If you hadn’t heard, one of the famous “Wachowski brothers,” creators of The Matrix franchise and directors of the new hit Cloud Atlas, recently came out as a transsexual woman. She is now Lana Wachowski. And for her efforts at giving transgenderism more visibility and acceptance she received a visibility award by the Human Rights Campaign.
For which her acceptance speech is amazing. She’s funny, smart, eloquent, and super cute. In fact this rates among the best speeches I’ve ever watched. She claims to be an inexperienced speaker, but she clearly is a talented teller of tales, with charm and wit and insight, and boldly honest. Her speech is charming, hilarious, moving, and informative. She’s an awesome person. I guarantee you’ll love having watched this. So go do.
I discovered this gem thanks to Kylie Sturgess of Token Skeptic who provides the video and links to the transcript at Lana Wachowski’s Human Rights Campaign’s Annual Gala Dinner Speech (or you can just go direct to the transcript or video at The Hollywood Reporter).
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dante8
November 6, 2012 at 10:55 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Great speech!
I’m also really pleased that Freethought blogs has managed to get two awesome bloggers who also happen to be transgender women – Zinnia Jones and Natalie Reed. Not to mention Freethought blogs is as of now 39% female, with 13 female bloggers and 20 male, even counting all the “group blogs” like Black Skeptics as male.
Konradius
November 7, 2012 at 10:51 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Nice article but…
Have people already started referring to them as the Wachowski siblings? And if not, why not?
resident_alien
November 9, 2012 at 3:52 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Most people I know call them “the Wachowskis”. Has a ring to it, methinks.
Sassafras
November 11, 2012 at 3:53 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
They’re usually referred to as “the Wachowskis” now, and IIRC, even credited as such.
Leo
November 24, 2012 at 11:04 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wikipedia says they go by “the Wachowskis”.
Philip Klein
November 26, 2012 at 10:12 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
they refer to themselves as The Wachowskis or Wachowski Starship
Kevin
November 7, 2012 at 11:44 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Wow. That was amazing.
You’re right. One of the best uses of 30 minutes of my time I’ve made in maybe decades.
You there. Looking at this comment. Stop it. Go there now. Come back in 30 minutes.
Seriously.
The Janitor
November 11, 2012 at 1:58 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Kevin,
” One of the best uses of 30 minutes of my time I’ve made in maybe decades.”
Your life must have really sucked for the last few decades.
Richard Carrier
November 29, 2012 at 7:35 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Nope. Life has been totally awesome til now.
You do the math.
Anonymous Coward
November 7, 2012 at 6:25 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
If anyone else has problems with the video, here is (probably) the same on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crHHycz7T_c
Jrod
November 8, 2012 at 3:24 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
I believe they’re usually just called the Wachowskis now.
Moosebites
November 8, 2012 at 5:36 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Konradius – I remember reading somewhere that a few years ago their movie credits became “the Wachowskis”. And that this has been widely known in Hollywood for quite a while, but there was no real fuss- kinda just “oh, ok” and people got on with their lives.
Richard Carrier
November 29, 2012 at 7:25 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Yes. That’s more or less what Lana says.
Stephanie
November 8, 2012 at 3:51 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Saw Lana speaking at a free screening of Cloud Atlas.
karimghantous
November 11, 2012 at 12:32 am (UTC -7) Link to this comment
That speech was great!
Thankfully there is a third option: ‘the Wachowskis’. And that’s how I refer to them now.
Gordon Willis
November 21, 2012 at 3:13 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
Thank you for this, Richard. You are completely right. All I have to say now is — to all those sane people amongst us — we need to ask, loudly, WHY DOES IT MATTER? And insist on a sensible answer. And keep on asking, and keep on insisting. I was especially moved by what Lana says at around 15:45+. As true and as sincere as anyone ever said.
Gordon Willis
November 21, 2012 at 3:26 pm (UTC -7) Link to this comment
This is the bit (from the transcript):
We’re alternating perspectives quite conscious of the fact that we have just made a film about this subject — about the responsibilities us humans have to one another, that our lives are not entirely our own. There is dialogue from the film merging easily with the discussion and I find myself repeating a line from a character who I was very attached to who speaks about her own decision to come out. She says, “If I had remained invisible, the truth would have remained hidden and I couldn’t allow that.” And she says this aware that even at the moment she’s saying it that the sacrifice she has made will cost her her life.