as the inferior person in the relationship, to a more dominant Billy. There is a close-up on the bands expression showing their low opinion of the match between Kitten and Billy. The British soldier’s uniform and gun show his power and authority. Back at the tent Irish colours around the pole show the contrast between the British and the Irish. The camera zooms out to show the crowd generally dancing and enjoying themselves. As it reaches the back it shows a group of males in front of a green sign saying “Republican Prisoners Welfare Association”, the green connotes Ireland. Billy and Kitten are shown as silhouettes behind the tent, this connotes their concealed and secret romance. The camera pans across the band to show their disapproving looks.

INSTITUTION: The British Army is shown as powerful. They control the border between the North and the South of Ireland. The British soldier is also portrayed as the Proppian villain and the band are powerless to act against him.

GENRE: This scenes shows the film as a drama as it tackles the issue of the treatment of the Irish by the British army and also the treatment of Kitten, a cross-dresser, by the crowd. There are also elements of comedy shown here, for example irony is created when the audience sees a close-up of a band member who disapproves of Kitten while wearing heavy make-up himself.

REPRESENTION: The young people in the scene are represented dancing and having fun. However the scene is tame considering the usual depictions of the hedonistic glam rock era. In the relationship between Billy and Kitten, Billy is shown as the male. He asserts his dominance with his intense stare. The lyrics of the song also reinforce this message; Kitten’s lines seem to want to please Billy. Kitten is shown as infatuated like a young girl and is physically attractive compared to Billy, who is older. The British solider is represented as in charge and powerful. The band in the van are under his control in their crossing the border. The soldier controls Billy who is an otherwise strong, forceful character. The older generation at the back of the crowd are more conservative and not open to the transgressive nature of Kitten’s performance. Mainly males retaliate against the performance suggesting that they are more traditional than their female counterparts.

AUDIENCE: This scene indicates that the audience for the film would be older, of about 24-36 in age as they would better understand the situation- The Troubles and also be more attracted to a story about the 1970s era.

VALUES & IDEOLOGY: In this scene the audience sees a tame version of expectations of the glam rock era. In the relationship between the protagonist and Billy, Billy is dominant and Kitten is the ‘squaw’. However, Kitten volunteered to be squaw, which suggests a desire to be submissive to a dominant partner. The band is embarrassed by Kitten and Billy, which suggests that they too are more conservative. Kitten comes across as typically feminine, dependent on Billy and doting on him. Kitten is also outwardly feminine due to the clothing and voice. The cross-dressing in this scene is generally accepted by the younger members of the crowd who dance along to the music. The British Army here is created in the Proppian villains. They are in charge of the borders and the British solider seems to enjoy the deaths of the Irishmen. Billy is helpless to retaliate in this instance. A small group of older males object to Kitten’s performance and resort to throwing cans to the stage. This expresses their conservative ideology. The silhouette used in Billy and Kitten’s conversation suggests that their romance is forbidden and mysterious. Kitten also objects to being called Patrick, wanting to be more feminine and treated as woman. Throughout the film there are no sexually explicit scenes which suggests that the sexuality in the film is more important than the actual sex.

NARRATIVE: Kitten meets Billy and his band “The Mohawks” when hitchhiking. Kitten suggests that the band need a squaw, lead singer Billy agrees and he joins their stage act. However, members of the band and some of the crowd do not appreciate Kitten’s performance and Billy suggests Kitten leaves the band.