Transparent, an exclusive Amazon show, was released on Sept. 26, and I, intrigued by the buzz it has been receiving, had to give it a chance. The dark comedy/drama surprised me; it is unflinching, honest and explores themes that I have never seen so unabashedly displayed on “TV.”
The 10-episode season, created by Jill Soloway, provides an insightful look at the transgender community.
Transparent’s pilot follows three adult siblings, all with individual struggles, and their father, Mort Pfefferman, played by Jeff Tambor.
Mort was born male but is finally transitioning and living as Maura. She is struggling to come out to her children as transgender. The son, Josh (Jay Duplass), takes on the role of the cliché Californian record producer with intimacy issues. The oldest daughter, Sarah (Amy Landecker), is a busy housewife and is married to a man, but has an ex-girlfriend lurking around. Ali (Gaby Hoffman) is the sibling who is lost, struggling and unemployed.
There is so much that the first episode only hints at, such as Sarah’s lesbian girlfriend from college who is back in her life and the woman who Josh pays a late night visit. Certain aspects make Ali, the unemployed and depressive daughter, seem the most straightforward and normal. The pilot establishes the separate arcs of each character, each with many questions left to be answered.
So much is revealed about the complexity of family life.
My favorite scene in the pilot involved the three siblings and Maura sitting around the dinner table eating a messy dinner of ribs. They are laughing and joking and resemble a happy, cohesive family unit. Then in a snap the scene changes to anger when Maura makes the announcement that she is selling the house and plans on giving it to Sarah. This highlights the undercurrents that disrupt the Norman Rockwell familial image of a happy home. Transparent consistently displays incongruity between the outside appearance of family life and the truths that lurk in dark closets of a therapist’s office.
The idea of not knowing what your parents are really like until you are adult is universal, which is what makes it so accessible.
The characters are “un-airbrushed,” and the show catches moments that are so honest and normal, something that I am so unaccustomed to seeing on “TV.”
The parallels Transparent has to Lena Dunham’s Girls are apparent. Soloway’s inspiration from Dunham’s characters, such as Hannah Horvath, shows in the unlikable heroes in Transparent. Soloway doesn’t try to create fake personas for characters to make the audience like them. She instead just shows people how they are, faults included. For these reasons the show is made so interesting because the viewers are allowed to see all the things most people try to hide.
Transparent offers insights on how sexuality is fluid and something many struggle with at points in their life, whether it’s coming out as a transgender, being unsure of sexual orientation, or even struggling with emotional and sexual intimacy.
I am impressed with this show and cannot wait to see more.
