Filmic Analysis of Joyland
Gender issues, in general, and transgender issues, in particular, are highly contentious hot button issues in contemporary America. Issues such as the incidence of gender reassignment procedures, transgender women’s participation in female sports and their usage of gender reserved-bathrooms are hysterically discussed by news pundits, politicians, and influencers of various stripes alike. These issues have pervaded our societal conscious to the point that one cannot help but hear of them. Admittedly, though this has certainly allowed me to become better aware of the prevailing gender-related controversies, as a largely unaffected heterosexual male, I have always been disinterested in, and capable of thinking only very coldly about, this subject. However, that has at least slightly changed upon my recent viewing of Joyland , Saim Sadiq's brilliantly-directed film that won awards in the Un Certain Regard and Queer Palm categories at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival. While Joyland expl