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reviews
Video Librarian March/April 2008 (Volume
23, Issue 2)
Cruel & Unusual
(2006) 64 min. DVD: $29.99: individuals; $250: institutions. Outcast
Films. PPR. Closed captioned.
The challenges faced by transgendered inmates in American prisons
is the subject of this revealing and poignant documentary from filmmakers
Janet Baus, Dan Hunt, and Reid Williams. Five male-to-female transgendered
women convicted of various crimes talk about the reasons they were
arrested, and what they experienced while incarcerated in men’s
prisons, as well as their decisions to embrace gender modification.
The back stories vary, of course—one persuasively argues that
she was forced into participating in a robbery against her will,
another turned to theft after being refused jobs on oil rigs (where
she’d previously worked)—but all testify about the appalling
treatment they received behind bars, commonly facing both physical
and sexual abuse in the general population, or terrible isolation
if placed in solitary confinement. In addition, the refusal by prison
authorities to continue hormone treatments led to serious medical
consequences (two of the women resorted to self-mutilation in protest).
Even after being released, their difficulties continue—one
particularly touching episode follows a woman named Anna as she
tries to survive on the outside, thwarted by the courts, which refuse
to allow her contact with the son she’d raised for years.
A multiple-award winner, Cruel & Unusual is an important film
that raises serious issues at a time of increasing visibility for
transgendered individuals. DVD extras include extended scenes and
the option to view sequences by topic. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F.
Swietek)
"Cruel and Unusual is an
in depth look at the plight of transgender women in men's prisons.
The film skillfully weaves moving interviews with transgender inmates
and former inmates with important medical and legal information
about male to female transgenderism. The women are articulate and
their testimonies, as presented here, make a powerful statement
about the conflation of gender variance and criminality in the eyes
of the law. This film would make an invaluable teaching tool in
courses on women, class and race; gender identity; social justice
and incarceration."
Judith Halberstam, author of Female Masculinity
and In A Queer Time and Place: Transgender Bodies, Subcultural Lives
"Through textured, in-depth stories of five incarcerated transwomen,
CRUEL AND UNUSUAL vividly illustrates the ways that gender deviance
is punished inside and outside the prison system. CRUEL AND UNUSUAL
goes beyond biographical portraits to raise urgent issues about
violence, vulnerability, and medical neglect in America's jails
and prisons. Without glossing what are clearly hardscrabble lives,
this unsentimental film shows how transsexuals face severely limited
options for legally earning a livelihood. CRUEL AND UNUSUAL offers
a vital resource for those learning about gender diversity while
also introducing new voices to conversations about incarceration
in America."
Ara Wilson, Director, Program in the Sexuality Studies
Duke University
"You can't look at this documentary and not be moved to tears
or anger over such ignorance and bigotry."
Blade GLBT Newsmagazine
"CRUEL AND UNUSUAL is
a remarkable and essential work. At a time when torture has haltingly
become part of the national conversation, and when all Americans need
to be thinking seriously about the violence in our systems of punishment
and detention, Cruel and Unusual draws emotionally devastating attention
to victims of violence who are persecuted for their stubborn visibility
within the penal system - but remain invisible to an indifferent world
outside. From Human Rights Watch's perspective, I can affirm that
everyone needs to hear and see this film's crucial, disturbing, and
enthralling story."
Scott Long, Director, LGBT RIGHTS PROGRAM/HUMAN
RIGHTS WATCH
"This searing documentary of how correctional
institutions treat transgender prisoners is as necessary as it is
shocking. It's necessary because transgender people are three times
more likely than non trans folk to spend time behind bars. As one
former inmate says, "I couldn't get a job with the name Linda,
I wasn't welcome in the homeless shelters … what else could
I do but steal?" The indignities outside pale compared to life
on the inside, where a prisoner's gender identity is simply not
recognized, and a trans woman with male genitalia is housed with
the male population. Not only are these women easy targets for violence
and sexual predation, their unique medical needs go unmet. Some
of the women profiled recall the frustration of putting off hormone
therapy for years while serving their sentences. Others, already
taking hormones, were not allowed to continue their treatment in
jail and had to suffer the pains of cold turkey withdrawal. Few
encounter sympathy from prison staff — one woman recalls a
prison doctor's smirking prediction that she would end up a suicide
— and the best safety from bullying that most prisons can
offer is to move trans inmates to solitary confinement, where they
can spend months or years with almost no human contact. It's a grim
picture that adds up to cruel and unusual punishment, which is supposedly
prohibited by the Eighth Amendment. The documentary's subjects share
their heartbreaking stories with dignity, candor and even hope."
Brian Jewell, BAY WINDOWS
"Cruel and Unusual doesn't just transport the viewer within
prison walls, but more importantly, into the hearts and minds of
an acutely marginalized and misunderstood community. These women
are not criminals in the way the public understands them to be.
They are strong, honest, multidimensional individuals with dignity,
inner-strength and determination,"
Kate Black, Program Officer, THE SOROS FOUNDATION
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Cruel
and Unusual