
On Representation: EV: One movie I honestly loved was Love, Simon. In theaters, I was just sitting giddy in my seat because I finally had a movie about gay kids. I loved the classic feel-good rom-com ending and everything. It’s everything that’s in a normal teen movie, but it’s with a gay couple. I've never seen that before in a movie. And while Simon was white, he had friends who weren't, whereas a lot of the classic movies were just 100 percent white. SN: I love the movie Spider-Man: Homecoming [for the same reason]. I was watching some interviews where the director was specifically saying he wanted the characters to be realistic high schoolers. So like, they have Zendaya, who is half black, half white, as the love interest. And even just seeing extras in the movie that aren’t white is pretty cool. Also, the school in the movie is for really intelligent kids, and you don't just see rich white kids. There are a lot of people of color in that movie, and that's awesome. OM: It shows the world the way it looks. EV: Even if we’re not the main characters, we still exist. OM: Apparently producers for To All The Boys I've Loved Before wanted to whitewash the movie and have the main character be white, but it was really important to the creator, Jenny Han, that Lara Jean be half Asian. What do you think would have been different if she was white, and do you think that it would have gotten the same amount of attention? SN: As someone who is Asian, I thought it was cool to see like a main character that looked like me and that was [the romantic lead] in the movie. A lot of the time, Asian characters are shown as just the smart one in the group, and you never see like Asian people being prided on their beauty and stuff, and that was like the main focus of this movie. I know a lot of my Asian friends thought “This girl looks like me, this girl could be me. OM: Why do you think people love these new movies so much, and what connects them all? VA: More awareness of people of color and the LGBT+ community. OM: I also think some of the success has to do with the fact that you're reaching out to an audience that hasn't seen themselves in these roles maybe ever. It’s exciting and people love it.


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