This thesis examines the portrayal of racial and sexual identities in the film Love, Simon (2018). Love, Simon follows the story of Simon Spier, a white, gay high school student who discovers true love and acceptance from his peers. Many Hollywood entertainment reviewers praised the film for its progressive portrayal of a LGBTQ romance between teenage characters. At the same time, Love, Simon uses Black characters to re-center Simon to show that Whiteness can rehabilitate queerness. I use Jasbir K. Puar’s (2007) idea of homonationalism- LGBTQ rights discourse privilege white gay men while conversely decentering Black and Brown (queer) people- and postracism as organizing frameworks for this thesis project. I ask: how might homonationalism create new understandings of how Love, Simon portrays race and sexuality? What are the costs of the film including some bodies while isolating and disadvantaging others?
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:USF/oai:scholarcommons.usf.edu:etd-9098 |
| Date | 21 March 2019 |
| Creators | Rauchberg, Jessica S. |
| Publisher | Scholar Commons |
| Source Sets | University of South Flordia |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | Graduate Theses and Dissertations |
| Rights | default |
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