http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/videos/lana-wachowski-opens-up-about-difficult-past-and-attempted-suicide-20121024
Today I saw a link to a video for a speech by Lana Wachowski. The last name rung a bell, but I could't put my finger on it. Lana, used to be Larry, one of the writer, director, producers of the Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta and the upcoming Cloud Atlas. Lana is transgendered and has "come out" as a woman. She was being honored by the Human Rights Campaign.
I didn't know what to expect when this broad woman with crazy hair and a raspy voice began to speak. She began with the usual pleasantries and told of her hair dresser. She then tells of her desire to be a quiet person and how hard the success of the Matrix movies made this. The first ten minutes is telling of how she's not quite ready to be this spokesperson. Then she speaks about the new movie Cloud Atlas and reveals the heart of the movie and this speech. She states,"The responsibilities human beings have to one another and how our lives are not entirely our own." She then quotes the movie and you realize this is her life. She goes on to discuss her young life and her difficulties associating with the boys, when her desire is to be with the girls. She goes on to tell of her mother's defense.
She goes on to tell of her woes in high school and being asked to make a Valedictorian speech. She then segues into a story about her going to a Burger King to write her a suicide note. She tells of what stops her. It's at this point we realize she is saved, but years away from being able to come forth. She then tells of her lover. The woman she calls her wife. She tells of her coming out and how her mother jumped on a plane to be with her. She tells of her mom's fear of dealing with the loss of her son, but she realized it was the gift of meeting her daughter. She then tells of her father, who simply stated "Look if my kid wants to sit down and talk to me I'm a lucky man. What matters is that your alive, you seem happy and I can put my arms around you and give you a kiss." It's at this moment, that the speech sets in. Complete acceptance.
The speech then turns to those who don't accept. Tells of the murder of someone similar. She tells of her brother's defense her. She tells of how hard it is when nobody is like you. She ends the speech by saying "If I can be that person for someone else, then the sacrifice of my private civic life may have value."
As I was listening to this speech, social media and news sources were being flooded with stories of racism spewed by the likes of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. Hateful rhetoric by Ann Coulter and Richard Mourdock. I then watched twitter light up as a noted African American blogger was barraged with hours upon hours of hateful tweets calling her a nigger. She actually responded five times to a twitter account called "lynchthemall." In all this hate, the one thing that resonated was this strong individual, throwing all her comfort out the window in an effort to help, maybe one person, who feels like there is nobody like them. That their differences mean they can never be loved. I cried at parts. I laughed out loud at others. At the end, nearly a half hour later, I stood in front of my laptop and applauded. In 25 minute of speaking, Lana Wachowski proved that love and acceptance can make all of us overcome our fears, prejudices and hatred. We just need to be able to accept that we're all the same.
Today I saw a link to a video for a speech by Lana Wachowski. The last name rung a bell, but I could't put my finger on it. Lana, used to be Larry, one of the writer, director, producers of the Matrix trilogy, V for Vendetta and the upcoming Cloud Atlas. Lana is transgendered and has "come out" as a woman. She was being honored by the Human Rights Campaign.
I didn't know what to expect when this broad woman with crazy hair and a raspy voice began to speak. She began with the usual pleasantries and told of her hair dresser. She then tells of her desire to be a quiet person and how hard the success of the Matrix movies made this. The first ten minutes is telling of how she's not quite ready to be this spokesperson. Then she speaks about the new movie Cloud Atlas and reveals the heart of the movie and this speech. She states,"The responsibilities human beings have to one another and how our lives are not entirely our own." She then quotes the movie and you realize this is her life. She goes on to discuss her young life and her difficulties associating with the boys, when her desire is to be with the girls. She goes on to tell of her mother's defense.
She goes on to tell of her woes in high school and being asked to make a Valedictorian speech. She then segues into a story about her going to a Burger King to write her a suicide note. She tells of what stops her. It's at this point we realize she is saved, but years away from being able to come forth. She then tells of her lover. The woman she calls her wife. She tells of her coming out and how her mother jumped on a plane to be with her. She tells of her mom's fear of dealing with the loss of her son, but she realized it was the gift of meeting her daughter. She then tells of her father, who simply stated "Look if my kid wants to sit down and talk to me I'm a lucky man. What matters is that your alive, you seem happy and I can put my arms around you and give you a kiss." It's at this moment, that the speech sets in. Complete acceptance.
The speech then turns to those who don't accept. Tells of the murder of someone similar. She tells of her brother's defense her. She tells of how hard it is when nobody is like you. She ends the speech by saying "If I can be that person for someone else, then the sacrifice of my private civic life may have value."
As I was listening to this speech, social media and news sources were being flooded with stories of racism spewed by the likes of Sarah Palin and Donald Trump. Hateful rhetoric by Ann Coulter and Richard Mourdock. I then watched twitter light up as a noted African American blogger was barraged with hours upon hours of hateful tweets calling her a nigger. She actually responded five times to a twitter account called "lynchthemall." In all this hate, the one thing that resonated was this strong individual, throwing all her comfort out the window in an effort to help, maybe one person, who feels like there is nobody like them. That their differences mean they can never be loved. I cried at parts. I laughed out loud at others. At the end, nearly a half hour later, I stood in front of my laptop and applauded. In 25 minute of speaking, Lana Wachowski proved that love and acceptance can make all of us overcome our fears, prejudices and hatred. We just need to be able to accept that we're all the same.
Comments
Post a Comment