Representation matters: Or my thoughts on Pitch Perfect 3
So I have finally seen Pitch Perfect 3. Even though I had no interest in it when it came out. Bad fan? Maybe.
After all, I had been a complete die-hard fan (and Bechloe shipper) after the first movie had come out.
And that was just it: Bechloe. Or the lackthereof.
I had been so frustrated with the missed potential and the Jesse/Beca relationship forced down our throats that I had greeted Pitch Perfect 2 with extreme reluctance.
But somehow, I liked Pitch Perfect 3. In fact, I loved it. I laughed like I never usually do, and I had a truly good time. No bitter taste, no heinous thoughts towards the producers.
And this was why: No expectations. I had been so disappointed by the second movie and had given up such hope for the third that I could just sit and enjoy what had been given out.
The movie? It was great. Funny moments, awesome music (RIP Dolores O'Riordon) and a tight sisterhood between the Bellas. A touching end to an excellent trilogy.
But that's just from a cinema-goer point of view. Because no expectations from a movie is fine.
But to have no expectations towards a society (ours being sometimes maddeningly slow to evolve) is detrimental.
Giving up on the idea of a better society that is not afraid to represent everyone in its art and media is destructive.
This society DOES evolve BECAUSE people place high hopes and expectations into it.
That is what created the Bechloe ship, that is what got word to Anna Kendrick and Brittany Snow, that is what created a close and supportive community here on Tumblr.
Brave and perseverant people who had great hopes and expectations.
Now I don't want to get all caught up in what Anna Kendrick said, how she changed the plot, how there was a Bechloe kiss filmed, etc. Because everybody has already covered all that.
I guess I just want to say thank you to all the people involved in making Bechloe a "thing".
Because too often, "things" like Bechloe remain just that, "things". And that hurts people. It hurts the LGBT community but it also hurts more people. LGBT allies, their families and friends... Not everybody is in the LGBT community, but who does not have any LGBT people in their lives?
I cannot affirm without the shadow of a doubt that Universal producers decided against Bechloe because of homophobia, because that would be an assumption.
But what if it was? What if they cared about their image, their trademark, their reputation to the point of not wanting to release a "queer movie"?
What would this entail? That they got scared, fine. But at some point, this fear must go. Because that does not make any of "this" less there, in the movie or in real life. Bechloe still exists and LGBT people still exist, and transcend their decision.
Representation matters. It's powerful. It's what got us all together. Let's never stop hoping and expecting.
