Hi everyone! I am writing my text review assignment on the Hulu teen drama series: Love, Victor. The series is a spin-off of Love, Simon, which told the story of Simon Spier’s feats with his sexual identity as a gay individual. Similarly, the main character in Love, Victor, Victor Salazar, faces many obstacles during his teenage years. In season one, Victor moves from Texas to Atlanta and is the new face in Creekwood High School. As he starts high school, he faces injustices as a half Puerto Rican and half Columbian-American in a predominantly Caucasian school and is bullied by his basketball teammates for his socioeconomic/ “poor” status. On top of that, Victor struggles with his sexual orientation and personal identity and lacks support from his “traditional” family.
Throughout the season, Victor remains conflicted between his two love interests, Mia, who is a straight female, and Benji, who is openly gay. Early in the season, Victor is dating Mia, yet is easily distracted by Benji at work in the coffee shop. At this point, Victor is very uncertain of his gender identity and sexual orientation. In the following episode, Victor flirts and sneaks a kiss with Benji at his 16th birthday party. To his surprise, his traditional grandparents witnessed the kiss and are appalled, which causes even more turmoil amongst his separated parents and broken family. Many instances test Victor’s identity and orientation, such as failed intimacy with Mia and his growing crush on Benji. Due to Simon Spier’s support (from Love, Simon), Victor gains confidence to identify himself as gay/ homosexual and comes out to his parents, Mia, and Benji.
One can compare Victor’s character to “other” in society. As we have read in Hegel’s and de Beauvoir’s works, the idea of otherness marginalizes groups based off of traditional identities. Victor’s gay identity and sexual orientation are considered untraditional to his family and he is demeaned for his personal beliefs.
The film director, Amy York Rubin, wants the viewer to understand the universal message of authenticity and acceptance within Love, Victor. As we know, many individuals belonging to the LGBTQ community face daily injustices and conflicts amongst their families, within society, and in personal feats. With this being said, Rubin is aware of otherness and injustices regarding identity and makes it the reoccurring theme throughout season one. Rubin inspires a conversation around love and being authentic to yourself, regardless of “other” labels and societal identities. Although Victor struggles in season one with his relationships and identity, he learns in season two that there’s a life beyond high school and his family, which he slowly blossoms into his true identity.
Victor and Benji
Series Poster for Love, Victor
Here is the link to the first season on Hulu:
https://www.hulu.com/series/love-victor-3cb4c446-d459-41a2-97d2-2ea9ed164ab7
Works Cited:
Gawley Paige. “’Love, Victor’: 7 Inspiring Life Lessons We Learned From Simon.” Entertainment Tonight, Entertainment Tonight, 20 June 2020, www.etonline.com/love-victor-7-inspiring-life-lessons-we-learned-from-simon-148167.
Lennon, Mads. “When Is Love, Victor Season 2 Going to Premiere on Hulu?” Show Snob, FanSided, 26 Feb. 2021, showsnob.com/2021/02/26/love-victor-season-2-premiere-hulu-june/.
“Love, Victor.” IMDb, IMDb.com, 17 June 2020, www.imdb.com/title/tt10166602/.