wild how i saw the TV glow is one of the few movies a cis person cannot get fully.
you can be told the film is about being trans, and recognize some obvious points then. maybe you will come away thinking "oh, it's about gender dysphoria." but if you haven't questioned your gender this will not hit and, judging by some reactions I have seen from cis people, you can see the whole thing without recognizing the subtext and how the entire film is composed of metaphors for the trans experience woven into a fabric. it will come off as a visually interesting and well-shot surreal horror film. you will have missed most of it.
if you have had any sort of experience like that, you can see (without even trying to look) that every single damn part of the film is engineered to hit you as hard as possible. you will probably not have to be told. there is a high chance you are going to end up in shock or weeping at the end, and this is judging from the reactions of the two polycules I saw this movie with (i was in shock and putting in significant effort not to weep and i was the only person in the room still running on factory hormones)
this also goes to a lesser extent for neurotypical people. the film has a dual-lobed target audience and if you are a trans person who is anywhere on the spectrum it is likely to hit you like a 20 pound sledgehammer
tertiary target: people with asthma. if you also have trouble breathing and know what that sounds and feels like you have hit the trifecta
