Chatterbox - still talking nonsense

I've gradually been getting more and more cross with the commentary on Heartstopper's lack of sexual content.  This comes up in all media, but I am particularly looking at Trixie and Katya's otherwise very entertaining review on Youtube, and the mainly glowing review from the podcast Chucky , as well as multiple print and online reviews which choose to excuse it, rather than consider why such choices might be made. I'm just going to have a mini rant to get it off my chest. The graphic novel series was conceived and has been delivered as a young teen suitable story about love, in itself a highly valuable exercise in providing a different kind of representation to young LGBTQ+ teens beyond the often quite sensationalised and graphic representation of teenage relationships in general. The scene in S2 Episode 6 of the tv series where Nick says he is not ready to do more than kissing, has caused the most amount of disbelief and in some cases scorn and so I am going to use t...

Judy Blume Forever, currently streaming on Prime, took me right back to discovering that there were actually books written for people like me who were dealing with real life stuff like growing up, relationships and bullying rather than what appeared to be going on in the jolly hockey-sticks school stories that were prevalent at the time.   I adored Judy’s work even though she was clearly American.  It felt like she understood what might be going on on my head despite what I looked like on the outside, and that it was ok to think that a lot of what was happening in the world was wrong and it was ok to say so. She found a unique and real children's voice.   My first job was working in a children’s library and I well remember the kerfuffle and debates around whether to stock ‘Forever’ which was a sensitive, but open and non-judgemental look at a first sexual relationship from a girl’s point of view.  It was lovely to read a story where the girl wasn’t pun...

On the Trans Day of Visibility , and given that trans rights has lately become one of the bleeding edges of the culture wars, I thought it would also be good to highlight some stuff I've enjoyed recently that is inclusive and (largely) positive, particularly for young people who are most likely to suffer from the latest drummed up moral panic.   SAP With perfect timing, Mae Martin is now streaming on Netflix with SAP, their new stand-up show and I watched it last night.  I loved their work in Feel Good and Dope, and this new sharing of their personal snow globe (you'll need to watch it to understand) was funny, thought-provoking and life affirming.   They lay their heart out open on the stage and have a good dig through it.  Although their life journey bears little resemblance to mine, Mae managed to take me with them every step of the way.  I loved the understated-ness of the structure and delivery despite the full forest on stage and the little ...

I had a lovely time this afternoon in darkened rooms.  I originally felt a bit guilty getting tickets for some of these screenings at the BFI Future Festival as the main point of the festival is for young film makers to network but when I saw the number of empty seats at each ‘sold out’ event I stopped worrying - they do need to sort out their website and bookings for another time though.     Anyway, a star attraction for me today was Alice Oseman talking about how they broke into the various industries they are now working in, and about their writing process.  Although there was, of course, a focus on Heartstopper, it was good to step away from that a bit and hear how this talented young person has come so far so quickly.    A bit that chimed with me particularly, was the discussion about character, personality and story arc coming first, and how gender and sexual identity are important but not the only point, despite this being the aspect that has driven...

Just a quick note picking up on some of my thoughts today.  Late last night on Twitter, one of the lovely  young men from Heartstopper felt obliged to out himself following some appalling bullying around his authenticity for the role he had played.  Made me very sad that something so joyful has led to such personal traumas for these talented young people.  Of course, the nastiness of human nature has always been there ( See The Crucible! ) , but the scale and immediacy of the social media age makes it all so much sharper.  While many many people have leapt to his defence, the damage has been done, not to his reputation which I am sure will be unaffected, but for his wellbeing and for future actors thinking about taking on groundbreaking roles.  There is so much still to do if a teenager feels pressurised to reveal stuff that is no-one's business but his own.    Then today, one of his co-stars was revealed to have got a starring role in a new Marve...

I am in love, that giddy sort where you want to tell everyone about your new love, and your heart leaps every time someone mentions them. One of the features of a crush is the need to mention them as often as possible to anyone who will listen. So, I am going to gush - look away if it is too painful.  My new love is Alice Oseman's Heartstopper series. I had read some of the graphic novels and webcomic and thought it was beautifully done, but missed the Netflix series when it first appeared. I've made up for it since.  The TV series is a real gem, a shining jewel which has unfrozen my cynical old heart. There have been a lot of reviews celebrating the inclusivity and importance of authentic casting and the representation of the LGBTQ+ teen experience in this series, and they absolutely are some of the reasons it is so successful but not the only ones.  Using fresh takes on romcom tropes, idealised and pure of heart it may be, but these feel like real 3D teens navigating...