Tilda Swinton was in New York few weeks ago, participating in a talk held by the New York Public Library, in which she talked about her representative work, Orlando, and the exhibition she is curating of the same name. I have not seen much of her acting work, but I’ve been deeply obsessed with her androgynous look and disposition, as well as how she uses them in Orlando. She is selective about her films, most of which are arthouse or independent productions (albeit she recently appeared in some Marvel franchise movies.) She engages in the art world so much so that she even performed at the Museum of Modern Art, sleeping in a box as an art installation. I thus find her an interesting woman of depth and sensibility, and I have grown even more fond of her.
Seeing her in person was a massive enjoyment. Tall and lean (5’11”), blonde and pale, with high cheekbones, and dressed in white, she looked like an aglow angel. Her voice was fruity, soft-spoken, breathy, and sexually ambiguous. She can be anything yet cannot be pinned down to anything, possibilities and potential thus created. I wondered how one face could be so full of stories and mysteries.
She talked about Orlando, its notion of gender, and her interpretations of the book. She sees Orlando as a piece of work that deals not only with gender but also the inevitability of change. The theme is not gender, but limitlessness, transformation, and evolution. “If Woolf had kept writing, Orlando might have turned into a pig, a microphone, or a beautiful skirt.” Woolf doesn’t care about form but spirit. Simultaneously it is a story about consistency. As Orlando says after he turns into a woman after a long sleep, “Same person. No difference at all… just a different sex.” Orlando does not change, and thus s/he represents immortality.
That being said, “change is not a threat to the intrinsic nature of a person. It’s part of the deal as a human being,” Tilda Swinton contested this notion. She sees the possibility of change as a no brainer and believes that we should all play around with the idea of change.
Someone asked her what she thought about being referred to as the epitome of gender fluidity. Tilda Swinton answered, with a look of both perplexity and mischief, “Is it really gender fluidity or just laziness about making decisions?”, which caused the entire room to erupt in laughter. I couldn’t agree with her more. A biological woman, Tilda Swinton, with her gender-neutral look, calls into question the binary of femininity and masculinity, redefining the conceptions and stereotypes of gender. While people urge her to pick a side, she chooses to be “lazy” about their games. What admirable nonchalance! Having had heterosexual relationships all along, Tilda Swinton still calls herself a queer. “There are millions of ways to be queer, but only a few ways to be straight.” Again, the audience burst into laughter and applause.
Tilda Swinton is exactly the type of person I had assumed she would be: brilliant, reflexive, sophisticated, and free-spirited. Like her presentation, she cannot be adequately described with our limited vocabulary, as she has already reached the next level.
https://vimeo.com/339162327 The video recording of the talk!
