For this post I will be discussing the film Nimona and it serves as a metaphor for being trans and the challenges of being trans in a culture that doesn’t accept it.
Plot Summary of Nimona
Nimona follows a knight named Ballister who is wrongly accused of killing the Queen of the kingdom. Ballister is forced to team up with a girl named Nimona who shape shift into other animals. With Nimona’s help Ballister is able to expose the true killer of the Queen, but it is later reveled that Nimona is an ancient evil “monster” who was once friends with the founder of the kingdom Gloreth. Nimona goes into a rampage, but Ballister calms her down. The film ends with supposed death and her being deemed a hero.
Nimona’s powers as a metaphor for Transness
If Nimona’s powers allow her to transform into animals, how is that a metaphor for transness? This maybe be a question that you dear reader could be asking yourself. There is an important scene in the movie that really highlights. After escaping capture, Nimona and Ballister escape into a subway, as they ride in the train Ballister asks Nimona why she just remain in human form. Nimona responds with that her powers are a part of who she is and that she is Nimona to Ballister. This scene serves as the most obvious example of Nimona being trans. She is comfortable with who she is and nobody will stop her from being herself. Nimona is here and queer. Another important scene that emphasizes the trans metaphor is the one highlighting Nimona’s past.
What does the film criticize?
Nimona serves to point out the trauma and abuse that trans children like Nimona go through when a society does not accept them. The film does also criticize the mistreatment of other queer identities due the fact that Ballister is gay. Nimona and Ballister find strength in each other. Nimona main message is that queer people deserve to treated equally by society and that parts of the past should not be forgotten. Nimona shows the audience what dehumanization can do people and the dangerous nature of hero worship and erasure of historical information. The society of Nimona is clearly fascist, which is fitting to the anti-queer nature of fascism.
Nimona and adaption
Nimona is an adaption of graphic novel/webcomic of the same name. The book has similar themes and subject matter, but goes for a different ending. Here is list of sources that I would recommend looking into to better understanding Nimona.
https://fifdh.org/en/festival/program/2024/forum/feminist-and-lgbtqia-resistance-against-fascism
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-forgotten-history-of-the-worlds-first-trans-clinic/
You can watch Nimona for free on YouTube or you can find it on Netflix. Remember fellow reader stay cool and say no to anti-trans attitudes.
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