Transgressive TV: <i>Euphoria</i>, HBO, and a New Trans Aesthetic

Abstract

While television shows Orange Is the New Black (OITNB) and Transparent have made headlines for their inclusion of trans performers and their debatably authentic takes on trans experiences, Euphoria signals a new era in trans representation, one that is defined by a “cool” trans aesthetic that epitomizes multiplatform television’s investment in trans as an edgy brand marker. Where HBO differs from Amazon’s Transparent and Netflix’s OITNB is in its investment in a new type of trans representation that disrupts the cinematic and television tradition in which trans characters remain closely associated with tragedy or are relegated to the recent past. While HBO utilizes both cable and video-on-demand (VOD) streaming services, its recent investment in trans discourses is in part a response to Netflix and Amazon Prime’s successful trans programming and indicative of the competitive value trans content offers content producers in the multiplatform era. Euphoria breaks new ground by offering a new aesthetic treatment of trans identity that invokes Gen Z’s ubiquitous use of social media, creative application of makeup, and nuanced approach to gender and sexual identities. The show’s stylized aesthetic, represented through hypermobile cinematography and surreal lighting, reflects this transgressive approach while also highlighting the show’s hypersubjective framing. Finally, Euphoria illustrates the crucial role of showrunner auteurs for HBO and, more specifically, the function of transgressive trans characters in Sam Levinson’s auteur brand.