By Emily Nixon
On March 25, the LGBTQ+ Resource Center hosted a film screening for the week leading up to the Day of Trans Visibility on March 31. The films screened were “Heightened Scrutiny” by Sam Feder and “These Kids Don’t Get It, Ma” by June Jung, both of whom were in attendance during the screening.
The LGBTQ+ Resource Center held the event to get as much representation as possible for Trans Students before their day of celebration, according to Kelly Spivey, the center’s director.
“I wanna do everything we can for Trans Visibility,” said Spivey. “March 31st is Day of Trans Visibility, and so I’m just gonna really try to get as many trans-affirming, trans informational panels, events, screenings.”
The LGBTQ+ Resource Center also hosted the event to give Brooklyn College (BC) students a chance to gain more understanding into Chase Strangio, the first openly Trans lawyer to argue in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, who will be one of the panelists on Wednesday, April 2, for BC’s Hess Week.
Heightened Scrutiny is a documentary film about the recent Supreme Court Case, U.S. Vs Skrmetti, which will decide whether it is constitutional to ban trans youth from accessing gender-affirming healthcare such as puberty blockers and hormones. The case was picked up by the Supreme Court in June 2024. The original legislation from Tennessee passed in March 2023 and barred minors from receiving surgery, medications, or medical devices to affirm a gender different than their gender at birth, according to the Tennessee General Assembly Webpage.
“I like to leave the legal stuff to Chase,” said Feder. “The basic gist of it is the argument that Chase was arguing against was banning gender-affirming care for trans young people, including hormones and puberty blockers.”
Following the screenings, a small panel and Q&A session was opened up for participants to ask the filmmakers any of their questions.
When asked about the way the public has received the films, Jung shared her surprise at how her film impacted people and the positive reception she’s received.
“A lot of people came up to me and told me that they resonated with it and felt seen by it,” said Jung. “And that gave me a lot.”
Similarly, Feder expressed his surprise with how viewers found his film hope-inspiring.
“The reception of this, beyond what I expected, much better like really good,” said Feder. “A lot of people said they felt hopeful at the end, which I didn’t know that was possible. So, that’s been really nice.”
Heightened Scrutiny’s ability to inspire hope caused a senior BC creative writing student, Angela Scire, to reflect on the way the trans social narrative has changed in recent years.
“Because of media and everything being so heavily politicized, there’s so much hate,” said Scire. “It went from complete ignorance to complete hatred.”
The reactions of viewers in the screening to the films themselves caught Scire’s attention, prompting them to reflect on how divisive our nation has gotten.
“As angry as I felt, I saw people laughing and joking and commenting on themselves through the tears, and that is the humanity we’re not seeing,” said Scire. “Like I always try to sympathize with the other side because I know that’s the direct rebellion against us being isolated and dehumanizing each other.”
The films inspired community strength and a lasting mark on history according to Dijana Jelaca, a BC film professor.
“Even if we don’t win this case, the films still exist and feed us today with our broken hearts,” said Jelaca. “So, I just feel like we have to know that making words, making images, making community, it’s a magical sustenance in times of extraordinary crisis.”
The power of words was stressed by Jelaca and the filmmakers as they drew from issues prevalent in today’s world.
“Look at the words they’re [the Trump Administration] striking. You can’t be LGBTQ but you can be queer because they haven’t struck queer yet,” said Jelaca. “And if we can’t use some words, we’ll use others, and if we can’t win, which may be, the images still exist, we hold space in all these ways, with our bodies, with our words, with our images, and I think that in this time of confrontation […] we have to remember that we can use the words at our disposal, we can use the images at our disposal, and we can be together and there’s some mix, some magical mix of both that’s going to sustain us.
One of the main issues that emerged from the discussion was President Donald Trump’s handling of legislation surrounding campuses and minority students according to Jelaca.
“There’s so many overlapping threats and pressures that are happening, and so much at the University,” said Jelaca. “The University is under direct assault too. We can see that happening, and we don’t know how much of that space we will be able to hold.”
One University in hot water for its response to Trump’s tactics is the Columbia School of Journalism, according to Jelaca. University officials warned students to not post commentary on issues in the Middle East, as reported by Middle East Monitor.
“The Columbia School of Journalism, to my understanding, it’s not really evident, it was in the news yesterday, that they were advising the journalism students from Columbia to delete from all their social media any mention of Gaza,” said Jelaca. “So, this is encouraging journalism students in the opinion of the school of journalism to self-censor.”
The main theme of these films has given both hope and representation to its viewers in the WEB building, as well as inspiring more self-education and dialogue about the issues presented in both films, according to Spivey.
“It’s so important to be thinking about these things,” said Spivey. “Start understanding why this is an important issue for everyone.”
Students interested in future events by the LGBTQ+ Resource Center can check out their Instagram: @lgbtqcenter_bc.
Students interested in HESS week events can get information and a schedule at the Wolfe Institute’s Instagram: @bc_wolfeinstitute.