Ava Brânzan, 6A
INTRODUCTION
We all had or have that one person, right? That one person that lights up our whole world with just a simple smile, that one person that gives us warmth and comfort every time they are nearby. We simply adore them. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a lover or crush, it could be a friend.
Well, this could be the case for Nick and Charlie. They weren’t just lovers, they were also best friends, and that was essential in their relationship. Feeling that you can trust a person with everything, including your life, makes you feel safe, and makes you want to be around them at all times. How about you get to know their story?
HEARTSTOPPER - SEASON 1
At first, they were strangers who attended the same school. Then, they were seated next to each other in class.
BOY MEETS BOY
They started hanging out, going to each other’s houses, attending parties together. Normal things that friends do.
BOYS BECOME FRIENDS
Sparks began to appear. Holding hands, tension, eye stares. It all feels amazing. Could this last forever?
BOYS FALL IN LOVE
Nick Nelson, a rugby player, and Charlie Spring, a shy drummer, become friends after they’ve been seated next to each other in class.
Although the other players in the rugby team tend to be rude, Nick is an exception. He is social, nice and doesn’t enjoy making fun of people, and that made him and Charlie really good friends. They enjoyed each other’s company.
Nick usually hung out with the rugby team players and one girl named Imogen. Charlie hung out with Tao, Isaac and Elle. Tao didn’t enjoy Nick’s company because he was scared that Charlie would get hurt. You might be asking yourself, why? Well, Charlie used to have a “boyfriend” named Ben, but Ben did not treat him like a human being and used Charlie. That represents another issue in today’s society, which makes this show more realistic and it brings attention to important matters such as this one.
After a while, Charlie and his friends started talking with some girls named Tara and Darcy. They were a couple and they announced it on Instagram. Darcy handled the bullying well because she was out for quite a while, but Tara just came out and couldn’t handle the bullying. People were gossiping about her and that is a problem that occurs even in our school.
ABOUT HEARTSTOPPER
Book Series
Heartstopper is a book series written by Alice Oseman. It was originally released in 2016 on Tumblr as a webcomic. In 2018, she launched a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the publishing, and within two hours reached the targeted amount of money. In 2019, she physically published the first two volumes, and in 2020 and 2021, Oseman published the third and fourth volume. The fifth and final volume is planned to release on 2 February 2023. The books are rated 12+.
Netflix Series
Starring Joe Locke as Charlie and Kit Connor as Nick, this series was released on Netflix on 22.04.2022. It blew up all over the world the very week it was released, being more accessible to the public. It has 1 season, that contains 8 episodes, each about 40 minutes long, however, the series is rated 13+.
The Actors
Charlie Spring: played by Joe Locke
Nick Nelson: played by Kit Connor
Tara Jones: played by Corinna Brown
Darcy Olsson: played by Kizzy Edgell
Elle Argent: played by Yasmin Finney
Tao Xu: played by William Gao
Ben Hope: played by Sebastian Croft
Alice Oseman
Alice May Oseman was born on the 16th of October 1994. She is an English author of young adult fiction, and had her first novel, Solitaire, published in 2014. Oseman is the author of ”Radio Silence”, ”I Was Born For This”, ”Loveless”, and of course ”Heartstopper”. She writes about teenage life in the UK, including social issues among teenagers. Oseman is also part of the LGBTQ+ community, identifying as aromantic-asexual and using she/they pronouns.
TESTIMONIALS
Heartstopper: a sensational book and Netflix series that has been touching teenagers’ hearts. But, what is the reason for all this appreciation? After all, it all depends on a person’s tastes. Maybe they don’t enjoy romances, and would instead watch a thriller. Well, what makes it so appreciated is its representation.
I’ve asked pupils from the ages 12 to 18: “Why do you enjoy Heartstopper?”, and they gave me the following answers:
“I believe that Heartstopper is a series that many young people today, as well as adults, should watch. It is a screenplay that is very close to the reality that teenagers are living these days, representing mostly the problems of bullying, love and relationships but also the LGBTQ+ community. “
“ Heartstopper is an amazing series on Netflix that portrays perfectly the lives of teenagers: their quest into finding their sexuality, dealing with life issues, and shows the hidden sides of both ”healthy” and ”toxic” relationships. I consider it to be a ”fluffy romance” that makes me smile. “
“ As a young member of the LGBTQ+ community, this series is heartwarming and I find it really comforting and relatable. Heartstopper also shows us the reality of being different, which I think is one of the most important aspects of the series, for example, Charlie being bullied for being gay or Nick’s identity crisis. Overall, Heartstopper is a really captivating and lovely show that I personally recommend to anyone, but especially to queer teens struggling to come out. “
As you may have noticed previously, teens enjoy this series for the fact that it connects to reality a lot. It portrays issues such as homophobia and bullying, which are problems that sadly occur daily, even in our school. People also enjoy it for the simple fact that it makes them smile and it warms their hearts.
Comments