Roar! Back in the fall I did this great interview with Melvin Greene about my “Species are Over” t-shirt campaign. It took some time to finally surface but here it is! Roar!
Melvin Greene: Melvin Greene here, Cinema Screen Investigator! Today I’m going to get to the bottom of one of the most intriguing fashion trends to hit the streets in recent memory. I’m talking of course about the “Species are Over” campaign, and for those of you who don’t know, that’s a slogan that’s been popping up on t-shirts all over New York and Hollywood and I’m very pleased to welcome that campaign’s creator and great friend, T-Rex!
T-Rex: ROAR! Thank you for having me.
MG: Now, T-Rex, usually when you’re here we’re talking about the silver screen! A Roar in the Dark, Last Tango in the Cretaceous, and many others; you’ve been involved in many wonderful films over the years, so forgive me when I say I was a bit surprised to find you’ve become a fashion designer!
T-Rex: Roar! For me it’s really more about the message.
MG: So, what does the "Species Are Over" message mean to you?
T-Rex: Roar! I’ve existed outside of societal expectations for dinosaurs (especially an extinct one) my entire life. I’m hyper tuned-into social pressures to adhere to species norms and how protective people can be of an absolute assigned-at-birth species identity. I'm a Tyrannosaurus-reading, Tyrannosaurus assigned-at-birth but I’ve never felt personally comfortable embodying normative ideals of dinosaurs. Being a member of the queer community as a dinosaur that dates outside their species has been incredibly positive but even within the queer community there is a hierarchy of privilege to navigate. Species, class, race, colonialism, statehood, incarceration, capitalism, and gender all intersect with each other and a play major roles in the experiences each individual has and how those inform and shape their identity. It's easy to loose track of ones own privilege and how it can affect and marginalize different groups of people. Roar!
MG: Now we’re doing some real investigating! That is fascinating! And what led you to launch this campaign on a series of human-sized t-shirts?
T-Rex: Roar! The slogan is a play on “Gender is Over”. I like it because it speaks to both the individual’s relationship to their species and the individual’s capacity to challenge species norms. I really like subverting clothing styles that typically “belong” to non-dinosaur groups of people. To be honest, putting the design on something as raw and emotional as a claw cut, human shirt seemed like one of the queerest and most punk ways to go. Roar!
MG: Excellent! T-Rex, I must ask, are you concerned at all that this is perhaps an appropriation of the “Gender is Over” slogan?
T-Rex: Roar! I think this counts as fair use, and, to the best of my knowledge I'm protected as this project is considered a “parody.” Roar!
MG: “My friend, that word, I don't think it means what you think it means.” ha ha!
T-Rex: Uh...?
MG: Come on-- Princess Bride?! Er... What I mean to say is that a parody is an “an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, genre, etc... with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect or an imitation or a version of something that falls far short of the real thing; a travesty.” Wait... Is that... Is that what this is?
T-Rex: ...
MG: Well! With that we will conclude another spectacular interview with the star of screen and fashion--
T-Rex: Roar! And social change!
MG: And social change! Yes! T-Rex, thank you! Amazing! Wonderful! Fantastic!
T-Rex: Roar!
MG: Oh of course! Species Are Over merchandise, including that iconic T-shirt, is available exclusively from etsy.com/trexnyc! There’s a link posted under this video! If I didn’t have to be in uniform, I would be wearing one right now! T-Rex, great message and great shirt! Congratulations!
T-Rex: Roar! Thank you!
MG: Until next time folks, this is Melvin Greene, Cinema Screen Investigator saying, Stay Curious!