If you’re eager to see Spider-Man in drag, Arcade Fire has the video for you!
For their song ‘We Exist,’ about gay youth, the band filmed Andrew Garfield as he shaves his head, dons a wig, skirt and blouse and heads to a biker bar. Things don’t go well there, and he winds up fantasizing a dance sequence and eventually appearing onstage with Arcade Fire at Coachella.
Fans at that concert probably didn’t know they were watching Garfield when a disoriented woman wandered onstage mid-song.
There has been debate about whether the video depicts a man in drag or a transgender woman. Some in the transgender community are upset that the band didn’t cast a transgender actor in the role. Arcade Fire’s Win Butler countered that casting a big-name celebrity would better drive the message home to young fans.
Nobody has complained that the song’s beat is straight-up ‘Billie Jean.’
They’re walking around
Head full of sound
Acting like
We don’t exist
They walk in the room
And stare right through you
Talking like
We don’t exist
But we exist
Daddy it’s true
I’m different from you
But tell me why they treat me like this?
If you turned away
What would I say?
Not the first betrayed by a kiss
[Chorus]
Maybe it’s true
They’re staring at you
When you walk in the room
Tell ’em it’s fine
Stare if you like
Just let us through
Just let us through
Na na na na na na na
Na na na na na na na
[Verse 2]
They’re down on their knees
Begging us please
Praying that we don’t exist
Daddy it’s fine
I’m used to ’em now
But tell me why they treat me like this?
It’s cause we do it like this
[Chorus]
[Refrain]
Let ’em stare! Let ’em stare!
If that’s all they can do!
But I’d lose my heart
If I turn away from you
[Verse 3]
Oh Daddy don’t turn away
You know that I’m so scared
But will you watch me drown?
You know we’re going nowhere
We know that we’re young
And no shit we’re confused
But will you watch us drown?
What are you so afraid to lose?
Down on my knees
Begging us please
Praying that we don’t exist
You’re down on your knees
Begging us please
Praying that we don’t exist
We exist!(x4)
Maybe if you hang together
You can make the changes in our hearts
And if you hang together, you can change us
Just where should you start?
Meet Me In Montauk 
Do you think he really was on stage during a live show or did they just make it look that way through creative editing?
From what I’ve read, they shot it live at the concert without telling people who s(he) was.
Evan posted this on our GSA group page a couple of weeks ago, and I wasn’t sure what to think of it then – or now. I do think part of the problem is the stunt casting of Andrew Garfield, which somehow doesn’t work nearly as effectively in a music video as Jared Leto’s performance does in Dallas Buyer’s Club, where a character is given the opportunity to evolve. Not a big fan of the song either. Still, it certainly does provoke thought and conversation.