15 MARCH 2021
http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/culture/ Culture Editor: Elizabeth Edwards
Culture
The Joy, Heartbreak, and Oversights of It’s a Sin
The main characters of It’s a Sin (right to left): Ash, Colin, Roscoe, Jill and Ritchie (Credit: Ben Blackall, HBO Max).
Louisa Johnson, MA Global Creative and Cultural Industries It’s a Sin, Russell T Davies’ Channel 4 hit is a heartbreaking tale of the global HIV and AIDS epidemic and its devastating effects on gay urban life from 1981 to 1991. Originally rejected by BBC One, ITV, and even Channel 4 on its first proposal, this five-episode series has since broken viewing records, accumulating 6.5 million views within the first couple of weeks of its launch, becoming All 4’s third biggest series to date and its most binge-watched new series ever. The show centres around Ritchie (Olly Alexander), a closeted young man who moves to London from the Isle of Wight and becomes an actor; Roscoe (Omari Douglas) who has relocated to London to escape his Nigerian family’s religion-induced homophobia; and Colin (Callum Scott Howells) a shy Welshman who works in a luxury menswear shop in the city. The story begins with following Ritchie on his
gay sexual awakening. As his own connections grow, so does our focal network of characters. We meet Jill (Lydia West), soon-to-be Ritchie’s best friend, Ash (Nathaniel Curtis), Ritchie’s on-again, off-again sexual partner, and Gregory (David Carlyle), a Scottish bus conductor who befriends the young crowd. While it starts as just a menacing dark cloud hovering in the distance, the threat of AIDS slowly creeps into their lives, eventually building to a storm which brings their wild lifestyle of partying and carefree casual sex to a halt. The illness is first dismissed as a conspiracy, and is framed as a solely American issue. However, as more queer characters quietly “go home” and disappear from the city, it becomes apparent that AIDS is having a far more widespread, sinister effect than initially understood. The brilliant writing, acting, and storyline make It’s a Sin a masterful tear-jerker. However, as much as it depicts the overwhelming tragedy of the AIDS crisis and the culture of
WandaVision: Marvel Magic Ruth Sellin MA Gender Studies and Law
On 15 January 2021, Marvel Studios released WandaVision on Disney+, kicking off a new phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is the first in a series of highly anticipated new shows revolving around fan-favourite characters from the MCU. The premise of the show is that the two eponymous heroes, Wanda Maximoff and The Vision, find themselves living an idyllic suburban life in the town of Westview, New Jersey, when life suddenly starts unravelling around them. Fans were introduced to the characters in Avengers: Age of Ultron in 2015, however, after the events of Avengers: Infinity War (2018) and Avengers: Endgame (2019), they
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were not expecting to see much more from the couple. Subsequently, there was some surprise when Marvel Studios announced that one of their new shows would revolve around the pair. Not much was known of the plot of this series before it’s release, leading to an influx of increasingly elaborate theories from viewers after the release of each episode. Fans have also been delighted by the many easter eggs and references to the original comics, something the MCU has been known to take very seriously, often hiding their easter eggs so well only the closest observer can spot them. Stylistically, WandaVision employs tropes from classic television sitcoms, such as The Dick Van Dyke Show and I Love Lucy, as each episode reflects a different decade of
shame and repression in which it flourished, It’s a Sin also encapsulates the beautiful and unapologetic euphoria of queer youth. Despite being a definite triumph overall, It’s a Sin is not without flaws. For example, some have criticised the show for gradually losing its ensemble approach to centre on its white protagonist, Ritchie. This narrative sidelining of queer characters of colour is unfortunately consistent with the societal marginalisation of BIPOC voices in LGBTQI+ spaces. Equally frustrating is Davies’ handling of his Black female character, Jill. Jill is somewhat devoid of any real personhood — her existence is reduced to being the nurse and carer for the infected men around her. She is also imbued with superhuman powers of patience, which become unrealistic in the face of persistent prejudice from Ritchie’s family. Many have also complained about Ritchie’s commitment to Thatcherite politics which seems at odds with his sexual identity. However, Ritchie’s Toryism, as well as his racially ignorant comments to Ash, construct an unfortunately realistic portrayal of some white queer men in the community. Though these moments should have been explored or challenged by the other characters in greater depth, their inclusion act as a necessary reminder that queerness does not guarantee an informed, liberal outlook. Finally, one glaring flaw is the absence of female AIDS victims. For Juno Roche on iNews, this is a large oversight given that around the world over half of the people living with HIV are women. Perhaps this gap feeds into yet another omission in the narrative: the lack of bisexual representation. Although the stories that are included were well-written, there was certainly room to widen the show’s perspective by including more sexual and gender fluidity within the narrative. Overall, It’s a Sin is an absolute must-see. The balance of joy and heartbreak allows for a gripping tale which accurately captures the experiences of young gay men during the HIV and AIDS epidemic. In the midst of a new pandemic, perhaps these stories can imbue cisgender, straight audiences with a renewed sense of empathy for the LGBTQI+ community’s tragic history with contagious viruses.
television. This gives the cast ample opportunity to display the full range of their acting capabilities, switching flawlessly from the 1950s into the modern era, and has helped earn high praise for Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany for their outstanding performances of the titular characters. The relationship between the characters is beautifully portrayed, the strong chemistry between the two actors making their romance impossible not to believe. Jumping between past and present decades every episode inevitably means that the costumes for each character have to be updated quite regularly. WandaVision’s costume designer, Mayes C. Rubeo, rose fantastically well to the challenge of designing a look for each character that stays true to them across the different time periods of the
show. The theme song is also updated each episode, a task undertaken by the composerlyricist team behind the music of the Frozen franchise, Robert Lopez and Kristin Anderson-Lopez. Each theme song is reminiscent of the genre it is representing and, together with the opening credits, convincingly sets the scene for each episode. Each part of WandaVision works together to create an intelligent show that draws on the very best parts of popular sitcoms from past decades for inspiration. With the perfect balance of humour and heartbreak, fans are already looking forward to the next installment of the franchise. The bar is set very high.
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