Trans life has always been under attack, but — with the Trump Administration actively stripping this community’s rights away on a daily basis — perhaps never more so than right now. It’s why an indie film like “I Saw the TV Glow” has proven such a cultural touchstone. By using the horror genre to expose the joy and turmoil of being queer, the film has connected with audiences who feel ignored and trapped by the circumstances society has put upon them.
Speaking to IndieWire’s Alison Foreman on the blue carpet at the 2025 Film Independent Spirit Awards, “I Saw the TV Glow” star Jack Haven shared how, in creating an honest reflection of queerness, the film has pushed others to accept themselves as they are rather than face the horror of embracing a falsehood.
“People are coming out as trans faster than their passports can be revoked,” Haven said, pointing to a plight made public by a recent video from Hunter Schafer. Of how queerness and horror intertwine, Haven added later, “We see that the world is always faking everything and it’s really uncomfortable and creepy and when you’re queer you can’t deny certain things about that lie and so horror is exposing what’s underneath, which is like this rotting thing.”
In truth, many may view America itself as a “rotting thing,” a fact “I Saw the TV Glow” and other pieces of independent cinema have aimed to reflect. However, when it comes to doing the work of bringing down empires, co-star Justice Smith believes creativity can only do so much.
“Art can motivate people to fight fascism. Art cannot fight fascism,” he told IndieWire. His director, Jane Schoenbrun, perhaps put it more succinctly when she said, “Bricks can fight fascism.”
As far as the impact “I Saw the TV Glow” has made on both audiences and cinema as a whole, Schoenbrun said she valued being a part of trans stories finding their way to the big screen and encouraged other trans artists to share theirs as well.
“I think it’s cool that we have contributed something to a cultural language or lexicon that paints transness as an authentic experience and not like a series of images defined and created by people leering at us,” said Schoenbrun. “I hope that the film continues to contribute to that evolution as more great trans art gets made.”