Last night FX's POSE started its third and final season. It's a show that many have praised for the light it has shown on the transgender community of color in New York in the 1980s and 90s, also for the opportunities it has given transgender and queer artists both in front of and behind the camera.
But in addition to all of that, it's also a very well written show. So this week I'm going to look at some great writing ideas from the first two years of the show.
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You think of your classic TV Christmas episodes. The conceits line right up--wistful memories of childhood; absent friends; loss; family.
In episode 103, "Giving and Receiving," written by Janet Mock and Our Lady J, POSE offers all of this. We've got Pray Tell and Damon's dance instructor Helena contending with loved ones dying of AIDS; Angel being given an apartment of her own by Stan, but then having to deal with him not showing up to be with her on Christmas; Elektra and her children stealing from a Salvation Army Santa so as to have the kind of Christmas they are accustomed to.
(Okay that's not your classic Christmas episode, but it is classic POSE.)
But the heart of the episode are two scenes with Blanca and her family. In the first they tell stories of Christmases past as they decorate. In the second they're at Christmas dinner in a Chinese restaurant, their own meal having been completely messed up (another classic holiday show conceit) and Blanca gives them gifts.
In one way, the thing that unites these scenes is their poverty. The family's recollections of Christmas are full of small wins and big losses, like Damon being able to dress up queerly without being beaten up by his father for once, or Angel stealing a high heel as a kid, only to be found out and her father never treating her the same.
The gifts Blanca has for them are likewise anything but flashy--a backpack with socks; a Casio watch; a pair of high heels; a cheap camera. Not much, relatively speaking.
And yet Ricky wipes away tears when he sees the watch; you wonder when was the last time he got a Christmas gift. And sharing their stories only makes us care more for them, and them for each other.
The episode begins with the sounds of A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS playing on TV. And it's a perfect choice. Because the heart of CHARLIE BROWN is the little tree, in a sad state and soon to die. At first the kids dismiss it, but in the end they're taken by its fragility. Precisely in its poverty they find beauty, strength and wonder.
POSE brings that idea to the family as a whole. They are each that little tree, and stripping them down to that fragile core only reveals their beauty the more.
For me, it's a great reminder not to be afraid to get really real with my characters. You won't lose the audience, you'll win them.
