You are here:

Keyboard Fantasies

Keyboard Fantasies

Representation Score

7.1/10

Good

2021

Director

Posy Dixon

Runtime

71 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Keyboard Fantasies is an outstanding example of storytelling that reflects multiple aspects of identity. It moves beyond simple inclusion to offer a complex meditation on how identity, art, and time intersect. The film frames personal evolution as a profound disruption of traditional social and gender norms. The documentary's strength lies in its ability to center the role of Glenn-Copeland in shaping their narrative. By documenting their journey from the 1986 creation of a genre-defying album to their contemporary emergence, the film challenges conventional biographical structures. Ultimately, the work celebrates the liberation found in reclaiming one’s narrative, using the 'lost' nature of the original music as a metaphor for suppressed identities waiting for the right cultural moment.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Keyboard Fantasies have LGBTQ+ representation?

Excellent

The film explores gender transition and the evolution of identity in a deep and meaningful way. It avoids oversimplified clichés and portrays non-cisgender existence as a continuous, evolving process of artistic freedom.

How does Keyboard Fantasies portray gender?

Excellent

By focusing on a narrative that goes beyond binary gender roles, the film challenges traditional gender hierarchies. It presents a sophisticated view of self-discovery that moves beyond conventional masculine or feminine stereotypes.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Keyboard Fantasies?

Good

The documentary offers insights into a Black artist navigating the intersections of race and gender. It highlights how systemic exclusion can impact creative output within niche electronic music.

How does Keyboard Fantasies represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The narrative celebrates a form of secular, individualized spirituality. It emphasizes the importance of personal truth over established institutional expectations and traditional Western social structures.

Does Keyboard Fantasies include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no explicit evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities within the film.

Present on Screen

  • Provides a nuanced, non-reductive depiction of gender transition and identity evolution.
  • Challenges traditional gender hierarchies through a sophisticated portrayal of self-discovery.
  • Offers a complex, multi-layered look at the experience of a Black artist.
  • Celebrates individualized spirituality and rebellion against social conformity.

Limited or Absent

  • The narrative focuses primarily on the individual rather than broader racial sociopolitical structures.

Official Synopsis

As a sci-fi obsessed woman living in near isolation, Beverly Glenn-Copeland wrote and self-released Keyboard Fantasies in Huntsville, Ontario back in 1986. Recorded in an Atari-powered home-studio, the cassette featured seven tracks of a curious folk-electronica hybrid, a sound realized far before its time. Three decades on, the musician – now Glenn Copeland – began to receive emails from people across the world, thanking him for the music they’d recently discovered.

How are these scores produced? →

Where to Watch

Rate this Movie

No rating selected
Use arrow keys to select a rating from 1 to 5 stars
Optional text review, maximum 2000 characters
Tip: Wrap spoilers with ||double pipes|| to hide them
0/2000 characters
You must be signed in to submit a rating

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts on this movie!

Use the rating form above to leave a star rating and optional review.