Netflix’s ‘Heartstopper’ centers LGBTQ+ representation with queer love story

Graphic by Rose Cohen ’22.

By Rose Cohen ’22

Arts & Entertainment Editor

If you are looking for a heartfelt LGBTQ+ teen drama full of longing glances, moments of yearning and killer chemistry between its two leads, you might want to watch “Heartstopper,” a new Netflix original series about two students attending a British all-boys secondary school. While the romantic relationship that unfolds between the main characters may be unsurprising, viewers seeking shows that explore LGBTQ+ issues should not be bothered by this fact since there are only a number of shows on television featuring this type of queer relationship — one defined by innocence and love. 

Based on the Webtoon by English author and artist Alice Oseman, “Heartstopper” focuses on the blossoming romance between the empathetic, anxious Charlie Spring (Joe Locke) and rugby king Nick Nelson (Kit Connor). In the first episode, which premiered on April 22, the two meet in secondary school when a teacher assigns the unlikely pair to sit next to each other. From their first encounter, Charlie and Nick form a strong bond, attending parties together, sending comforting messages to one another and meeting each other’s families. 

The type of love that unfolds between Charlie and Nick is predictable — early on in the series, Charlie, who is openly gay, develops a crush on Nick, who has never questioned his identity as a heterosexual man. When the pair begin spending more time together, Nick must grapple with his sexuality and come to terms with the nature of his feelings for Charlie. Some of the show’s best moments arrive as Nick struggles to figure out what Charlie means to him. When the two communicate via Instagram messaging, for example, and Nick offers Charlie a chance to talk about a difficult relationship in his life, it’s obvious how significant Charlie is to Nick. The amount of undeniable chemistry between Locke and Connor plays a major role in how realistic the relationship between Charlie and Nick seems. In one scene, an emotional Nick opens up his laptop and hesitatingly types “Am i gay?” into his Google search bar. In her review of the show for Cosmopolitan, Editorial Assistant and Junior Entertainment and Lifestyle Writer Emily Gulla focused on the importance of this sequence, writing, “Reacting to the series online, fans have been busy discussing the moment, pointing out how relatable the Google search and subsequent ‘Am I gay?’ quizzes available online are for queer people, especially teens.” 

While Charlie and Nick are the key players in “Heartstopper,” it would be remiss to not mention the secondary characters who are friends with the two main teenagers. There’s Tara (Corinna Brown) and Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), a lesbian couple who attend an all-girls school and help the show provide a more inclusive portrayal of what LGBTQ+ relationships can look like. There’s also Elle (Yasmin Finney), who allows the show to explore what it means to be a transgender person of color during teenagehood. 

Though the show contains few surprises in its first season, the relationship between Nick and Charlie and the story arcs of the supporting characters make “Heartstopper” one to watch.

‘Crossing Cultures’ exhibition, featuring Nilou Moochhala ’94, premieres at A.P.E. Arts Gallery

By Rose Cohen ’22 & Siona Ahuja ’24

Arts & Entertainment Editors

Photo by Nilou Moochhala '94

Suitcase from Nilou Moochhala ‘94’s, “My Very Own Suitcase Series,” which represents stages of the artist’s life. This artwork, along with the eight other suitcases in Moochhala’s series, was displayed at the A.P.E. Gallery in Northampton, Massachusetts from March 9 to April 1.

The sound of waves crashing set to projected clips of the ocean. A collection of white paper boats made by gallery visitors. Collages of vintage family photographs. These were some of the pieces on display at the “Crossing Cultures” exhibition at the A.P.E. Arts Gallery in Northampton from March 9 to April 1. 

The six visual artists whose work made up “Crossing Cultures” used five different regions to help define the themes of the exhibit. Throughout their pieces, lens-based artist Astrid Reischwitz, Peruvian Latinx Curator Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, Professor at Lesley University Vivian Poey, Iranian artist Shabnam Jannesari, Multidisciplinary Artist Nicolas Hyacinthe and Nymdesign Art Director Nilou Moochhala ’94 explored issues of identity, immigration and displacement through a variety of mediums, such as paintings, collages, photographs, videos and 3D installations. 

Displayed in the center of the gallery, a set of 10 multicolored suitcases, installed by Moochhala, seemed to tie these different parts of the exhibit together. Each piece of baggage included in Moochhala’s portion of the exhibition, titled “My Very Own Suitcase Series,” tells a different story about the various stages of the artist’s life. For instance, “Choddna (Leave)” highlights her departure from her hometown of Mumbai to study art at Mount Holyoke. Using colorful string and passport photos of her parents and siblings, Moochhala maps out the migratory journeys of members of her family. 

 “So it’s this sort of duality, right, that rises out of not belonging in any place,” Moochhala said, reflecting on the meaning of “Choddna (Leave).”

 “We were all foreigners to our own country,” she continued.

Graduating from Mount Holyoke as a studio art major with a concentration in economics, Moochhala went on to complete a special master’s program in graphic design at the Yale University School of Art. She credited the late Mount Holyoke Art History Professor Robert Herbert in “changing [her] pathway and allowing [her] to be creative.” 

Walking around her exhibit, a package full of labels for her artwork in hand, Moochhala pointed to certain family memorabilia featured in her work. Fragments of handwritten letters, an altar dedicated to colored pencils, glass vials and a sewing kit adorned the interiors of these mismatched pieces of luggage. “One actual common thread between all of us is family,” she said, referring to the artists featured in “Crossing Cultures.”

Moochhala chose to use suitcases to convey the idea of the “ugly” emotional baggage we carry around. “Well, the idea of crossing cultures and obviously leaving home, you go from one place to the other, and at the least that’s the one thing you bring with you,” she said, further explaining her decision to utilize suitcases. “It seemed to perfectly fit with the show.”

To Moochhala, suitcases alluded to the inevitable challenges faced by herself and other immigrants. “You are also a transcriber of your culture in another place. … How do you carry that [culture] forward into the next generation?” Moochhala said. 

Unlike the artwork of Hyacinthe and Reischwitz, Moochhala described her portion of the exhibition as more textural. 

“Each [suitcase] has to evoke a different sort of feeling and sensation, whether it’s floaty, whether it’s prickly, whether it’s inviting, whether it’s blocked,” Moochhala said. 

Standing beside her portion of the exhibition, which stood at the forefront of the gallery, Moochhala defined what art means to her. As Moochhala tried to put the mode of creativity into words, she explained that she thinks of artists as cultural storytellers. 

“Whether you’re a writer, an artist, musician, whatever creative discipline you’re in, you’re almost reflecting on what is going on currently, at this point in time, to everybody around you,” Moochhala said. “That’s a separate sort of way of seeing, right, it’s a separate perspective. So if you can get people to understand that and see it, then you’ve done your job.”

‘Red Rainbow’ staged at Rooke Theatre

By Rowan Berstein ’22 & Rose Cohen ’22

Staff Writer | Arts & Entertainment Editor

Photo courtesy of Wei Shao ‘22

The show’s lighting was by Rori Haft ‘25, with set design by Wei Shao ‘22

Beginning on March 31 and running through April 3, Rooke Theatre staged the first live, in-person production of Azure D. Osborne-Lee’s new full-length play, “Red Rainbow.” The play, which has its characters embark on a fantastical journey through a strange world, was selected as a part of the film, media, theater department’s effort to center nonwhite narratives.

Photo courtesy of Wei Shao ‘22

Mount Holyoke student actors perform in the first live, in-production of Azure D. Osborne Lee’s new full-length play, “Red Rainbow,” which ran from March 31 to April 3

“Red Rainbow,” directed by Theatre Arts major Zoë Fieldman ’22, follows a young woman named Ixchel (Arianna Peña ’25) as she and her friend Nathaniel (Adjoa Baidoo ’24) are transported through a circle of mushrooms to a magical world. Along with strange beings, like a sentient network of mushrooms, Ixchel meets gods and humans who help her connect with her Mayan heritage. They also teach her how to give her abuelita, whose spirit is caught between life and death, a proper funeral — one appropriate to her culture. 

Ixchel shares her name with a Mayan goddess of healing and midwifery, a fact that was explained in an insert in the show’s program, which elaborated on some of the cultural details found in the play.

Georgia Rose ’25, who played Sunface or El Sol Sí Mismo , an antagonist who pursues the main characters on their journey, had a positive experience acting in the play. “What I loved so much about this production was that it was very collaborative,” Rose said. “Whenever we had an idea or a concern, [Fieldman] was so open and took our thoughts into consideration much more than any other production I’ve been in.” 

Maelyn Brade ’25, who took on the role of Officer, echoed what Rose said about being involved in “Red Rainbow.”

“My experience working on ‘Red Rainbow’ has been nothing but magical, in more ways than one,” Brade said. “Throughout the process I feel I got to know more about the theater department, while also bonding with some amazing people.” 

Fieldman found it important to foster this kind of environment during the duration of the play and the rehearsals leading up to it. “I am much more interested in experimental and non-traditional work … under which the role ‘director’ looks much different than as we learn about it to be,” they said. “I wanted to choose a cast that would work with me and be excited about collaborating on their performance.”

Part of this collaborative process included stage combat, choreographed by Assistant Professor of Film Media Theater Noah Ilya-Alexis Tuleja. Sunface wields an axe in the play, intending to participate in a ceremonial battle between the Sun and the Morning Star, or Venus, representing the eternal conflict of the two celestial bodies. This relationship becomes a problem for the protagonists, as Sunface expects Nathaniel to take on the role of his adversary. 

“My quarantine hobby was learning from lightsaber videos on TikTok,” Rose said, “so, I think I was well prepared to handle the axe.”

It’s fitting that Rose drew inspiration for the role from her time in quarantine, as “Red Rainbow” takes place during the COVID-19 pandemic. Feelings of isolation and a desire to escape influence the characters’ motivations throughout the play. In fact, their journey begins with Nathaniel trying to get Ixchel out of the house after months of isolation. Additionally, many moments of comedy come from references to the pandemic, like Ixchel and Nathaniel struggling to put on their gloves and face masks. 

In an unexpected moment during the Saturday evening performance, one of Nathaniel’s ear loops snapped as he attempted to put on his mask. Baidoo quickly recovered with an improvised line about always bringing a spare, and was met with laughter from members of the audience ⁠— it seemed that many could relate to the feeling of a mask mishap.

Fieldman commented on Baidoo’s improvisation, “I encouraged the cast to have some fun with the script and to improvise a bit — though not too much or else our stage manager would have difficulty calling the show — as an attempt to work with a script that was also still in process.” 

The script of “Red Rainbow” is described as a “living document” in Fieldman’s director’s note, and the production at Rooke Theatre was the first time the show was staged in person after it was written in 2020 and initially premiered over Zoom. 

“It was my intention to find a new play going into this process,” Fieldman said. “ I am more interested in process oriented art making versus a more final product focus.” Future productions of “Red Rainbow” will likely look quite different from this one, but Mount Holyoke had a unique opportunity to showcase the play so early in its life. 

Editor’s note: Arianna Peña ’25 is a member of Mount Holyoke News.

“Crossing Cultures: Family, Memory and Displacement,” arrives at APE Arts Gallery

By Rose Cohen ’22

Arts & Entertainment Editor 

Art to see in the area this week

The art exhibition “Crossing Cultures: Family, Memory and Displacement,” will take place at the A.P.E. Arts Gallery in Northampton until April 1. The show, which had its premiere on March 9, revolves around themes of family, memory, displacement and identity. The six visual artists whose work make up the exhibition — Nilou Moochhala ’94, Astrid Reischwitz, Claudia Ruiz Gustafson, Vivian Poey, Shabnam Jannesari and Nicolas Hyacinthe — use vintage family photographs and paintings, among other mediums, to examine what the idea of “home” means when many people are currently migrating from country to country.

Spotify Warped?: Students Find Shortfalls in Algorithm

By Mariam Keita ’24 and Rose Cohen ’22

Section Editor and Staff Writer

Last Tuesday, Dec. 1, the Swedish audio streaming service Spotify released their yearly Spotify Wrapped personalized experience, which tells eligible users about their top artists, top songs and minutes listened. In order to receive Wrapped, listeners would have needed to have an account before Nov. 15, listened to at least five different musicians and 30 different tracks. 

“I’ve seen people bond over music all the time and I think it’s a really beautiful thing because music is a universal language,” Tiwani Ariyibi ’24 explained, when asked about the music streaming platform’s annual feature. “Spotify Wrapped can build a community around your favorite artist which I think is really nice, even if the algorithm is a little messed up.” 

 Ariyibi, like many subscribers, enjoys the Wrapped feature. However, she was not necessarily satisfied with this year’s summary of her listening habits. 

This year, the creator of the Broadway musical “Hamilton,” Lin-Manuel Miranda, appeared among her Spotify Wrapped artists. 

“I really liked the [Hamilton] movie and I would play [the soundtrack] a lot, but that was a phase. It lasted like a solid month and then I never went back,” Ariyibi explained.

Mae Philippe-Auguste ’24 was also surprised by her Spotify Wrapped this year. 

“A lot of my stuff also came from my sleep playlist so I didn’t even bother posting,” Philippe-Auguste wrote in response to an Instagram story about this article.

Students in the class of 2024 listened to a good deal of sad music, according to Pearl Young ’24. 

“People started listening to emo music that was popular when we were younger,” she said. “I saw a lot of people in our class had Mitski [sic] somewhere in there [sic] top 10.”  

Ariyibi poses one theory as to why so many people had such wistful sounds in their Wrapped this year. “In a pandemic, you can’t really see your friends or family — things that would normally bring you comfort — and you have to find new ways [of coping].” Additionally, Ariyibi explained that Spotify users are turning to the artists that they listened to in their childhood. “I listened to a lot of Lauryn Hill [which] my mom used to play when I was younger,” Ariyibi said.

Joliet Morrill ’21, who has approximately 12,000 Spotify followers and creates Spotify playlists for her Tik Tok followers, suggested that people are returning to their old favorite songs for a sense of nostalgia. “[They want to] remind themselves of a different time,” Morrill said. 

Since 2020 began, Morrill found that Tik Tok users have been requesting mood-based playlists. “I have to create a story by giving the playlist an interesting title and cover,” Morrill explained. 

Erica Weathers has noticed similar trends while working as a Clinical Social Worker for Mount Holyoke College Counseling Services. 

“Many students that I work with use music as a way to self-soothe and relax or distract themselves from stressful emotions and to uplift their spirits. I also have had students that struggle with ADHD listen to relaxing music in the background while they're doing their work which provides just enough stimulation that can help them focus,” Weathers said.  

“If I had to guess about why students are listening to music from earlier stages of their lives, my best guess is that the music they listened to when they were younger can trigger positive memories and associations,” Weathers added. “The music is something that is known to them and in that way, can bring comfort during a time of great uncertainty.” 

Philippe-Auguste seemed to fit into this trend of listening to old music. “I’m a theater kid so songs from shows that I’ve been in, [they remind] me of my cast,” Philippe-Auguste explained. “I think it just takes you back to these good memories and people that you can’t necessarily connect with as much right now.”

Ariyibi thought the comeback of childhood music-related well to the year 2020. “I don’t think I can find someone who is happy about this year. Sometimes you just need music to help you cope through anything you’re going through and I think that’s why a lot of people had depressing music,” Ariyibi said.

‘Dash & Lily’ Is a Holiday Series Worth Your Time

Graphic by Trinity Kendrick ‘21

By Rose Cohen ’22

Staff Writer & Photographer 

During the first weeks of November, a handful of cheesy Christmas movies and shows begin to appear on streaming services like Hulu and Netflix. Most of them do not deserve your attention; they’re Hollywood fluff filled with cringeworthy lines, cliches and predictable character arcs. However, this year, Netflix’s adaptation of David Levithan and Rachel Cohn’s 2010 young adult novel, “Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares,” proves that worthy holiday series do exist. 

The show tells the epic love story of two 17-year-olds who live in New York City. The romantic comedy takes place during the days leading up to Christmas. 

Austin Abrams of “Euphoria” plays the finicky Dash, who detests the “forced cheer” and “frenzied crowds” that the holiday brings to the Big Apple. Among the tinsel, the carolers and the red and green lights, he finds peace inside the Strand Bookstore in downtown Manhattan. Surrounded by stacked aisles of fiction and nonfiction, the pessimistic Dash escapes the holiday joy by informing an employee that Gabriel García Márquez’s biography was misshelved. It “should be under ‘G’ for García, not ‘M’ for Márquez,” he explains. 

The show begins to pique interest when Dash scans the J.D. Salinger section of the shop and pulls out a medium-sized red notebook. Dash, intrigued by the question on the front cover, which reads, “Do You Dare…?”, flips through the pages. He finds a series of clues and challenges written by the Christmas-loving Lily (Midori Francis). She wants to find a clever teenage boy to go on adventures with; she’s tired of spending her days playing board games with her grandfather. 

Like in “You’ve Got Mail,” writer-director Nora Ephron’s 1998 romantic comedy, the two main characters have never met in real life. For the majority of the series, they only communicate through dares that they create for one another in the notebook. This means that Dash accepts Lily’s challenges, even if they tell him to sing Joni Mitchell’s Christmas folk song “River” in the middle of the Strand. He then creates his own dares and leaves the notebook for her to find so their game can continue. If you accept this improbable premise, you will enjoy the show.

You will also need to embrace the fact that Lily knows a good amount of the people involved in her dares. Her cousin works at the Strand, and he can ensure that Dash completes the challenges that take place there. Her uncle dresses up as Santa Claus at the Macy’s department store, and that makes it okay for Dash to steal his Santa hat to complete a dare. 

As the series progresses, we find out about the two teenagers’ past heartbreaks. Lily has felt like a freak and an outsider since her middle school crush bullied her years earlier. Dash dealt with loneliness after his ex-girlfriend moved to Brazil, leaving him bereft in New York. With each dare, the characters bring out the best in one another and slowly force each other out of their comfort zones. 

 It’s heartwarming to see Dash encourage the socially-anxious Lily — who spends her time sewing her own clothes — to attend a 2 a.m. Jewish punk show on the seventh night of Hanukkah. And it is just as meaningful to see the impatient Dash “go with the flow” in a mochi-making class, surrounded by Japanese grandmothers. 

Another great storyline in the show includes Lily’s queer brother, Langston (Troy Iwata). We get to see his love story unfold and witness him as a three-dimensional character. In an interview with The Wrap, Iwata commented on the role, stating, “Langston is just this really fun, quirky, snarky human who happens to be gay and it’s never really questioned or challenged by himself or any of his friends.”

“Dash & Lily” allows you to fall in love with the challenges in the red notebook and the characters involved. If you are looking to binge-watch a holiday series that actually has a somewhat meaningful plot, set aside roughly three-and-a-half hours for “Dash & Lily.”

Stream These Family Favorites and Thrillers for Halloween

Image courtesy of Flickr

By Rose Cohen ’22 

Staff Writer

This year, Halloween fanatics will have to switch up their spooky game plan of large parties, festive parades and crowded haunted houses for safer celebrations. But those dressed as Frankenstein’s monster can still carve pumpkins or snack on their beloved apple cider donuts. They also can certainly enjoy these eerie movies and funky jams. 

“The Addams Family” (1991)

Before the science fiction action comedy “Men in Black,” Barry Sonnenfeld directed this Halloween classic, which is now available on Netflix. Distraught Gomez Addams (Raul Julia) is missing his long-lost older brother, Fester, who disappeared 25 years ago. Unbeknownst to him, Abigail Craven, a loan shark, knows about the family’s hidden chamber of jewels and riches. She forces her son, a Fester look-alike, to pretend to be the estranged Addams sibling. The quirkiness of the characters makes this film one to watch with the family while in quarantine. 

“Psycho” (1960)

An Alfred Hitchcock psychological horror film should accompany any Halloween party. “Psycho” follows the fleeing Marion Crane (Janet Leigh), who steals $40,000 to pay off her boyfriend’s debts. On the way to deliver the money to her partner in Fairvale, California, Marion stays the night at the vacant Bates Motel. There, she encounters the seemingly normal proprietor, Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins), who lives with his reclusive mother. If you are obsessing over Norman after your viewing, binge-watch all five seasons of “Bates Motel,” the disturbing prequel series that premiered on A&E starring Freddie Highmore and Vera Farmiga. 

“The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)

Follow the journey of the determined FBI trainee Clarice M. Starling (Jodie Foster) as she interviews Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins), a renowned psychiatrist and cannibalistic serial killer imprisoned in a maximum security facility. In an attempt to draw up a psycho-behavioral profile and catch Buffalo Bill (Ted Levine), Clarice builds a relationship with Hannibal, despite the fact that he hisses at her and torments her about her childhood. The torturous images of Buffalo Bill’s prey might make you turn away from your screen once or twice. This movie is also available on Netflix. 

“Scream” (1996)

Neve Campbell plays the tough Sidney Prescott in the first of the slasher tetralogy brought to you by Wes Craven, the director of the 1984 horror classic “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” In this film, we meet Ghostface, who hides behind a rubber Halloween mask and threatens his victims on the phone. Maybe the numerous jump scares or the iconic blood-soaked dagger will pull you in. Find this movie on Hulu.

“Halloweentown” (1998)

Perhaps Director Duwayne Dunham’s Disney Channel Original Movie will be more your speed this year. It is the tale of an adventurous teen witch, Marnie Piper (Kimberly J. Brown), who journeys to the supernatural Halloweentown with her grandmother (Debbie Reynolds). Once there and surrounded by goblins, vampires and citizens who have pumpkins for heads, Marnie must save the town from an evil being. It’s family-friendly and allows you to admire the magical creatures that we associate with the holiday. We also get a glimpse of the dearly departed Debbie Reynolds. If you have a Disney+ account, this heartfelt film is a great way to celebrate Halloween!