It is no surprise that Netflix is one of the largest and most popular streaming platforms. Many of his releases catch the attention of viewers, and “Heartstopper” has been one of his most successful releases so far this year.
Variety magazine put it at the top of its weekly Trending TV list and reported that the series received more than 130,000 mentions on Twitter and 929,000 interactions in its first weekend alone.
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But what is “Heartstopper”?
“Heart stopper” is a series of graphic novels written by Alice Ossemanwho also has two additional companion novels to the main books.
It is a story that became very successful due to word of mouth and recommendations from readers and content creators about books on social media.
It tells us the story of Charlie and Nick, two young British teenagers who meet in high school and discover, almost immediately, that they have a strong attraction for each other. Something that is definitely experienced differently by each protagonist.
Charlie is openly gay and is dealing with the bullying he suffered when his sexual orientation was made public. While Nick is a young man who identifies as someone straight, quite popular with the student group, captain of the rugby team and practically the opposite of his co-star.
Look at him, he’s like a golden retriever. Charlie says when he sees it, giving way to an attraction that seems to have everything against it, but that, in some incredible way, seems to keep growing.
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Why has “Heartstopper” become so popular?
One of the achievements of the novels, and that has been reflected in the series, is that “Heartstopper” is a sincere reflection of what it means to be young, with the problems and difficulties that are experienced at this age.
Laly Maplea Peruvian content creator with more than 19,000 subscribers on YouTube, explains that making way for minorities in audiovisual and art productions in general would be the current that many production companies are finally adopting.
“We are in a time in which paradigms are being broken, and cinema and TV are a fundamental part of it… ‘Heartstopper’ shows us situations of abuse that can occur and that we can let them pass, but the series touches the conflict and generates a genuine and real solution that a teenager could come up with”, says Arce.
Besides, the series touches openly and in the most natural and organic way possible the issue of sexuality in young peopleproviding a fresh and romantic story that captures its audience.
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About, Renzo Cabreraa well-known bookstagramer with more than 2,000 followers on Instagram, narrates his experience enjoying this material.
“Nick and Charlie show us the tenderness of first love in a genuine and innocent way, but also with fears and insecurities. In this series they have shown us how this exploration process unfolds, to understand our feelings, emotions and, finally, discover our gender identity”, explains the content creator.
What is the impact of the series on the LGTBIQ+ community?
In recent years, productions with LGTBIQ+ content have appeared more frequently, either because a character is gay or because the story revolves around their sexuality. However, in the midst of audiovisual products such as “Love, Simon” or “Call me by your name”, “Heartstopper” stands out and has captured its own audience.
“There have been stories with LGBT characters, but many times they have been characterized in an exaggerated or stereotypical way. Here we find diverse identities: gays, lesbians, bisexuals and trans. They show us the essence that this entails, the naturalness with which they develop it, showing us the purity and genuineness of each character, as well as the problems they have to deal with, such as homophobia, biphobia or transphobia”, describes Cabrera.
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Netflix puts “Heartstopper” at number 7 of the most watched series in English on the platform during the week of April 18 to 24, with 14,550,000 hours viewed in its first weekend alone, and is in their top 10 in 12 countries.
Andrea Navacreator of content about books with more than 1,500 followers on Instagram, believes that “‘Heartstopper’ is a very important step in the audiovisual field because many people are going to be able to identify with the variety of LGTB characters out there.”
In Peru, it remains in the top 10 of the most watched productions. In addition, it is doing very well with the critics achieving a score of 100% in Rotten Tomatoeswhere users give it a rating of 98 out of 100.
Alejandra Najeraa content creator with more than 3,000 followers on Instagram, recounted how close this story has been to her, in addition to highlighting how important it will be for young people in the LGTBIQ+ community, who are exploring their sexuality just like the protagonists of the Serie.
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“’Heartstopper’ is going to be very important for all the queer youth who have not seen themselves represented in simple stories that celebrate queer joy. I wish stories like this had existed in my years of discovery as a bisexual woman, that there are not only sad or tragic stories about the community, but stories that fill us with joy and desire to exist”, tells the also youtuber.
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