‘I Saw the TV Glow’: Jane Schoenbrun on Why Trans Stories Don’t Need to Explain Themselves and How Directing Is Just ‘Angry Sex Between Art and Commerce’
J. Kim Murphy “I’d direct an Agent Smith origin story,” Jane Schoenbrun tossed out on X, formerly known as Twitter, on the morning of April 3.
The shout-out to the AI antagonist of “The Matrix” was posted in the hours after Warner Bros. announced a fifth film in the science-fiction franchise, with writer-director Drew Goddard taking the reins from series creators Lana and Lilly Wachowski, who both came out as trans after the release of the original trilogy. “I was always kind of like, ‘Oh, they would probably let me do a “Matrix” movie, if I asked.’ Because trans,” jokes Schoenbrun, who identifies as nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns.
The director keeps a casual tone, but their interest in Agent Smith is enthusiastic and thoughtful. “‘The Matrix’ is very in conversation with trans themes that my work is also interested in: this feeling of unreality that can be a potent metaphor for being trans in the world or figuring out that you’re trans,” they continue. “Agent Smith is a boring dude in a suit who realizes that he is the system, and that every other person in it is somebody that he can subsume and become.
And he’s frustrated by this. Gaining that kind of sentience could be an interesting story to explore.” How one chooses to act within the established hierarchy of power has been on Schoenbrun’s mind lately.
