Maybe they should have called it "The Transgemmys." The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards was a veritable smorgasbord of transgender celebration and advocacy. Hollywood was tripping over itself to prove how progressive and welcoming it is to the hot new trend in gender and sexuality.
Jill Soloway won Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for the show "Transparent" (it's about a transgender parent, get it?) You knew she was nutty when she started off her acceptance speech saying, "Let's see, I made a promise. Thank you, goddess. Thank you, goddess. I promised the goddess I would thank her."
She's also come up with the word "moppa" - a combination of the words mama and poppa, as explained in the show - to refer to her own dad-turned-mom, who she used to advocate for "transequality." (I guess because "marriage equality" was a winning campaign slogan, they're just coopting all the gay marriage tactics.)
Watch her politicking:
My other family, my sister, Faith, my mom, Elaine and my moppa, Carrie. Thank you for coming out and coming to L.A. And coming here tonight. And something interesting about my moppa, Carrie, she said, tomorrow, go and try to find an apartment and in 32 states, it would be legal for the landlord to look her in the eye and say we don't rent to trans people. We don't have a trans tipping point yet. We have a trans civil rights problem, so go to transequality.org and vote to pass the transequality bill. Thank you.
Shortly after, Jeffrey Tambor won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as a trans woman in "Transparent." Apparently he fancies himself a savior because he began his speech saying, "I had a teacher who used to say when you act, you have to act as if your life depends on it, and now I have been given the opportunity to act because people's lives depend on it." He finished with the following:
I'm going to wrap up by saying, not to repeat myself, but to specifically repeat myself. I'd like to dedicate my performance and this award to the transgender community. Thank you for your patience. Thank you for your courage. Thank you for your stories. Thank you for your inspiration. Thank you for letting us be part of the change. God bless you.
Finally, OF COURSE one of the two winners of the College Emmys was about a transgender teen!
We are especially proud of our College Emmys, where student submissions are judged by academy members. I am honored to be joined tonight by two of this year's winners, Melissa Hoppe and Eddie Roqueta. Melissa, who recently graduated from AFI, wrote and produced the terrific narrative program, "Stealth," about a transgender teen, her path, and the community who shares her journey. And, Eddie, who recently graduated from Montana State University, was recognized for his inspiring documentary advocating for animal and human rights. Melissa and Eddie's provocative work is a reminder of television's power to make a difference and shed light on critical and often controversial issues. As evidenced by Melissa and Eddie, our foundation will remain acutely focused on inspiring and supporting fresh and diverse voices.
How entirely predictable! Funny how when Hollywood is trying to be "fresh" and edgy they end up just turning into a flat liberal cliche. We see right through you, Hollywood. You are truly transparent.
