The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Janet Mock Discusses Putting Transgender Characters Front and Center with "Pose" (Rebroadcast)

Episode Date: June 27, 2020

Trevor talks with writer, director and producer Janet Mock about her groundbreaking series "Pose," which focuses on transgender women of color in the 1980s. Originally aired May 20, 2019. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News.

Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17. Please welcome Janet Mock. Welcome back to the show. Thanks for having me back. This is a really exciting reason to have you back as well. The new show Pose, which is going to be on FX is a show that is first in many ways. I mean, I know why I'm excited, but what would you say is the biggest reason you're excited about Pose? I got a job. That's simple.

I like that. Yeah, basically. Well, you know, Ryan Murphy created it. He's a prolific showrunner, shows like Glee, Niptuck, of course, the people versus OJ Simpson, where he won a lot of Emmys with him to talk about this show, I was excited by the fact that it would be the first of its kind to talk about the New York City ballroom scene which a lot of people have known since Paris is burning, right? But to also center characters and people who have never been centered before, trans women of color. Right, and that's what's really

fascinating about this story is that you have a show that too, the the their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, th, th, th, th, th, th, thi, thi, thi, thi, thr-a, thr-a, thi, their, thi, thi, thi, th, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, the first, the first, the first, their, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, thr-s, thr-a, thr-y, thr-a, their, their, their, their, their, their, 80s, but it's showing you a story in the 80s that many people maybe didn't know exist or many people didn't know exist but just didn't think about. And what I found fascinating about paces of the episodes was that a lot of people will say about transgender people now that where did this come from? This is a new thing, this new thing as a trend, but you go no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, thrass, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, thr-a, as a thr-a, as a thi, as thin, as thi, as a thi, as a thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is thi, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, is a thin, thi, is a thin, is a thing as if it's like a trend, but you go, no, trans people are as old as time. Was it really important for you to be able to tell these stories as authentically as possible in the 80s? Yeah, I think that there is something about the fact that when you look to the past, you can learn a lot about your present.

For me, I saw that, you know, they were dealing with in 87 as well as today. And so knowing that 26 trans people were murdered in the United States last year, almost all of them, women of color, I thought it was important that we memorialize the people who we've learned so much from, the people who have contributed so much to our movement, the people who have given me access to be able to be, you know, the first, the first, the first, the first, the first, the first, the first, the first, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tre, tre, tre.e.e.e.e.e.e.e. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. tre. tr. tr. tr be able to be, you know, the first trans women of color to be hired in a Hollywood writer's room, the first to write and direct a television series. And to be on a television series and to share it with five black and brown trans women of color who are the stars in the center of our show.

It's... It's a pioneering show for so many reasons. You know, you have five trans-a to to to to to to to to the to to the to to the to to the to to the to the to to the to be a to be a to be a the to be a to be a true and to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a tooom. tooom. tooom. to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to be a to bea. t. t. t. t. t. t. t. tri. te.e.e. t.e. te.e. t. te. toe. toe. toe. women of color who are centered in the story. The word centered is so important in this because, you know, I read a story on the Hollywood reporter about how they did a study on Latino characters on TV and they found that half of them were always represented as criminals and when you look at stories of the transgender community it's always a fringe element, you know, in so many stories, you know, it's always going to be sex workers, it's going to be something that seems like it's not in the mainstream.

Was it important for you to center these people and show the spectrum of life that you can be living? Yeah, I think so often, too, non-trans people stories, as a sidekick. As someone who's a martyr who dies in order to teach a cis person about what it means to be real and authentic. Right. And in our show, we center that experience, and we don't show the origin stories of our characters. We show them as they're fully embodied,

just trans people living in New York City. And with that, you have diversity, you show that that trans folk are not that, that we don't have the same dreams and desires, that we read and shade one another, that we can be villains as well as, you know, protagonist. Right. And I think that that, for me, as someone who loved television, who grew up as TV being a part of like my babysitter in a single-parent household, it showed me that I can be centered and that I deserve this show really is an unconventional family drama. Right, and we see so many stories of people watching TV shows or movies and for the first time seeing themselves on screen. You know, you saw that with Ava Duvene's Wrinkle in Time, you saw that with Black Panther. You see it with people going, I've never ever thought of how I've never seen myself just kicking men's asses,

which is really amazing. And you take that for granted. You genuinely do. When you were growing up watching TV, were there any characters or any shows that in some way, maybe did make you feel like, you know, there was something that you could aspire to to. the reason why I moved to New York City and went to NYU. It was literally because I saw this white girl with curly hair who was smart and love Lauren and wanted to be with you know Ben that's all I wanted. Right. And so now and now you're in a place where you're not writing

and I think do you do you feel that gravity of putting people on screen that identify people out there who maybe have never seen themselves on screen in any way, shape or form? Yeah, the fact that we have love stories on our show, the fact that we're not just merely points of trauma, right? Because so often trans bodies are usually dead and inactive bodies. And so here we have five women who have different dreams, who have love, who want to be desired, who are funny, who are villains, who are all of these different things. And so in that way, when you center these people on the show, you show people that, number one, it's not scary, that they're not, that they're not horrible people,

that they're not freak shows, that instead they're humans, that you care about, and they love you and they're invested and I hope that it doesn't only educate and inspire and entertain, but it also moves people to care and hopefully do something. I think it's going to do all of those things. Thank you so much for being on the show again. Thank you some, today's the show, and the comedy central. the day's weeknights at 11 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app. Watch full episodes and videos at the Daily Show.

to the Daily Show on YouTube for exclusive content and more. This has been a Comedy Central Podcast. When 60 Minutes premiered in September 1968, there was nothing like it. This is 60 Minutes. It's a kind of a magazine for television. Very few have been given access to the treasures in our archives. You're rolling? But that's all about to change. Like none of this stuff gets looked at. That's what's incredible. I'm Seth Done of CBS News. Listen to 60 Minutes, a second look on Apple podcasts starting September 17th.