Love, Simon's Gay Teen Protagonist Helped Greg Berlanti Understand the Power of Representation
Love, Simon Protagonist Helped Greg Berlanti Understand Representation
"I became more cognizant of it even as we made it."
Love, Simon director Greg Berlanti underscored the importance of representation in an exclusive interview with PRIDE.
The gay, teen rom-com follows Simon, who's "just like you," except he's got one big secret. The closeted 17-year-old high schooler must come to terms with his sexuality while juggling friends, an anonymous online romance, the school play, and the threat of being outed by blackmail.
Berlanti (The Flash, Supergirl) loved the script from the moment he first read it.
"It made me laugh, it made me cry, which in it of itself is so rare in Hollywood," he said.
He knew there was something special about the film. "The fact that it had a gay teen protagonist at the center, it just had a visceral reaction in me that I hadn't really experienced in the same way when I'd seen a story like that."
As an openly gay man himself, Simon's story resonated with Berlanti. He began to realize the significance in seeing your experiences reflected on screen while still filming the movie.
"I became more cognizant of it even as we made it and throughout, just the power of representation. That's from someone who's obviously openly gay and tried to do their part to add LGBT storylines. I still was unaware of the power of the simple fact of the representation."
Love, Simon is in theatres everywhere now.
