Sums up the “JT Leroy” movie with a movie review to end all reviews.
“In evaluating The Heart is Deceitful, the movie, I feel strongly that one should divorce the fraudster from the fraud, the ‘autobiographical’ from the ‘novel.’ Mind you, nobody wanted us to do that back when this was the deeply moving proof that the power of storytelling could liberate the human soul from unthinkable abuse. But what the hell, I’ll play the game now, because that’s the only way this distasteful task is any fun at all. (…) But I submit that Deceitful, now being sold after-the-fact as some sort of dark fantasy, could NEVER — and I mean NEVER — been produced as such. ‘JT’ could only visit this nightmare on a public that was begging for it because it was ‘real’ — presenting it as fiction would (then as now) make it a seriously fucked-up jerk-off fantasy for somebody with MAJOR fucking tragedy-tourism issues and, clearly, no respect at all for the plight of real abuse survivors, sex workers, or people forced by their drug addict mothers to crossdress. (…) Thanks, guys. I especially thank you on behalf of all the people that shit like this really happened to, since it seems to be all the rage to speak for groups one’s not a part of. By creating and releasing Deceitful you’ve managed to make the reality of severe child abuse as deeply affecting as Season 1 of Melrose Place or A Very Special Episode of TJ Hooker.”
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