#staritxt

[staribon]

Everyone has the right to their own opinion for sure but since i’m seeing so many people hating on and bashing Heartstopper lately now that it's a live action Netflix show and really in the public eye there’s so much stuff I see these people refuse to acknowledge about it before going online and being so negative about it without even watching it or reading the source material. 

I for one am so so glad to see something like this become mainstream and popular. Like this is a show that gets actual young adult/teen actors to play teenagers AND gets real POC to play roles written for POC AND actual trans actors to play trans characters. That alone is actually pretty monumental and reason enough to support it even if it’s not your thing because if we don’t ensure that it does well these corporations won’t greenlight stuff like this anymore and we’ll have even less representation. 

It’s also really really amazing for a smaller content creator and not some big wig executive to be getting the chance to tell a story on a platform that can reach a lot of people! Again it’s important to support things like this! Support stuff made by small creators support artists who are queer and POC! 

Unfortunately, not every single piece of media was made to specifically cater to your life experiences. For me as a queer POC I relate to both the comic and the show a lot. To see people hating the show so much and calling it corporate, unfeeling, and unrealistic or whatever is so invalidating to my own experiences considering… I relate to it!! Like are my experiences any less valid than yours because I relate to and enjoy a light hearted Netflix show? 

I also feel like a lot of people are either not researching or forgetting that the original comic is literally made by an aroace nonbinary writer/artist, Alice Oseman, and that they were very involved in the creation for the show. Don’t we want these opportunities for creators?  Personally, I don't feel that anyone has the right to say something has no value representation wise when it's literally made by someone who is in the community they seek to represent. Not that you can't critique content made by queer people about being queer (or poc content made for poc people for that matter) or dislike it, of course you can and should, but this "all or nothing" mentality the internet seems to have developed in regards to rep is so frustrating to see. Not all rep is good rep to me sure but with Heartstopper it's literally just... what too happy and silly? Literally what is wrong with that?

I think our community has enough sad depressing media and enough stories telling us we're going to die in the end and enough stories telling us we only exist to be comic relief for haha funny jokes or to be fetishized through bizzare sex scenes. Like the fact we even have a silly romcom for teens is such a good step forward. I know Heartstopper isn't the pinnacle of gay rep, but nothing ever will be!! Nothing is ever going to be perfect with absolutely no problems or things to improve on nor is any piece of media going to be able to encompass every single queer experience on the planet. I just think it's unfair to write off a piece of media written from a genuine place of love and care made by someone IN the community for reasons like that. We can just appreciate it for what it is. Holding it to such high standards as if it's claiming to be some cinematic masterpiece makes no sense when that’s not at all what it’s trying to be. Having a few cute stories isn't hurting anyone. Just because you personally can't see yourself in something doesn't mean other people can't. Shouldn't you be glad kids are seeing themselves in the show even if you can’t...? 

Like idk maybe let people enjoy something happy and low stakes for once (not that the show doesn’t have its fair share of teen drama). If you hate Heartstopper that's fine but literally why go online and complain about it and make people feel like they don't belong in the community because you don't like it or relate to it yourself? Literally just don't watch it, block the tags, and unfollow people so you don't have to see it? 

Maybe just ask yourself if you’re really angry at this little show about gay teenagers coming of age or if you’re actually angry at society for creating a system that erases our voices so much that we only have a fraction of the variety of content cishet people get and thereby there’s nothing custom made for you. 🤷

[staribon]

Not me getting excited to gain a new follower but it's just a porn bot smh 😔