rageous! - ION Arizona Magazine

I’m not feeling clever enough to try and
link my two DVDs together. I suppose,
if I want to get metaphorical and crazy
I could say that both of my fi lms are
showcasing of people tryng to improve
their lives by working within certain
constraints either imposed by nature or
by man and creating beauty. But I don’t
know if that analysis holds any water. It
sounds good, though, and that’s all that
counts.
Transtasia
(2006) –
Documentary
Dir: Jeremy
Stanford
Venture inside
the fi rst ever Most
Beautiful Transexual
Pageant, where
gorgeous international male-to-female
transexuals journey to Las Vegas to
compete against each other for the
coveted crown.
Mixing footage shot behind the scenes
and on stage, director Jeremy Stanford
allows six of the women to tell the
stories of their own, diffi cult journeys to
self-actualization.
By speaking directly with the
contestants, viewers are given the
unique opportunity to see what a
diffi cult hurdle reconciling your mental
and emotional self with your physical
one.
For most people, the biggest struggles
in life are hitting milestones; getting
through school, buying a house,
establishing good credit, advancing in
your career, whatever. But at the core
of it, we always have the understanding
of our self; I am myself on all levels,
regardless of these hurdles. It is
unimaginable what these women must
have gone through, not even having
that and then having to work their way
by Wes Bergman
wesobergman@yahoo.com
up from the absolute bottom to become
who they are today. As MC Jahna
Steele noted, they’re all winners. They
made it that far and that is so much
farther than many of us make it.
Project Runway, Season 3
(2006)
Reality TV Series
In my more
pretentious days,
I deplored Reality
TV. That is, until I
saw Project Runway
and now I am a
complete junkie.
Unlike other reality
shows that center
around competition,
Project Runway offers a hook that
ensnares you: regardless of personality,
this competition is about skill. Fifteen
designers spend an entire season
creating breathtaking clothes for
women (as well as some eyerolling,
burlap-sack-esque nonsense) as they
compete for a new car, a photospread
in Elle, a contract with I.N.K., and a
sizable sum of money to start their own
line.
As the pressure starts to get to the
designers, what it all comes down to
on the runway is who is “in” and who is
“out” in the fashion world.
In this season, we had a wide range
of taste: from pageant gowns to
sports wear, from earth mother to rock
goddess, from Park Avenue princess to
ghetto girl…and everything in between.
I won’t spoil the surprise and tell you
who wins; I will only tell you that you
must buy this and spend a nice long
weekend watching it, because it’s just
that good.
Questions? Comments? Reach the
reviewer at wesbergman@yahoo.com
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