“Love, Simon” is a 20th Century FOX movie adaptation of the book “Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda” by Becky Albertalli and was directed by Greg Berlanti. The movie is about a closeted gay teenager Simon, played by Nick Robinson, who starts talking to another closeted gay teen online who goes by the alias Blue. A schoolmate, Martin, finds out that Simon is gay and blackmails Simon telling him to get his friend Abby to like Martin back, affecting many of Simon’s decisions. The movie looks into how he forms his relationship with Blue, along with his relationships with his family and friends as a closeted teen and the struggles of being found out.
Halfway through the movie, Simon decided to come out to his new friend, Abby. While driving, Simon asks Abby about her parents, and she starts being vulnerable, telling Simon she still believes in love followed by the question: “Have you ever been in love?” Simon looks worried, responding, “I think so.” He stops the car and comes out to Abby, telling her she can’t tell anyone and that he does not want anyone to find out. Abby reassures Simon, telling him she still loves him, later causing tension with his oldest best friend.
A queer student who has requested anonymity was interviewed on how they would react to events that happened in the movie. When asked if they would rather come out to a newer friend, or an older friend, they said “older friends are kind of hard cause you’ve known them for a very long time and you’re like ‘I don’t want to lose this friend if they don’t support in that way’… Newer friends that haven’t become a really big part of my life yet if they don’t support me it won’t be the end of the world for me.”
After Martin is unable to get with Abby and Simon won’t help him anymore he outs Simon and his messages with Blue. Simon’s friends find out all the lies he has been telling them. Leah also finds out how Simon was trying to get her and Nick, their other friend, together even though he knew Nick and Abby liked each other. She was not only mad that her best friend tried to get her with someone who didn’t like her back, she was also mad how Simon couldn’t realize she had feelings for him, not Nick. When trying to talk to Leah after their misunderstanding, Simon brings up how she is his best friend. Leah responds in frustration asking why he came out to Abby if he considered her his best friend, to which Simon replies, “Think it was easier. I’ve known Abby for 6 months and I’ve known you for 13 years, and I knew that if I told you that everything was gonna be different. And I really wanted things to stay the same.” After hearing Simon’s point of view Leah asks Simon about Blue, wanting to know more about who Simon truly is.
The student was asked how they would feel if their best friend of a long time came out to a new friend rather than them. The student’s said that they would be, “Supportive and be there no matter what.”
Queer media is often represented in a whimsical and dramatic way. While real queer experiences can be like that, the media tends to miss those real experiences. A high school experience for queer teens can range from a normal teen experience to a harsh one with lots of ups and downs. While it’s fun to see their community represented, it needs to be recognized that the representation will never be perfect.
