The 2024 film ‘Emilia Perez’, directed by Jacques Audiard and starring transgender actress Karla Sofía Gascón, has gained a lot of attention in the news, on social media, and throughout this awards season. Although the film has won several different awards, this has caused a considerable amount of controversy.
‘Emilia Perez’ was released on Netflix in November 2024 and has since generated a lot of conversation and controversy. The film is a musical that follows the story of a Mexican cartel leader who undergoes gender transition to live her life authentically as a woman. Controversy has arisen after the film won several awards, including awards at the Golden Globes, Academy Awards (Oscars), and European Film Awards. Audiences have argued that the film’s competition for these awards was far stronger and more deserving of them.
Although ‘Emilia Perez’ would seem to provide representation for transgender people at first glance, the film has been deeply criticised for portraying transgender tropes and failing to adequately represent and uplift the community. The film includes musical numbers about gender-affirming surgeries that have been severely mocked across social media platforms. It has even been argued that characters within the film, including the doctor performing Emilia Perez’s surgeries, enact implicit transphobia and reinforce transgender tropes. Several LGBTQ+ representational charities and organisations, such as GLAAD, have spoken out against the film, arguing that it is not representative of the transgender community.
Furthermore, audiences and critics have argued that ‘Emilia Perez’ portrays Mexican stereotypes and misrepresents Mexican culture. Critics also argue that the film does not deal with Mexican cartel violence sensitively enough. The film was also shot in France and has been critiqued for some of the casts’ performances of Mexican identity, such as criticisms of Selena Gomez’s accent.
Further controversy has arisen surrounding ‘Emilia Perez’ after past social media posts from Karla Sofía Gascón, the starring actress, resurfaced. She had previously made derogatory comments about George Floyd and Islam. While Gascón has apologised for her comments, the film’s director Jacques Audiard has criticised her actions and it is thought that this extra controversy will have damaged the film’s popularity.
‘Emilia Perez’ raises many questions about representation and authenticity. Critics argue that it misrepresents and undermines both the transgender community and Mexican culture. However, the number of awards it has won would point to the film’s supposed success. This raises further issues of accountability and representational politics within the film industry. ‘Emilia Perez’ will no doubt continue to spark conversations about the representation of identity and culture within film for a while to come.