Brothers no more?

*I wish I knew the exact write place to post this, but for now General Discussions makes as much sense as any to me.

So, the other night after finishing a round of golf with a friend, we were talking about great movies and great directors. It was on this same night that I learned the Wachowski brothers are no longer brothers. My friend was aware of one of them getting gender reassignment, but not the other. He then pulled up something on mobile phone (akin to Wikipedia page, I think) and read for a good 5 minutes, aloud, about both brothers going through gender reassignment.

This blew me away. Mostly because I was clueless up to that night about any of it. Not sure why, but for how prominent those directors are, it seemed like it was mostly under the radar (at least my radar). And partially blown away cause I've seen enough of their films (not all of them) to think if I could detect whatever it is I think would be detectable (I dunno, some feminine quality) in their works, with Bound being the only one that comes to mind, and even that is admittedly me reaching.

As of writing this post, I still haven't researched the information on my own, and part of me still doesn't fully believe it, but most of me does.

I guess I'm a bit interested if after reading this post, and hopefully before doing any online fact checking if others are equally unaware of this (old) news? But being a topic for general discussion, feel free to discuss whatever you wish about it. I'll just add that for the most part, I'm happy for the Wachowskis and look forward to whatever their next film project might be.

Acim said:

This blew me away. Mostly because I was clueless up to that night about any of it. Not sure why, but for how prominent those directors are, it seemed like it was mostly under the radar (at least my radar).

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I don't understand why this matters to you.
Their professional work is one thing, their private lives are something else entirely. Why do you feel like what they do is any of your business?

I find gender surgery really gross. I'm very attached to my boys down there. But if someone else feels differently, and it
is not my business, I shut up and think about other things.
Why don't you and everyone else do that?
Tom

I had heard about it but must have tucked it away in my "I don't care what gender they are" folder because I had forgotten till you mentioned it.

People worry about a lot of things that are not of our business. That is much of the reason why there are so many celebrities, and certainly why we root for certain sports teams, at the very least.

We like to have a good grasp of what to expect from others. Familiarity and predictability are conforting.

columbus said:

I don't understand why this matters to you.
Their professional work is one thing, their private lives are something else entirely. Why do you feel like what they do is any of your business?

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Because they are publicly known figures that I have an interest in.
With these figures, their brand name (as directors) had "brothers" in their name. I referenced them this way in conversation the other night and was corrected. Shall I always reference them as Wachowski Brothers because of their professional work, or shall I be PC about it because of their private lives?

I find gender surgery really gross. I'm very attached to my boys down there. But if someone else feels differently, and it
is not my business, I shut up and think about other things.
Why don't you and everyone else do that?
Tom

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I'd rather not shut up about it, sorry. I feel I've explained the interest and if you care to discuss it while also shutting up about it, let me know.

IMO, this is similar (very much not the same) to what Prince did when he went with symbol for his name. As a fan of his music, I had no problem (still don't) saying Prince was musician / creator of the album 1999, even when his name was legally changed, cause that's who is identified on the album. I mostly feel the same about the Matrix (for example) in identifying that as a movie directed by the Wachowski Brothers. Being corrected on it tells me that people wish for me to understand their private lives matter, and ought to matter to me.

Now that everything is hindsight, I'm a bit fascinated that they chose to go with Brothers from the onset. One would think if they both felt they were not male siblings from an early age, that they'd originally just go with "the Wachowskis." That they instead went with "the Wachowski Brothers" as way to identify themselves, and that this made perfect sense to reference them / their movies everyday up till 2 days ago for me, is why I am fascinated by the name change. It's actually odd to me to think of them as brothers no more. When first being corrected, I had assumed one passed away and I was about to be told that, but even that would strike me as "they're still brothers."

columbus said:

I don't understand why this matters to you.

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I can't speak for him, but it interests me because I like their work, & this
is an important part of their lives, illuminating their movies somewhat.
I suppose we RF types are expected to be so advanced socially, that
we'd never notice sex changes. Not me....I'm still into primitive gossip.

Still, I don't forgive them for that cold fusion foolishness in The Matrix.

columbus said:

I don't understand why this matters to you.
Their professional work is one thing, their private lives are something else entirely. Why do you feel like what they do is any of your business?

I find gender surgery really gross. I'm very attached to my boys down there. But if someone else feels differently, and it
is not my business, I shut up and think about other things.
Why don't you and everyone else do that?
Tom

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Opinions are discussed here on a regular basis. That's what this place is for. If everyone here just "shut up" this would be a very dull place indeed.

Acim said:

Now that everything is hindsight, I'm a bit fascinated that they chose to go with Brothers from the onset. One would think if they both felt they were not male siblings from an early age, that they'd originally just go with "the Wachowskis."

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Gender identity is complex and for people who have some form of unconventional gender identity, it can be very difficult for them to even understand it in themselves, let alone decide how to explain or present it to other people. I suspect being in the media spotlight only serves to add a whole level of complexity.

How they each individually felt, what they expressed to each other and what they wanted (or felt able) to express publically and professionally could all have varied greatly. In general terms the marketing image in the film industry (and arts in general) often doesn’t accurately represent the real people behind it. The “brothers” element gave them a USP and point of recognition which they could choose to sue regardless of where they were in their private lives at any given point in time.

HonestJoe said:

The “brothers” element gave them a USP and point of recognition which they could choose to sue regardless of where they were in their private lives at any given point in time.

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I think you mean "choose to use," yes?