It Only Looks Like It’s about Cross Dressing

Kalup Linzy, Conversations Wit De Churen Episodes I – VII, Northwest Film Center
By Jens Larson

The episodic films in Kalup Linzy‘s Conversations Wit De Churen were created over six years, and the seventh episode was specially commissioned by PICA for TBA and made with technical support from LAIKA/house, the commercial arm of Phil Knight’s Portland-based animation company. Watching several of the the episodes back to back (a rare treat; Linzy’s works are often shone singly and usually in museum halls) allows viewers to witness the expansion of Linzy’s style as his works become technically savvy and more self-referential. While the principal concerns of the episodes are language and communication, Linzy touches on numerous motifs: psycho-sexuality, gender, class, race, family relationships, interpersonal drama, and the role of art in storytelling.

Linzy’s campy, parodic soap operas are easily approachable. Indeed, the compelling feature of the episodes is their ability to hold the viewer’s attention without becoming overly abstract or cerebral. It is Linzy himself–his cross dressing, his lip-syncing, his acting, his singing, his melodramaticism, his bawdy humor, his interactions with other actors–who ensures the pieces cohere while still remaining cutting-edge. Viewers keep waiting for him to do something new and to communicate in new ways, and he doesn’t disappoint.
He plays multiple characters. He sings a song whose main lyric is “All Dogs Go to Heaven.” He sings to a hotline psychic while sitting in a bubble bath. He fakes a sex scene. He creates artworks (a meta-moment if ever there was one). Following Linzy is enjoyable enough to make the works successful.
For any viewers looking for an intellectual exercise as they watch the episodes, notice the central role of phones and gossip in the series. Notice, too, that the most visible element of Linzy’s works–the cross dressing–is just a leitmotif in comparison to the human drama that Linzy places at the center of each episode. Finally, see how Linzy’s use of lip-syncing both distances the viewer and draws the viewer in.
Linzy’s performances and the performances of his fellow actors are certainly over-the-top, but they are compelling, distinct and memorable.
Fair warning: the sound quality on the first several episodes is poor. More fair warning: some people won’t laugh at the funny parts; don’t be one of them. Final fair warning: all episodes are not created equal, but you’ll never be bored.