Lana Wachowski is Awesome
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).
dante8:
November 6th, 2012 at 10:55 am
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 7th, 2012 at 10:51 am
Nice article but…
Have people already started referring to them as the Wachowski siblings? And if not, why not?
Kevin:
November 7th, 2012 at 11:44 am
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.
Anonymous Coward:
November 7th, 2012 at 6:25 pm
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 8th, 2012 at 3:24 am
I believe they’re usually just called the Wachowskis now.
Moosebites:
November 8th, 2012 at 5:36 am
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.
Stephanie:
November 8th, 2012 at 3:51 pm
Saw Lana speaking at a free screening of Cloud Atlas.
resident_alien:
November 9th, 2012 at 3:52 am
Most people I know call them “the Wachowskis”. Has a ring to it, methinks.
karimghantous:
November 11th, 2012 at 12:32 am
That speech was great!
Thankfully there is a third option: ‘the Wachowskis’. And that’s how I refer to them now.
The Janitor:
November 11th, 2012 at 1:58 pm
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.
Sassafras:
November 11th, 2012 at 3:53 pm
They’re usually referred to as “the Wachowskis” now, and IIRC, even credited as such.
Gordon Willis:
November 21st, 2012 at 3:13 pm
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 21st, 2012 at 3:26 pm
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.
Leo:
November 24th, 2012 at 11:04 am
Wikipedia says they go by “the Wachowskis”.
Philip Klein:
November 26th, 2012 at 10:12 am
they refer to themselves as The Wachowskis or Wachowski Starship
Richard Carrier:
November 29th, 2012 at 7:25 am
Yes. That’s more or less what Lana says.
Richard Carrier:
November 29th, 2012 at 7:35 am
Nope. Life has been totally awesome til now.
You do the math.