Tangerine and Sick Woman Theory

    In this week's film, Tangerine consists of sex workers, Sin-Dee and Alexandra, who essentially experience a bunch of drama all because of a dude named Chester (a white man pimping out women). While watching the movie, I wasn't sure what to focus on, whether it be the drama that Sin-Dee was partaking in (e.g., dragging Dinah across town, looking for Chester) or Alexandra and this familial connection I witnessed between her and the taxi driver. Based on the discussions in class, I agree that the presence of Chester was appalling, mainly because he was the center of all of the drama being poured out. It felt odd watching everyone "fight" either over or about him, given that he's the only white character in the film. One scene that kind of upset me was when Chester intervened and ruined the taxi driver's conversation with his mother-in-law. I felt like that was a huge invasion of privacy and also possibly forcing the taxi driver to "come out" without his permission. Chester's involvement just felt extremely inappropriate and unnecessary. I personally think he represented what everyone "should" aspire to want, and this film helps demonstrate contradictions to that belief. As the viewer, his character was the easiest to dislike, which may have been the purpose/intended reaction. 

    I already wrote about this in my forum post, but I wanted to include it in my blog post as well. In Sick Woman Theory, I really enjoyed learning more about what it means to be "political" and how that can/should be viewed (e.g., private vs. public). The belief that one must be public about their political views excludes populations of people that are not physically and/or mentally capable of going outside and being publicly open about politics. Another topic from the article that I found intriguing was that about the notion of "wellness", according to Ann Cvetkovich, being based on whiteness and wealth. The norms and expectations of a regular white and wealthy person is what we all "should" be striving for, and that dictates/decides which individuals get labelled disabled, diseased, dysfunctional, etc. The entire concept hinders any potential progress and advocacy for individuals with depression, anxiety, chronic illnesses, etc. With this horrible belief, those that aren't considered "normal" are basically told by society and social institutions that they must be fixed in order to fit into this mold of societal normalcy and if not, then they obviously don't matter. The belief that one must fit into categories and boxes sickens me.