by I recently watched Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and I was loving the movie because it’s about animals and animal rights, and I have always cared about animal’s well-being and protection. In the movie, Ace Ventura, who is a pet detective, as you can tell by either the title of the movie or this article, is hired to find Snowflake, the dolphin mascot of the Miami Dolphins, which was kidnapped.
Of course, the Miami Dolphins initially contacted legal authorities, but in their desperation, Melissa Robinson, played by Courtney Cox, calls Ace Ventura, played by Jim Carrey, for help. Ace is constantly disregarded and mocked by police detectives because they consider him a joke and inefficient. During his search, Ace faces tension with Lieutenant Lois Einhorn because they are constantly trying to prove one is better than the other, and their conflict grows to the point it becomes sexual and they kiss.
Eventually, Ace finds a lead on who might have kidnapped the dolphin in the first place. SPOILER ALERT! I know this is an old movie, but I totally understand if you haven’t seen it and would like to. The dolphin’s kidnapper turns out to be a Miami Dolphin’s ex kicker, Ray Finkle, who missed a field goal at the Superbowl and was blamed by Dan Marino. This led the entire people of the town and the media to judge and harass him. The biggest plot twist of the movie is when, Roy Finkle turned out to be Lt. Einhorn. He transitioned into a woman, enrolled in the police department and scaled up levels until she became a powerful authority. Her intention was to avenge her past and get back to everyone who hurt her. As soon as this was revealed, there is a full scene of Jim Carrey washing his mouth after vomiting due to the disgust Ace felt after realizing he had kissed a “man”. Which, to be honest, not only is this transphobic because the movie and the characters fail to validate Lt. Einhorn’s gender as a woman, but it is also homophobic because Ace felt repulse after kissing a man. I know this movie was released back in 1994 and audiences were not as socially conscious as they are today, but the gay community had been advocating for themselves decades before this movie was released. What’s disgusting about a man kissing a man? Why would a man kissing a woman wouldn’t be disgusting, yet a man kissing a man or a man kissing a transgender woman would be? Theoretically speaking, none of it makes sense. In terms of germ exchange, every human being has bacteria in their mouth and every kiss is a massive bacterial exchange. As many as 80 million bacteria are transferred during a 10 second kiss, according to research published in the open access journal Microbiome. The study also found that partners who kiss each other at least nine times a day share similar communities of oral bacteria (BioMed Central, 2014).
Truth be told, its necessary for our bodies to tell us if we are biologically compatible to whom we might be kissing.
During a passionate kiss, our bodies use this information to evaluate compatibility and determine whether to take things further. Some occurs at the conscious level such as interpreting signals like taste and breath. Other information is processed subconsciously. In fact, there’s science to suggest that a kiss reveals information about a partner’s very DNA, so you instinctively sense whether you may be a good genetic match (Kirshenbaum, 2018).
So, a man kissing a woman, a man kissing a man or a man kissing a transgender woman would all be disgusting. If we are to normalize bacterial exchange over expressions of love or sexual desire, we must normalize it with everyone no matter their gender or sexual preference.
Another transphobic behavior in the movie is when, without Lt. Einhorn’s consent, Ace exposed her in front of all the detectives as a transgender woman by ripping her clothes apart. By the way, ripping someone’s clothes without their consent is sexual assault, and this is problematic because it normalizes that type of violence for comedic purposes. Also, daring to rip someone’s clothes because they are a woman is misogynistic. I wonder if Ace would’ve exposed Lt. Einhorn’s clothes if she was a transgender man.
I understand this movie was released almost thirty years ago and times have changed. Every year, film productions tend to be more socially conscious and respectful, however watching and reflecting on this kind of narratives in the film industry is important to comprehend were transphobia and homophobia comes from, how it became normal to make fun of, and how detrimental it can be to several communities in a country. Not only that, but this is a clear example of the mistakes that happened in the past, and which, certainly, must never happen again. I do not believe in cancel culture and erasing this movie from the face of the earth may not help us grow as a society and lead us to potentially repeat errors. As a writer, I encourage my readers, family, and friends to question what we are consuming from movies, tv-shows, and the media. This kind of faults are a great opportunity to open our minds as viewers and consumers to analyze different perspectives and intentions in messages. We can also reach a deeper level of consciousness by observing detailed actions from a variety of characters, writers, screenwriters, and productions.
