In ‘We Exisit’, the latest video from Canadian rock group Arcade Fire, actor Andrew Garfield plays a trans* character.
Garfield, best known for his role as Spiderman dresses as a woman in the video and heads out to a bar.
The video has been criticised by Laura Jane Grace, the lead singer of the rock band Against Me.
Grace, who has publicly shared her transitioning experience, has said the band should have hired a trans* actor instead of casting Garfield.
Grace took to Twitter posting, “Dear @arcadefire, maybe when making a video for a song called ‘We Exist’ you should get an actual ‘Trans’ actor instead of Spider-Man?”
Grace announced that she was transitioning in 2012 and her bands recent album ‘Transgender Dysphoria Blues’ shares her journey. Alongside her tweet she also published to an editorial that criticised both Arcade Fire for both the song and the video.
Now in an interview with The Advocate Wim Butler, the band’s front man and video director David Wilson have defended the song and it’s clip.
Butler shared that he wrote the song while the band were recording in Jamaica and he was inspired by the struggle that LBBTIQ people still face in that country. Butler said the inclusion of the Spiderman actor made the video pretty powerful.
“Once something gets on the Internet, it works its way into people’s lives in a way that I think is pretty powerful. …For a gay kid in Jamaica to see the actor who played Spider-Man in that role is pretty damn powerful, in my opinion.” argued Butler.
What do you think? Should Arcane Fire have used a trans* actor? Should straight identifying singers be writing songs about LGBTIQ struggles? Check out the video below.
