A new short film about a young gay boy is leaving people speechless.
The short film portrays a young, red-haired, gay boy whose heart runs out of his chest. His heart is following another boy (brown haired), seeming to be his love interest.
As the film progresses, you see the heart chase the brown-haired boy into a school, where people are staring at him for paying attention to the gay boys heart, and what his reaction would be. The boy's face was full of fear. By the end of the short film, the two boys meet again, and their hearts ignite with light, and love. The short film was made by students Beth David and Esteban Bravo from the Ringling College of Art and Design. Putting this together was a great way to show the struggles that a young gay person might have while trying to chase down their crush.
Being a part of the LGBTQ community, it is refreshing to see something aimed for the community. There are a lot of struggles when you're a gay teenager trying to find your place in the world. When you are gay, you usually hear some hateful comments about who you love, or rather, who you should love.
When the red-haired boy’s heart runs into the school and it meets the brown-haired boy, you can see the other students staring at him, wondering what he will do. Wondering if he is gay, too. The brown-haired boy has fear streaked across his face as he tries to get away from the heart; this causes the heart to break, and he runs out of school truly embarrassed. This depicts how individuals feel when they are not necessarily out of the closet yet.
If you are a closeted gay individual, it can be tough, because you feel like you do not necessarily have anyone on your side. You feel fearful of what the outcome will be if you do indeed come out.
“What will people think?”
“Am I really gay?"
“God, what am I going to do?”
While both boys in the film appear to be ‘closeted’, the red-headed boy is the one who ultimately gets outed by his very own heart. By the end of the film, however, the brown-haired boy helps the red-haired boy put his heart back together. From this, you see both boys' hearts glow; they are in love.
By releasing this film a few short weeks ago, Beth David and Esteban Bravo, have opened a window of normality for the gay community.
They took a young gay couple and normalized the situation to show what happens with any crush. This creates a major impact on the younger generation. The short film shows that it is okay to be gay, even if others do not agree with who you love. Like David and Bravo have said, “The Heart Wants What the Heart Wants”. Showing children that being gay is just as normal as being straight sends the message of love.
This film shows that, even though you might be scared, the final outcome of being yourself can be incredible. Even if the outcome of coming out is not great, then with the help of this short film, you realize that you are not alone.
