Movies News Talk

The Danish Girl Movie: Legacy, Casting Controversy & Important Talks

What is the legacy of "The Danish Girl" movie?

Well, this movie - with Alicia Vikander and Eddie Redmayne - made waves back in 2015, when it told a pretty dramatic story about a transgender artist who's trying to figure it all out. It got tons of awards attention! The only thing is, it kinda backfired a bit in the long run.

What's The Problem?

  • People were really mad about The Danish Girl casting because the main role of Lili Elbe, a trans woman, was actually played by Eddie Redmayne. Now, that kind of choice - of having cisgender actors playing trans roles - wasn't cool! A ton of transgender folks said it just wasn't right!
  • We are seeing some progress now with trans actors, though. There’s been more effort to include real transgender performers like Hunter Schafer and Hari Neff in big projects.

What Does Alicia Vikander Think?

  • She kind of agrees with everyone, even Eddie Redmayne - that this casting situation isn't ideal. You know how it goes - the movie industry, especially Hollywood, is still making a ton of mistakes when it comes to being diverse, so things need to change.

Was "The Danish Girl" a Good Film, Overall?

Even though there are some really important discussions about The Danish Girl movie - the story, the characters - people still like it. And they even say it was a big part of helping them to understand and accept themselves as Transgender, because it made them feel seen.

  • The movie had tons of nominations for big awards, but as time goes by, it's clear that it is more about how it sparked important discussions.
  • A lot of those debates focused on transgender representation and who's making the right calls on getting these movies made.
  • The The Danish Girl impact was a big one - It started a conversation, for sure!

So Where Do We Go From Here?

This shows just how important the transgender story is - the need for transgender actors, the history of the community, all of it is really important!

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