I now share a piece from the Trini essay I have been writing for four years:
Dean Israelite said the scene was “pivotal” for the entire movie. I take this quote directly from an article for The Hollywood Reporter: “For Trini, really she’s questioning a lot about who she is,” Israelite tells The Hollywood Reporter. “She hasn’t fully figured it out yet. I think what’s great about that scene and what that scene propels for the rest of the movie is, ‘That’s OK.’ The movie is saying, ‘That’s OK,’ and all of the kids have to own who they are and find their tribe.”
So the director of the movie said she’s questioning her queer identity. He sees it. He’s saying she’s meant to be unsure and questioning. They knew what they were doing. They’re showing rep for those teenagers that don’t know, but think they are different. This is awesome!
In addition, one of the Power Rangers 2017 writers, John Gatins, said on comicbook.com, "I wanted to feel like these teenagers were reflective of 2017. That was my continued argument – that come on, it's 2017. Do I think that in time to come we'll have a whole team of gay or questioning superheroes? Sure, why not. It's the world we live in and we need it to reflect it. And I think we handled it with as much grace as we could. And [actress] Becky G. did such an amazing job and it was important to her too."
As for Becky G, she said a lot about Trini and continued even after we knew there would be no sequel. Before that though she said to Pride Magazine, "The truth is with something like that, you don’t just wake up and know. It’s a process. And so, as time goes by, if we make Power Rangers 2, 3, 4...I’m excited to see how she grows." Trini was at the beginning. More was coming. They would have given us more. She also said to US magazine, “Knowing that my character mattered [was huge],” she explained. “I wanted her to be a true reflection of someone who is discovering more about herself. On top of that, being [given] this responsibility of, like, saving the world and being a superhero, but making sure she was [still herself]. Trini was, like, a real girl — a real girl in high school, figuring out who she is and where she’s going with her life.” In the same interview she also reiterated, ““I think what she was experiencing isn’t something that you just wake up and know. And even if you did, it’s not something that’s easy to talk about especially at her age given the area she grew up in and also the cultural circumstances that she grew up in,” she continued. “And so just making it just very, very honest and raw, like, for the individuals who read that [about] Trini, they knew. And for people who didn’t, it went right over their heads. And I think that that was what was really honest about her character.”
Becky knew how she was playing Trini and how important it was to represent questioning folks. She got it and she delivered. All of these quotes just go to show that they weren’t expecting to showcase to us someone with a label that was ready to come out. They wanted to show that she was unsure. That it was a possibility. And that she was scared to voice it. And they showed all of that.
Excerpt from "Trini Finds Her Tribe" by me.
(@solarsleepless what we've been talking about)
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