If you’ve been watching LGBTQ+ content for a while, you’ll know that a lot of the times the stories are focused on heartbreaking angst or even just sex. Not that those shows or movies are bad, but sometimes, one wonders why there aren’t queer stories that are just happy romance stories or even complex plots and characters that’ll keep you on your toes the entire time. However, this year brought many surprises that I wasn’t expecting! Books adapted into movies, satirical comedies, shows…
Is this the year of change or is it yet another step the LGBTQ+ community has to take to have simple but important representation in the media? The question is yet to be answered, but 2023 surely came through with a bunch of queer movies and shows that left the audience wanting for more! From the #1 movie worldwide on Prime Video Red, White and Royal Blue, to the webtoon adapted show, Heartstopper, we’re seeing incredible things on the big screen (and streaming platforms). The community is getting comfort shows filled with diverse and wholesome characters, finally! Here are my thoughts on a few of them:
RED, WHITE & ROYAL BLUE
Red, White & Royal Blue follows the journey of Alex, the first son of the United States of America, and Henry, Britain’s Prince. After an unfortunate event where Alex and Henry make a fool of themselves in front of the world, they have to work together to make the people believe they’re actually friends and not rivals. What will their relationship look like after that? Surely not secrets, friendships, politics, and history, right…?
Even with the writers strike going on, this movie has become a hit with little to no promo! If you haven’t heard of the movie (or the book), first… where have you been?! Secondly, Red, White & Royal Blue (the book) was released in 2019 selling over 100,000 copies in the first week. Casey McQuiston, the author of the novel, won numerous awards and has since released two other LGBTQ+ novels. Red, White & Royal Blue introduced the queer romance genre to numerous audiences that weren’t necessarily the LGBTQ+ community and its success landed the author a movie deal with Prime Video. The movie was released on August 11, and since then, it hasn’t stopped taking over my For You page and timeline (not that I’m complaining…).
I highly recommend reading the book because I believe that, while the movie did a great job with the cast, the plot fell flat compared to the richness of the book. If you saw the movie and you’re begging for a sequel or a mini series and you haven’t yet read the book, do it. Trust me! I didn’t know a thing about politics and when I finished this book I felt like I could run for president while screaming Gay rights! There’s one last thing to say about this… Rom-coms are back, baby!
HEARTSTOPPER SEASON 2
Listen… is it me or has Nick Nelson become hotter? Don’t lie to me, you must’ve seen all the edits. He might have suffered in this second season, but at least he looked hot doing it! All jokes aside, Heartstopper is truly the comfort show that people (me) wanted. While I can’t speak for everyone, there’s something paramount about watching a show where the characters are experiencing love, friendship, and their sexualities in a safe environment. If we look around, there are prejudices that still harm the community nowadays. Unfortunately, despair and grief linger in the air, and still will for a long time. So, isn’t it fair to claim this beautiful show as the perfect comfort show for the community?
While season 1 showed how Charlie Spring and Nick Nelson fell in love and got together, finding important friendships and allies along the way, season 2 revealed a slightly angstier, and yet realistic, perspective of these characters. Unlike other angsty LGBTQ+ stories, Heartstopper finds the perfect balance between the happy, wholesome, and chosen family scenes and the dark, twisted aspects of unsupportive families, having to come out, and even eating disorders. As I said in the beginning, why can’t people have happy stories or complex plots or characters? Well, Alice Oseman, creator of this wonderful universe, took matters into her own hands and decided that those two factors shouldn’t be mutually exclusive and gave us Heartstopper!
“There’s this idea that when you’re not straight, you have to tell all your friends and family immediately like you owe it to them, but you don’t”
Charlie Spring, Heartstopper
BOTTOMS
Another LGBTQ+ movie that’s been trending is none other than Bottoms. This movie broke records held by the Oscar winning movie Everything, Everywhere, All At Once released last year. Although it was released in selected theaters, it didn’t stop the people from making it viral. Thankfully, the movie can be rented or purchased on Prime Video. I’ve watched this movie twice, and I can confidently say that you’ll laugh so hard. If it’s not because of the hilarious characters then it’ll be because of the absurdity of the plot. Bottoms is a satirical teen comedy that relates the pathetic lives of two best friends who are in love with the two most popular girls in the school. Trust me, watching this movie without knowing what it actually is about will make the experience way better.
Just know this movie is high up on the list of my favorite movies ever. And by the way, be careful with Hazel… you’ll fall in love. Don’t say you weren’t warned!
ARISTOTLE AND DANTE DISCOVER THE SECRETS OF THE UNIVERSE
Don’t panic guys (not like I did), but Ari and Dante are finally here! The New York Best Selling book got adapted into a movie and was released… Well, that’s the problem, isn’t it? No one knew when the movie was going to be released, there was no promo whatsoever, the Internet said it was released last year, and then in September of this year, but I couldn’t find it anywhere. I knew this kind of movie was going to be released in selected theaters, so the day I watched Bottoms, I asked the workers and not even they knew when the movie was coming out! Listen, PR and Promotion Team of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, next time call me. You need better promo…
For those who don’t know about this masterpiece, this book was written by Benjamin Alire Sáenz back in 2012. It’s what I consider one of the LGBTQ+ classics. When I read this book a couple of years ago, I couldn’t put it down. The love I felt for Aristotle, the main character, had me crying so hard in some scenes. One of the things that stuck out to me back then was how I felt like I was reading two books in one: the one I was reading and the one told in between the lines. Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe tells the story of two Mexican-American teenagers in the 80’s. Told through Aristotle’s POV, the readers follow this unique coming-of-age story of acceptance, family, relationships, and love. I’m so happy to inform you that the movie did a splendid job. It managed to capture every detail, every feeling the book evokes, and make it 10 times better. It was cinematically beautiful. From the colors to the shots, this movie is as much of a masterpiece as the book was.
Themes like self-discovery, internalized homophobia, homophobia, identity, and love are portrayed in the movie (and the book). If you’re a queer Latinx, this movie will hit you right in the feelings and leave you bare. Highly recommend this one. It was only available for a short time in cinemas, so keep an eye out for news on whether it will be streaming or not.
Although this is not nearly enough, the representation in queer movies and shows this last half of the year has been beautiful. Other shows like Sex Education, Good Omens, Our Flag Means Death, and the movie Nimona are more examples of this. If you’re wondering what to watch, I highly recommend everything that was mentioned in this article. If you’ve watched them… Well, there’s always books and fanfiction! Hopefully, one day there’s going to be even more fun, happy, and complex stories to watch and review.