Amazon’s new original series, “Transparent,” follows the lives of a Los Angeles family in the wake of a revelation that their father is transgender. Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development, The Larry Sanders Show) is an actor known for playing the unconventional patriarch. In “Transparent,” he takes the role one step further, starring as Morton/Maura Pfefferman, a 68-year-old man who finally confronts the challenges of coming out to friends, family and the world, as a transgender woman. The show was created by Jill Soloway, whose own father had come out transgender late in life, and follows both the hardships of Maura and those of her cisgender family as they try to come to terms with the change.
There’s plenty of reasons to love Amazon’s original series “Transparent,” free to watch for Amazon Prime subscribers. It’s an edgy and refreshed tale of the human experience, told from the perspective of those marginalized by sex and gender. Over the last few decades, TV has become increasingly more open regarding the portrayal of LGB communities with shows like “Queer as Folk,” “The L Word,” and most recently, “Looking.” However, it wasn’t until “Transparent” that shows finally put the “T” in LGBT.
While delivering a story with the utmost severity, there are many laughs to be had throughout the several story lines. At most points, the laughs are entirely warranted, but at other points, they really make you think about what’s so funny about one woman’s struggle to finally be who she’s felt she’s been on the inside for over 68 years. It’s not just a story that should be told, it’s a story that needs to be told, and Amazon deserves some kudos for pioneering farther than any network TV with which it’s competing.
Following the premise that every family has its secrets, Maura isn’t the only one in the Pfefferman’s family closet. Maura may have been the first to come clean, but thanks to her courage, her family also begins to confront some of their own personal baggage. Sarah (Amy Landecker), the oldest and most accepting of her father’s new identity, decides to come out in her own life, leaving a privileged lifestyle and an unhappy marriage to further explore her sexuality with her old fling from college, Tammy. Josh (Jay Duplass) is the only son who, obviously affected by his childhood affair with his older babysitter, is finally coming to terms with his desire to fall in love and have a family. Ali (Gaby Hoffmann), the youngest and by far the strangest, is a genius in her own right yet incapable of accomplishing anything; she struggles to find purpose. In the end, the covers are pulled from the mirrors and each character is given their introspective moments to discover who they’ve been trying to hide for their whole lives. Maura even manages to reconnect with her ex-wife, Shelly (Judith White), and it’s beautiful to see how their friendship re-evolves and strengthens the family ties.
While the show feels scripted at some points (for example the fast friendship formed between Sarah and the husband she left), these points quickly fade into the shadow of the more important messages of the show. One such message comes surprisingly in a flashback to when Maura sneaks off to a camp for cross-dressers for a weekend. Amidst all the fun and liberation Maura feels being surrounded by “her people,” she’s confronted by a few people who make it clear that the camp is a place for men who happen to like wearing dresses. Her friend ends up announcing, “Transvestites are not transsexuals; they should be in a different place.” While she looked the part, Maura is neither a transvestite nor a transsexual and visiting the camp was not an excuse for Maura to wear a dress, but to announce herself as a transgender woman. Even among groups on the fringes of social acceptance, there is discrimination and Maura learns firsthand about the different ways that people identify. Two men wearing dresses could have much less in common than one might think.
We’re all different and there’s something to that which is inescapably human. “Transparent” demonstrates the similarities we share through our diversity and how, through a little introspection, we can all find acceptance for others. Humanity in its purest form, stripped of all of its sociocultural contexts, reveals an absolute truth: People are just trying to get by in life and that can be a beautiful thing. That’s what “Transparent” is all about: Finding the humanity in us all to accept those who go against the perceived norm.