#being so interested in it you become a character in a movie

[emberkeelty]

"Filler that doesn't serve much purpose" describes all the toyetic stock footage the sponsors made them put in, sure, but it absolutely does not describe the plot and character beats that didn't make it into the movies. The writing in 0079 is some of the most purposeful and thoughtful I've seen in anime. The idea that a story being more "streamlined" automatically makes it better is such a fucked up modern idea. Art is an experience you can sit with, not just content to be consumed as fast as possible! As is the idea that art becomes outdated after however many years, frankly. (It's actually 45 years old, not 35. In some ways it very much shows its age, but that is one of the things that makes it interesting! Also, it being so old means that it is a story told by people who were alive for WWII, and that is VERY RELEVANT.)

You absolutely have "permission" to watch the compilation movies! The original post fully endorsed sticking to them if that's what you want to do! Maybe the full 0079 series is simply not an artistic experience you are interested in having, and that is fine, but it is, in fact, actually good. The movies are also good. I got into UC through the compilation movies and then went back months later to watch the series because I wanted more. I think that's a pretty good way of doing it too: watching the movies as a taster to see if the story speaks to you enough for you to want to dive deeper.

why is every post on here about "how to get into Gundam" like 400 paragraphs long.

HOW TO GET INTO GUNDAM

Either:

a.) pick whichever of the newer ones looks interesting to you

or

b.) watch Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) it holds up very, very well and will lead into its sequels (Zeta, ZZ, Char's Counterattack). The TV series is better IMO but there are also three pretty good compilation movies if you don't want to watch a full show.

Congratulations you are now Into Gundam

[your-unfriendlyghost]

you think any of the guys in the s.e. hinton-verse would be into star wars?? I feel like johnny def would, steve at first pretends to hate it but would stand in the living room in that arms-crossed-dad-way while someone is watching and end up being super into it, potentially unpopular opinion but pony would Not be a fan of any sci-fi shit, it feels too easy to mention m&m but I mean c’mon lmao 😭😭 but idk!! dump your thoughts if you’re interested ksjsksjd

Yeah definitely! Star Wars comes out in the ‘77, ig, I think they allude to it in “Tex” (Jamie says smth abt “the smuggler” in the the movie she saw being hot, n the only film w/ a smuggler in it that came out then that I know of is “A New Hope”), so by the time The Outsiders greasers see it, they’re in their mid-late 20s? Idk I’m not gonna think hard abt the timeline lol

-Johnny would automatically like it, b/c it’s fast paced and fun and just a good time.

-Dally would probably be a Han Solo fan but ya couldn’t pay him to admit it out loud. But he high key wants to be Harrison Ford. -Cherry would 100% like Leia I think! She’d go into Star Wars thinking it’s a silly kid movie but she’d end up really liking it

-You’re right, I think Pony’s a sci-fi hater. He’d like Star Wars for the uniqueness (for the time lol lord knows the market’s oversaturated nowadays), but he wouldn’t be particularly eager to see the next films unless he’s going with Johnny or Cherry or some other friend. He just can’t imagine wanting to be someplace so…alien, even if it’s just in your imagination?? (Idk that’s why I don’t usually /love/ sci fi, so)

-Soda would go nuts about the ships. If he’d been a little kid when he first saw it, he’d have totally collected little starship toys (totally not projecting or anything) He’d get bored during the slower parts, but he’d get real into the fight scenes

-Steve would dislike Luke Skywalker because he reminds him of Ponyboy. But he’d love the starships like Soda, and he’d like Han Solo like Dally. He’d act like he’s too cool to like it, but he also is one of the first ones in line to get tickets when “Empire” comes out a few years later. He’d definitely prefer American Graffiti tho over Star Wars- more hot rods, more drag racing, more good music (btw John, the greaser in AG, and the little girl, Carol, are like 70% Steve and Ponyboy to me lol)

-Darry would think it’s a kid film, but he’d end up liking it okay

-Two-Bit would think it’s cool, but he’d also be kinda drunk and not sure how much of it was actually in the film and how much of it was just him being buzzed. Leia would low-key remind him of Marcia, although that could just be because they’re both hot brunettes with sharp tongues. Marcia would adore the comparison

-M&M strikes me as a sci fi enjoyer so I bet he’d become a Star Wars nerd. The only thing I guess he wouldn’t be keen on is the war part seeing as he’s a hippie n all. But ig the point of Star Wars is…ending the war and achieving peace, so that seems in line w/ his beliefs? Idk my Ma’s a former hippie and she always dug Star Wars so I think it’s fine lol

May rb w/ more characters later, idk!

[mr-culper]

You know, one thing amazes me, I see it all the time, in real life, in books, in movies. I don't understand why people don't realize one simple true. There's a really interesting scene in episode six of season two of House of the Dragon. The scene where Alicent steps up to Aemond after the Small Council meeting and says: “Have the indignities of your childhood not yet sufficiently been avenged? ” She doesn't understand everything that Aemond had in his life, especially in his childhood, made him the person he is now. It's not about whether his indignities were avenged or not.

He is already the person his journey has shaped him into.

In this scene, Alicent kind of asks Aemond to stop, but she doesn't understand he has passed the point where retreat is possible; whether he still wants to or not, turning back is no longer an option. There has to be something so important to Aemond in the balance pan so that he stops from turning Westeros to fire and blood. And that something, I think, is love.

Love could stop Aemond. But no one wants to give it to him. Even worse, no one in his family has thought to measure off Aemond a little bit of love and compassion for years. If we want a man to give up war, offering him something instead is the necessary thing to do. However, Alicent in this scene asks Aemond to stop being a war criminal, but gives him nothing. She provides him no alternative. So he continues to push forward on this destructive way he's taken.

There is a similar scene in Black Sails, only there the character is given a different path, and ultimately, he makes a choice in favor of this proffered alternative. In season four, Silver asks Flint would he trade the war to have Thomas Hamilton back again or not. And this alternative that Silver offers, albeit theoretically – they didn't yet know Thomas is alive, although Silver already guessed it, but wasn't sure of it – this alternative is so significant and serious for Flint that the scales are balanced. On the one hand – war, rage, revenge, destruction and death; on the other – peace, tranquility, love, future and life.

It would seem that for most people, sensible ones, the choice is obvious and simple here, and in the end, Flint abjures violence and chooses love. However, this decision was not easy for him to make, because both he and Aemond are on the same path: he is already the person his journey has shaped him into. Even the theoretical probability of returning to who Flint was, taking into account what kind of person he has become over the past ten years, seems utterly inconceivable to him.

Flint doesn't even answer Silver when he asks. Only after a long while does Flint say: John, you asked me, I gave you no answer then, but I'm telling you now – I don't know, in truth, I have no idea what I would do if I really faced with such a choice. Flint said, in all honesty, he doesn't know would he choose love over war?

When Flint was James McGraw, he would have given up on the war right then and there, without a second thought. But he is not James McGraw anymore. He is Captain Flint, and Flint is a completely different person. It's the same with Aemond. It is totally unimaginable for him to turn back when Alicent asks him if the indignities of his childhood have not yet sufficiently been avenged. We remember, by that time he had already killed Luke and crippled his brother. Aemond has taken his revenge. So why doesn't he stop after that? Whom is he taking revenge on now?

The matter is that at some point Aemond, in exactly the same way as Flint does, begins to avenge every bit of pain that was caused to him not only on his offenders, but on the whole world, on the entire personification of what has been hurting him for so long. It's quite possible, by the way, Aemond takes revenge not only for the insults, but also for the love that was not given to him, I mean, for its absence.

Before Aemond had his eye cut out, he would probably have let go of all his grudges, chosen some kind of peaceful path. I already said in the previous episode that, firstly, Aemond has a heart, and secondly, it is merciful. (I didn't come up with it, Ewan Mitchell talked about mercy himself.) But Aemond had to turn his heart to stone because of everything surrounded him. Joe Abercrombie has a character, Isern-i-Phail, who often repeated to one of the main characters next words: “You must make of your heart a stone”. I think somewhere inside Aemond has a similar Isern-i-Phail, giving to him the same advice. Because Aemond has made of his heart a stone as well.  

His heart was very soft, but it became very black.

Ewan Mitchell even said in one of his interviews Aemond would most likely have become a maester. But Aemond's eye was cut out – just like Flint's heart did when Thomas was taken away – and he became not a maester, but a dangerous and skilled warrior. Aemond chose the path of war and revenge. The same one Flint had been moving along for ten years.

Actually, there are many parallels between Flint and Aemond. They are both extremely tender and vulnerable on the inside, but absolutely bulletproof, stern and explosive on the outside. Both bear an open, constantly bleeding wound in their hearts. Both are without equal in how far they are willing to go for the sake of their goal or their revenge. But the most interesting thing is that both of these characters have enormous potential of doing good works. Only the pain caused to both of them turned out to be so great it has just about blocked all that is good in them completely. Both Aemond and Flint had gotten burned so badly that later they are almost unable to deviate from the path they took because of it, because of this old burn wound.

Perhaps Alicent doesn't understand why Aemond acts the way he does, why he cannot change his course, because she perceives life differently. Easier in a way, although she has many her own overwhelming internal affairs as well. Because again, Aemond, like Flint, takes things that happen to him very personally. So personally, it ultimately leads to wars and catastrophes. This element of resistance inside them both, it is so strong, their rage and inability to leave the dark and ugly road they are walking, at the very end of which there is the gaping mouth of the grave. They didn't want to enter upon this path, Flint didn't want to, Aemond didn't want to, but they did. When it happens, one can't do otherwise. There are things that affect us, and we become who we do. Some people are made of good things, while others consist of unhealed wounds. It's a matter of luck, in a way.

Neither Aemond nor Flint would have chosen this path of their own free will; pain forced them to take this step. Now, turning back to what was before is almost unthinkable for them. Although it is possible. Only for that a powerful alternative is required. In the case of James Flint, we see he pulled round, he got out the dark towards the light. But this happened only because he had an alternative. Aemond has no alternative and never had one, so he began to descend into the darkness lower and lower, and according to the book, he will end up in the darkness. According to the show, most likely, he will too.

That's an excerpt from the new episode of the Tea & Rum podcast 'No one is born to be a villain'.

To find more episodes go to Boosty.

[salvadorbonaparte]

January 2025 in Films

Hey what if I do these monthly?!

Godzilla Minus One (2023) - I love a big scary lizard but I love stories of hope and perseverance and of trauma and horrors of war even more so you can imagine the great time I was having crying while watching this

Mutt Boy (2003) - the protagonist's dog is killed and eaten by bullies and he should have been allowed to go full John Wick on them. He does get to beat people though, which is a plus. A very weird film but somehow enchanting. Also a rare example of a film with a mentally disabled protagonist without it being the main focus

Operation Mincemeat (2021) - pretty standard when it comes to based on a true story WW2 spy stuff but fun to watch

Steel Rain (2017) - character dynamics reminiscent of a buddy cop movie, blatantly propaganda and weirdly pro nuclear weapons but also surprisingly nuanced in some ways, some really fun and tragic character moments

Steel Rain 2: Summit (2020) - fascinating choice to have the same actors in different roles and switching nationalities, a lot sillier and a lot more convoluted than the first one, works pretty well as a satire and once again surprises with some character dynamics

Conclave (2024) - Edward Berger's sins (his all quiet adaptation) have been forgiven. So beautifully shot. Like 12 angry men both in some plot aspects and in the way I was surprisingly on the edge of my seat despite it just being old men talking. The plot twist made me gasp

A City of Sadness (1989) - tfw a film called a city of sadness is actually sad... I've screamed about this film before but insane how it portrays mundane beauty in times of political terror, really interested in disappearances and presences in it, my first Taiwanese film and made me really curious about Taiwanese history

In the Mood for Love (2000) - I put off watching this for years because I wasn't in the right mood and then it peeled me like an orange, a film that feels like basking under the warm glow of an infrared lamp while it tears you apart at the seams

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - Paul Newman I love your salad dressing! Great landscapes and an outlaw polycule

Kommt ein Vogel geflogen (2023) - the poster has a parrot and an old timey German font so I jokingly asked if the parrot is a Nazi and then the parrot actually was a Nazi. Insane film. Funny in a surreal fever dream way. Takes itself too seriously at times but really good when taken as satire

Eternal Summer (2006) - deeply moving and tender, filled with so much yearning I had to hold my breath at times, yearning so intense it becomes self destructive and isolating, I'd argue the ending is more ambiguous and positive than some claim

Girlfriend Boyfriend (2012) - it's only fair that after Eternal Summer Joseph Chang plays the gay yearning part of the love triangle this time, more yearning to the point of self destruction or how the film puts it "the bitterness is self-inflicted", an exploration of teenage rebellion succumbing to adulthood and the changing political landscape

The Silent War (2012) - Good news this included two research interests at the same time and also Tony Leung. Bad news it wasn't very good. Really difficult to find online with English subtitles.

Soul (2013) - this one was surprisingly difficult to find with English subtitles at first but worth the search, a very quiet slow horror film but still shook me to the core, I loved the ambiguity between possession and mental illness because in the context of the movie does that even matter?

[ourlittlesister2015]

Journey to the West [西遊] (2014), dir. Tsai Ming-liang

[lgbtlunaverse]

So I watched A Silent Voice with some but minor knowledge of the story going in. And right at the beginning when Shoko's bullying started I had the nagging worry that while Ishida would be redeemed they'd leave Ueno and Kawai as one-dimensional bullies. Painting the girls as the "real villains" while the male protagonist got to have depth. Anyway I just finished the movie and I would like to formally apologize to Oima Yoshitoki and Yoshida Reiko I should never have doubted you.

[icewindandboringhorror]

sneeping with his legs up over his head for some reason... weird boye

[sonknuxadow]

jesus christttt im not surprised at all to hear that the knuckles series focuses on wade and other human characters a lot i saw this coming a mile away with how almost all the news we were getting before the trailer came out was about the human characters/actors and not about knuckles (or sonic or tails or any other animated characters) but the fact that somebody calculated how many minutes of screentime knuckles has and it came out as LESS THAN HALF OF THE ENTIRE SERIES' RUNTIME when the series is NAMED after him is ridiculous. after this show comes out wade will likely have more screentime and overall plot relevance in the entire scu than tails does. did they actually think wade is a popular enough character for people to be down with this. what the fuck

[designernishiki]

as much as a i understand and respect ace kiryu truthers, i really feel like kiryu is the type to really take the idea to heart that sex is something vulnerable and meaningful and thus reserved for someone completely trusted and special to him– someone who feels right. after years and years he’s still never legitimately voluntarily slept with someone, always tries to turn women away or is at least apathetic when they try to get physical with him, never feels that deep and specific bond with a woman– nothing compared to some of his bonds with other men throughout his life. and maybe, hopefully, one day it’ll hit him that there’s a pretty big, glaring reason why no women have ever felt “right” to him.

[musical-chick-13]

See, I think the thing about deranged, toxic relationships in fiction, is that everyone involved has to actively choose to walk into or keep coming back to this relationship. That's the interesting part for me. What would make someone, against every single ounce of reason, decide that being in a relationship like that is genuinely worth it for them? Why would someone willingly put themselves in that situation? What has to be going on in their psyche? What do they get (or think they get) out of it?

If the toxicity is one-sided or one party is completely railroaded into the relationship at every turn until they finally cave, or there's some outside force trapping both of them in the relationship and they don't actually want to be there, that's not particular interesting to me, personally.

(Obviously, other people can disagree with this; people have a wide variety of opinions and ways they engage with fiction, which is good, actually. I'm simply talking about my own thoughts.)

[comixandco]

an isekai story where it’s slowly revealed that every single character in the story is a person who died and woke up there and none of them are the original characters

everybody keeps walking around each other trying to act like who they’re meant to be and trying to keep the story on track but they’re all just keeping up pretences because there’s nobody to keep the story on track for anymore

[my-thoughts-and-junk]

love an eccentric wizard and their nonmagical apprentice. you love to see it

[unproduciblesmackdown]

withering whenever it's like "can't believe they did this Horror in tv y7 media" type thing When what that means is "made a reference to r rated horror movie" like can't believe an evident approximation of Recognizably Specific character or sequence or whatever is in there. like why not. and why is that in & of itself Impressive like well is the scene actually good / is whatever the Reference is being used for effective even without going "i get that reference." do we expect a kid to get the reference. do we expect it to be that motivating to be like "oh shit here it comes. clapping & cheering for Getting The Reference which is the only reason i showed up" like i fucking guess. that "yes, i too Get The Reference" motivation sure Apparently existing but it's so alien(tm) to me (oh my God this media that's not Teens & Up showed a Xenomorph(tm) (but not (tm) so as to be sued?) how?? &, the vision of this, i guess) like does the thing (oh my god. another generally recognizable horror movie. or movie poster) make sense if you don't go "ah, i know exactly what's being referenced :)", is there any broader Effect even if you do Get It. idgaf about clapping b/c They Said (A) Thing i recognize from other media & can like turn & be like "ah did you recognize this as well? delightful" like help. agonizing even if it Doesn't have any meaning If You Do Not Get It. was horrified myself at some interview doing a billions(tm) style Movie Quotation to expand on what someone said by going "oh it's like that scene in movie where she says quote & does moment that makes a trailer" & i was like yeah i do know that material but why was that Specifically invoked to make a point so generic it's barely relevant to that elaborate interruption....like that obviously i think it can be a lot of fun if someone is like "ah i too know that thing" but only if that leads to relevant in depth shared enjoyment of Some sort of specific element. not like oh hell yeah high five over the most superficial thing, or it being a bummer / Shame if you Don't too know that thing, who give a shit. i've never seen anything ever. but preexisting References / whatever passed around description/invocation of peak recognizable / memorable / relevant element sure reach me such that like oh yeah i Know Of xyz sequence without having ever seen that thing. probably without necessarily realizing b/c it had any function in its source material without knowing "ah, this is a reference. & i know it" & like there's no [wow this is a reference to whatever] that would motivate me in & of itself, i think the peak motivation was this sweet spot of like, i was Barely Online before being fourteen & already liked things as an individual experience so the idea that there were other people Liking & Knowing the same thing seemed a lot more impressive for a time lol. but it would still have to be specific enough, might've been like "ooh a reference to thing??" several times & then been like okay that wasn't that rewarding lol

obviously a matter of Taste like idc it's grating to me but have fun with [a reference??] revelry, i'm not making a specificass blog post to an audience of Four with this drive like "oh how i wish that this was Illegal" just like idgaf about wordplay/pun haters like whee yippee i'm a connoisseur, we're obviously having different experiences, i'm meanwhile also having the experience that i don't give a shit about Getting a reference alone or along with anyone else, regardless of any other effect [that which happens to be a reference] has / is used for. or it's like the Huh, What, of "when i like i song i'll memorize at least part of it probably, i like to sing along, if not Extra liking it & memorizing Most or All of it, perhaps with extra effort" (me) vs other people like huh wha i've never memorized a song in whole, much less on purpose, b/c i liked it. vs even if there's a song i really like (like a source material being referenced that i really like) i'm not gonna respond to Just The Title or effective title like half line from the refrain or anything, unsung. gimme a karaoke moment. idk

[inkskinned]

they will need to whipstitch the wound closed, but embroidery is a "woman's" task. they will need to eat and clean and mend clothes, but why learn basic things when you can have a woman measure out your life in beads. he will be the "head" of your house, but if you want him to act accordingly, you must assign him a list of all applicable activities. you will be otherwise constantly in charge of almost-everything; so he will lead the house he is absent from.

in movies and books, the "cool" girl will be more-like-a-man. she will be "less boring," more "fun". she will have masculine ideas and masculine talents, which means a man doesn't have to change in order to find her fascinating. she will disdain of something as simple as stitching. how boring!

she will kick open the door of a car and quip what, girls can't drive? and flip her long hair down one side. she will grill and shoot a gun and skydive. be a guy. she will be sexualized.

somewhere, working on computers becomes a masculine task, and now on tv a gen-z disney character throws her hands up in the air. i can't be a computer science nerd, i'm a girl! in the real life, she will be unable to sit through some of her classes, shivering when she realizes she is the only woman present in several of them.

how many times have you read this book and seen this show and watched this movie. the singular woman is allowed 5 lines because she's not just smart! she's also pretty! she is surrounded by 20 average men, but she is stunning. she is the exception to the bland, pale lives of women-at-home, who will never be shown. she likes dirt and motorbikes and blood and shows up in a tiny dress during the final scene, rolling her eyes at our male lead's incredulity - just because i like motorcross doesn't mean anything. i'm still a woman, okay? i actually like shopping.

it is almost never reversed, and you think about that often. it is vanishingly rare to have a single man in a cast of women. the male love interest does not show up at a feminist march and sardonically squint at our leading lady - what? you thought only women care about human rights? he does not know how to balance a checkbook or kickbox because i grew up with three sisters.

when he cooks he is a chef, which is sexy. when he cleans, he's being kind, genteel. when he nurtures his family, confetti rains from the ceiling. when she does these things: it is her duty and her identity. what do you mean she has other passions and hobbies? isn't her hobby and passion homemaking?

the other day a friend embroidered a seam closed on your jacket into the shape of ivy. every time you touch it, you think of her.

something about women's hobbies and art and skills. something about women's work.

[o-wild-west-wind]

While I’m still a bit bummed that they didn’t go with a more book-aligned POC Fiyero for the Wicked movie, I’ve been thinking (heheh) about how his being white highlights the really interesting foil relationship between him and Glinda (and, in many ways, the audience yourself).

At its core, Wicked is a cautionary tale about propaganda, (literal) scapegoating, and what it means to uphold the status quo. The audience is watching through Glinda’s eyes—it is through her, arguably the most beautifully tragic character of the show, that we learn how lonely life becomes when you forfeit your values in favor of systemic power and likability (“No One Mourns the Wicked” is, in many ways, about HER).

Now, this is where Fiyero’s whiteness can get interesting—if you consider him and Glinda to share roughly equal footing at the beginning in terms of privilege/how much they have to lose (applying our real-world lens of race and power here, where whiteness is the apex), his storyline essentially represents what could have happened if Glinda had made the brave (and arguably wise and loving, if you’re picking up what I’m putting down 👀) choice to go with Elphaba and fight the good fight (this is also why I feel like a queer reading of G&E’s relationship is almost implicit to the story, but I digress).

As the POC/marginalized allegory, Elphaba has much less of a real choice in her curtain-pulled-back turning point. But Fiyero and Glinda—both representing privilege—get to choose. So in Act II, we see the consequences of both the choice to stay (Glinda) and to go (Fiyero). In Fiyero’s case, his ultimate rejection of his own power, privilege, and even beauty leads to immense physical loss—including his own body—but that is then compared to the loss of love, community, and identity that we see Glinda left with by the end. And this brings us to the question that the audience is left grappling with: in an unjust system where loss is inevitable (a.k.a. our own world, as the Wizard himself represents), which of these things are YOU more willing to give up?

It’s important that Glinda is an empathetic character because, in reality, most people are going to be Glindas (obvi this is nuanced among us Elphabas of marginalized identities, but I’d still argue that there’s some level of Glinda in us all)—and it’s important to be rattled by the end of the show when you realize that she is the one who has the sad ending. But it’s also so important that Fiyero is empathetic (which I’m SO glad this movie leaned into)—because he’s ultimately who Glinda—and thus we, as the audience���should have been.

And especially given the state of US politics right now…this is just all more relevant than ever.

[aletterinthenameofsanity]

Y'know, there's this gripe I've had for years that really frustrates me, and it has to do with Love, Simon and people joking about it and calling it too-pg and designed-for-straight-people and all the like. (A similar thing has happened to Heartstopper, but that's another conversation.)

I saw Love, Simon in theaters when it came out my senior year in high school. I saw it three times, once with my friends/parents on opening night, once with my brother over spring break, and once with my grandparents.

On opening night, the air in the room was electric. It was palpable. Half the heads in there were dyed various colors. Queer kids were holding hands. We were all crying and laughing and cheering as a group. My friends grabbed my hands at the part where Simon was outed and didn't let go until his parents were saying that they accepted him. My friend came out to me as non-binary. Another person in our group admitted that she had feelings for girls. It was incredible. I left shaking. This was the first mainstream queer romance movie that had ever been produced by one of the main five studios, and I know that sounds like another "first queer character from Disney" bit but you have to understand that even in 2018 this was groundbreaking. Getting to have a sweet queer rom-com where the main character was told that he got "to breathe now" after coming out meant so much to me and my friends.

But also, from a designed-for-straight-people POV (which, to be frank, it was written by a bisexual author and directed by a gay man, this was not designed for straight audiences), why is it a bad thing that it appealed to the widest possible audience? That it could make my parents and grandparents see things in a new light? My stepdad wasn't at all interested in rom-coms but he saw it with me because it was something I cared about and he hugged me when we came out of the theater. My very Catholic grandparents watched it with me and though my grandpa said he still didn't quite understand the whole 'gay thing,' all he wanted was for me to be happy and to have a happy ending like Simon did. My Nana actually cried when Simon came out and squeeze my hand when his mother told him he could breathe.

And when Martin blackmailed Simon, my mom, badass ally that she is, literally hissed "Dropkick him. Dropkick him in the balls" leading to multiple queer kids in the audience to laugh or smile. Having my parents there- the only parents, by the way, out of my group of queer and questioning friends- made multiple people realize that supportive adults were out there. That parents like those in Love, Simon do exist in real life.

When people complain about Heartstopper not being realistic or Love, Simon being too cutesy, I remember seeing Love, Simon on opening night. I remember my friend coming out and my stepdad hugging me and my mom defending us through this character. I remember the cheers that went through the audience when Bram and Simon kissed and the chatter in the foyer after the movie was over and the way that this movie made me understand that happy endings do exist.

Queer kids need happy endings. Straight people need entry points to becoming allies. Both of these things can come together in beautiful ways. They can find out about more queer culture later, but for now, let them have this. Let them all have a glimpse at a better, happier world. Let them have queer joy.