I don’t understand how a show like heartstopper and a movie like CMBYR collect so much praise. Then a movie like Crush and a show like First Kill comes along and they’re treated like they’re not good enough? People don’t make sense.
Talking more about First Kill and how the queerness is well written but the rest is “not” thus purposefully fulfilling the shitty teen tv drama niche but for gay ppl:
Lesbian main characters are BOTH main characters they get equal time devoted to their history, motivations, feelings, and family dynamics throughout the story
Calliope, Juliette, and Ben are already fully comfortable in their sexualities and their families are fully accepting and don’t ever question it or say anything even mildly homophobic, even the shitty relatives
Calliope: She is a black, darkskin lesbian that is not treated as a love interest but as a main character in love. She’s ADORED by her girlfriend. She’s framed to be gorgeous, intelligent, sensitive and kind by the narrative. She is also treated as the child she is by her family!
The Burns: healthy, loving family, the kid from a previous relationship is still THEIR kid and brother, no one dies, they are NEVER villainized, they communicate with eachother, their love and devotion to eachother is apparent, they are actually all fleshed out characters with distinct personalities and motivations
Juliette: she feels like an outcast and sort of is one, but that’s due to her own internal conflict and social awkwardness not any external conflict with peers who are kind to her!
Ben: he’s a star athlete/jock, but still emotionally available and kind, a stellar student, well liked, loyal, the lil communication game he has with Juliette??? Hello???
Small queer things: Cal being friends with her ex, Ben and Juliette dating and figuring themselves out and staying best friends, killing off the closest case jock that refused to meet Ben even halfway and kept disrespecting him, NONE of the characters experience homophobia, tentative respect from parents about their “monster” gfs
The lore exists and is very plot relevant. And its also interesting and poetic?
Basically, this show lacks horrible stereotypes and is therefore a lesbian teen drama made for the genuine campy fun of it!
“First Kill is bad” to YOU. It was actually made for ME personally though so shut up. Sorry you can’t appreciate a pining lesbian vampire with a gay best friend that’s ride or die, a lesbian monster hunter with a neon aesthetic and a relationship with her ex, milfs, a complete lack of homophobia, monster hunting, shitty cgi, and cliche romantic tropes queer people never get to enjoy, but me? Well I can because I have TASTE
Say what you want about first kill, but the fact that we have a Black Lesbian in the mainstream is big. And this one’s particularly important because she is co-main character. She has a close knit black family that doesn’t care she is gay and who are pretty well written. Yeah this show isn’t perfect. But for a 15 year old black girl who is used to girls who look like her be the comic relief, the side character, the one that dies or only used to seeing white lesbians or light skinned lesbians, this is great. Let her enjoy it. Because I know that I would have.