Parvathy S
Love, Victor is a 2020 Netflix series which came out as a sequel to the popular movie Love, Simon. The story features Victor, a confused teenager from Texas questioning his sexuality, in the same universe as Love, Simon. He goes to the same school Simon went to and while Simon has been successful in his quest to find happiness in his sexuality, Victor aims to have at least a part of that same happiness Simon boldly found. Victor and his family have just moved to Atlanta and he immediately becomes friends with his neighbor Felix attending the same school. This show might seem a bit more on the fun side but they have explored several layers of queer questioning and acceptance in the story.
Victor starts school at a new place and immediately two people come into his life; Benjie, the openly gay student, and Mia, the pretty girl in class. We can see Victor struggling to make sense of his crush towards Benjie but at the same time ignoring those feelings and choosing to date Mia. Even though it might seem different from what he truly wants, it is quite a relatable gesture picking someone of the opposite sex to make your life seem more ‘normal’ as society has deemed fit. While Victor’s feelings toward Mia aren’t real he does genuinely care about her a lot and in the initial stages of his questioning, he mistakes that affection for attraction. Even though it is not a right thing to do to lead someone on with false expectations, Victor is struggling to make sense of himself equally along with it.
One of the nuances through which the series showcases queer struggles is the representation of a quite conservative family. Victor’s family is very homophobic and they sometimes even joke around by saying mean things about gay people. Having grown up in such a household, we can see Victor being in a metaphorical chokehold where he just needs to breathe so desperately. Benjie comes over to Victor’s house for his birthday and he tells his family that Benjie is gay and his family is triggered. Afterwards his father tells him there is nothing wrong in Benjie being gay, as long as he is not his son. When Victor finally decides enough is enough and comes out to his family as being gay, his family responds by keeping his younger brother away since they don’t want to expose the child to such things. When Victor finally starts dating Benjie, he invites him over for dinner and seeing Benjie his mother throws away the food she cooked. Even though these are only just a few of the incidents in the show, it shows how difficult it is to be gay in a homophobic household.
Among all the homophobia in the show, the most beautiful thing in the story is Simon being Victor’s friend and helping him figure out his sexuality. Even though they haven’t technically met before, Victor is bold enough to send out a text to Simon seeking advice. And thus begins the most precious relationship between them. The main reason why this point should be highlighted is that, it is very hard to live in an environment where you are the only queer person around. There have been times, even personally, where queer kids have wished for company from other queer folks. It is never because straight or cis people can’t be of help or not be there for you. But it is like learning there is someone out there in the world who speaks your language and you have been lost for so long having no one to understand you, and you finally find that understanding. Having queer friends is a great source of happiness for any questioning person.
One of the most endearing parts of the show was when Victor suddenly goes to meet Simon and meets his other queer friends instead. Victor learns Simon has been sharing their messages with the group and gets mad but then Simon arrives only to chase Victor and provide him with the best explanation. He says in order to help Victor with his problems and to give advice, he needed his queer friends. Simon was still just a college kid and he was so afraid of giving Victor the wrong answers to his questions. So he points out each friend from the group and talks about why each of them were necessary to give Victor good advice.
“I know you want me to be this guru who has all the answers, but the truth is I don't. And I didn't want to push you too hard or tell you the wrong thing or make your life any harder than it already was. Like you said, in your first message, we’re not the same. I never had a girlfriend, but Bram did. I didn’t have super religious parents, but Justin did. Every one of my friends had a little bit to offer, a little piece of the puzzle. They weren't sitting around laughing about your life. They were in your corner, listening, and helping, and cheering you on. You're one of us. To me, that's the best part about all of this, having a community. A group of friends that gave up an entire weekend to help a kid that they've never met just because they know, on some level, we've all been through the same thing. Because we're family."
Another part that requires emphasis is how difficult gay or queer kids have it in the real life. In the movies and series, it just shows an epic coming out scene and that’s it. Everything is cool, the queer kid is happy, life goes on. But in reality, you never stop coming out to people and it may not be the picture perfect fantasy you are shown on the screen. Love, Victor has done a great job at representing that. It really shows the fact that you keep coming out your whole life again and again in new contexts. Victor decides to come out to his close friend Felix first and Felix embraces him wholeheartedly. Victor comes out to Mia next and she is left heartbroken over the lie of their relationship, but she still eventually ends up supporting him. He then comes out to his family, and while his sister Pilar hugs him right after, his parents are still in shock and denial. An incident occurs in school where a rumor spreads that Mia cheated on Victor, and so to not let Mia take the fall for what he did, Victor also comes out to the whole school declaring Benjie is his boyfriend. Even though these incidents happen spaced out in between the storyline, it shows different aspects of coming out and how you never stop at just once.
Love, Victor had a second installment in 2021 and is currently on its way to a season 3. While it did start with Love, Simon, this show has given us more than a simple coming of age story. The whole queer journey, from its initial stages to its aftermath has been beautifully depicted in this 20 episode show and it continues to run with the same spirit. As a queer kid, there is nothing better than this show to say ‘I see you’ and make us feel quite validated in all the different aspects of our life.
Source:
Comments