Falling into Pam's World

Abstract

Narrative cinema holds the unique potential to absorb audiences in the sensory world of its characters. When mobilized in the service of depicting trans* experience, the specificity of the medium can generate deep empathy for trans* lives, an important ethical objective, especially in a society in which trans* lives are under attack. Through close formal analysis, this article shows how the 1997 film Ma vie en rose accomplishes this project by cinematically aligning film spectators with a transgender child's audiovisual perception. Ma vie en rose immerses the film spectator in Ludovic's fantasy world where they are completely accepted as they are, inspiring the spectator to become personally invested in Ludovic's well-being, and potentially contributing to a real-world social environment that fosters livable lives for gender-nonconforming children.