Perhaps one of the most disturbing and most memorable movies I have ever watched was Kimberly Pierces Boys Don't Cry. The first time I watched the movie I wouldn't have ever thought that it would have deeper meaning. Its only purpose seemed to be nothing other that to catch the attention of the viewer. Its graphic content however, makes Boys Don't Cry stand for a much more meaningful purpose than this. It shows what our society can push us to if it is not accepting; a sexual identity crisis. Boys Don't Cry also addresses issues such as homosexuality, homophobia, and ideas about how women should act. The main character Teena Brandon or "Brandon, is a homosexual female living in a very homophobic environment. This is a very real perspective of what it can be like to t be outside the norm amongst society today. This film is based on a true story that somehow makes viewers uncomfortable, but why? Perhaps this lifestyle is out of the comfort zone for the average person. . .
To summarize the movie briefly Teena Brandon was a 21-year old woman whom impersonated a man. After getting herself into some trouble with the law as well as a brother of one of her "girlfriends" from home she quickly latches on to a new set of welcoming people that she meets in a bar one night. Candace, John, Tom and Lana become Brandon's new family in Fall Creek, Nebraska. Although Brandon seems to have made some new friends, they are not what someone would define as accepting or open-minded. John and Tom both possess very short tempers and had just recently gotten out of prison. The strangers seem to take to Brandon because she starts a fight with a man about three times her size the first time they meet her. The only problem is that they all believe that Teena is a man. Eventually all of "Brandon's" lies catch up with him and his new found family is far from accepting. John and Tom rape Teena. After Teena files charges against them, they finish her off at the end of the movie by shooting and stabbing her.