Lost to Bias Gender fluidity, queer themes, and challenges to heteronormativity in the work of Edward D. Wood, Jr. Jason C. A. Meredith Department of Media Studies Master’s Thesis 30 ETCS credits Cinema Studies Master’s program in Cinema Studies 120 ECTS credits Spring term 2020 Supervisor: Bo Florin Lost to Bias Gender fluidity, queer themes, and challenges to heteronormativity in the work of Edward D. Wood, Jr. Jason C. A. Meredith Abstract The premise of this study is to investigate homonormative concepts in the works of Edward D. Wood, Jr. Following a contextualisation of the time period he was active in, the thesis interacts with camp as a concealed queer discourse and a political voice. Concepts of crossdressing as challenges to heteronormativity are observed in relation to Woods cinematic canon and persona. Case analyses of Glen or Glenda (1953) and Take It Out in Trade (1970) observe how mentioned methodologies are applicable. The conclusions relate data exhibiting queer discourses held by Wood. Camp as a signifier of queer representation and counter oppression is identified as a discourse within Wood’s films. Examples given demonstrate how this is obscured within the agency of narrators, dialogue and metaphors. As camp evolves post-Stonewall, an adherence to camp as a parody of heteronormativity is acknowledged in later Wood pieces. Exploring concepts of crossdressing in Wood’s cinema, drag and transvestism can be excluded. Through crossdressing we find a stage for gender performativity as to reunite with the heteronormative challenges of his debut film. This reunion progresses to a compliance with homonormativity in his final feature films. Keywords Edward D. Wood, Jr., camp, crossdressing, queer, transvestism, gender, performativity, exploitation cinema, queer cinema, parody. 2 Acknowledgements I would first like to thank my supervisor Docent Bo Florin for his support, patience and uninhibited accessibility during this exploration of Ed Wood and queer themes. His unbiased and constructive dialogue has been an inspiration and propellant for my work. I would also like to thank my wife Jenny for her love and encouragement during this period of my cinema studies. Her advocacy has been invaluable, and without her this would have been impossible. Furthermore, I want to thank Esmé Fransen for insightful suggestions in the formative stages of this thesis. 3 Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................. 2 Keywords ........................................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................ 3 Table of Contents ................................................................................................................... 4 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 6 1.1 Background of the Study ............................................................................................... 6 1.2 Research Aims and Research Questions ........................................................................ 7 1.3 Methodology and Material Selection ............................................................................. 8 1.4 Literature Review.......................................................................................................... 9 1.5 Disposition of the Thesis ............................................................................................. 10 2. Contextualizing Wood’s World ........................................................................................ 12 2.1 The Rediscovery of Wood ........................................................................................... 13 2.2 Queerness in Post-World War II, and Ed Wood’s Initial Feature ................................. 13 2.3 Exploitation Cinema ................................................................................................... 14 2.4 A Brief History of Exploitation Cinema ...................................................................... 15 2.5 Paracinema, The Cult Of Wood and Reluctance. ......................................................... 17 3. Truth, Deceits, Rumours and Evidence – Sexuality and Wood .......................................... 20 3.1 A Masquerade of Truth? ............................................................................................. 23 3.2. Recurring Problem – Patriarchal Closure and the Homosexual Threat ........................ 26 3.3 A Truth is Unveiled..................................................................................................... 29 4. Camp, Wood and Sensibilities .......................................................................................... 32 4.1 Demarcating Camp ..................................................................................................... 32 4.2 Camp in Woods Work ................................................................................................. 36 5. Drag, Crossdressing, Transvestism – Devising an Entry Point .......................................... 40 5.1 Drag ............................................................................................................................ 40 5.2 Crossdressing .............................................................................................................. 44 5.3 Transvestism ............................................................................................................... 46 5.4 Performativity Brings it All Together .......................................................................... 47 5.5 Crossdressing in Cinema, How Does Wood Fit In? ..................................................... 48 6. Case Studies ..................................................................................................................... 54 6.1 The Debut – Glen or Glenda ....................................................................................... 54 6.2 Debut Aesthetics ......................................................................................................... 56 6.3 Narrating Agents in Glen or Glenda ............................................................................ 57 6.4 The Green Dragon....................................................................................................... 64 6.5 Gender Issues .............................................................................................................. 65 6.6 Sex in Glen or Glenda................................................................................................. 65 4 6.7 The ‘Comeback’ - Take It Out in Trade ....................................................................... 68 6.8 Comeback Aesthetics, Nothing has Changed ............................................................... 70 6.9 Narrating Agents in Take It Out in Trade .................................................................... 71 6.10 Alicia Defeats the Green Dragon ............................................................................... 73 6.11 Gender Issues, Paul and Henry .................................................................................. 75 6.12 Madame Penny’s, a Personification of Modern Womanhood ..................................... 76 6.13 Sex in Take It Out in Trade ....................................................................................... 77 6.14 Wood As Parody? ..................................................................................................... 79 7. Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 82 References ............................................................................................................................ 85 Filmography ..................................................................................................................... 85 Bibliography ..................................................................................................................... 86 5 1. Introduction 1.1 Background of the Study On September the 14th 2014, as part of an Edward D. Wood, Jr. retrospective curated by Wood’s biographer Rudolph Grey, the Anthology Film Archives in New York City publicly screened an 80-minute, 16mm print of Wood’s film Take It Out in Trade (Edward D. Wood, Jr., 1970).1 This film, directed by Edward D. Wood Jr., or simply Ed Wood as he also will be referred to herein, was previously considered “lost” and only accessible through a compilation of outtakes lacking audio released by Something Weird Video.2 The rediscovered print stands as a final transmission from Ed Wood, giving a unique insight into the final phase of his feature film career. Four years later, the American Genre Film Archive, in collaboration with Something Weird Video, announced a new 2K restoration from the found print and scheduled it for a November 13, 2018 Blu-ray release. Thus, finally making the lost film accessible to Wood enthusiasts.3 Being a Wood enthusiast myself, the release became a ‘must see’ piece of exploitation film history finally available to access. Take It Out in Trade performs as a caricature of the nudie cuties of Russ Meyer and Doris Wishman, with a film noir-like approach