Laverne Cox examines transgender representation in TV & film in ‘Disclosure’

Angelica Ross is featured in the Netflix documentary executive produced by Laverne Cox.

Jun 23, 2020

Laverne Cox is exploring new talents with the debut of Disclosure, a new documentary she executive produced for Netflix.

In it, the Orange Is the New Black alum examines how Hollywood shapes the way Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people are taught to feel about themselves.

Cox is joined by notable voices in the trans community, including Angelica Ross, Mj Rodriguez, and Chaz Bono, as they take a look at iconic TV and film titles like The Jeffersons and The Crying Game in this context.

The film, directed by Sam Feder, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was also a selection of the Tribeca, CPH:DOX, and Hot Docs festivals.

Check out the synopsis:

Disclosure is an unprecedented, eye-opening look at transgender depictions in film and television, revealing how Hollywood simultaneously reflects and manufactures our deepest anxieties about gender. Leading trans thinkers and creatives, including Laverne Cox, Lilly Wachowski, Yance Ford, Mj Rodriguez, Jamie Clayton, and Chaz Bono, share their reactions and resistance to some of Hollywood’s most beloved moments. Grappling with films like A Florida Enchantment (1914), Dog Day Afternoon, The Crying Game, and Boys Don’t Cry, and with shows like The Jeffersons, The L-Word and Pose, they trace a history that is at once dehumanizing, yet also evolving, complex, and sometimes humorous.

What emerges is a fascinating story of the dynamic interplay between trans representation on screen, society’s beliefs, and the reality of trans lives. Reframing familiar scenes and iconic characters in a new light, director Sam Feder invites viewers to confront unexamined assumptions and shows how what once captured the American imagination now elicit new feelings. Disclosure provokes a startling revolution in how we see and understand trans people.

The film also features Brian Michael Smith, Yance Ford, Zeke Smith, Lilly Wachowski, Michael D Cohen, Jamie Clayton, Alexandra Billings, Jen Richards, Tiq Milan, Nick Adams, Tre’Vell Anderson, Trace Lysette, Rain Valdez, Zackary Drucker, Marquise Vilson, Chase Strangio, Sandra Caldwell, Candis Cayne, Susan Stryker, Alexandra Grey, Jazzmun, Ser Anzoategui, Elliot Fletcher, Bianca Leigh, Leo Sheng, Mickey R. Mahoney, and Hailie Sahar.

Check out the trailer: