“Dear Evan Hanson” tly miss the mark - Philalphia Gay News

dear evan hansen gay themes

Evan Hansen (out gay actor Ben Platt, reprisg his Broadway role) has cripplg social anxiety. And fans of the Tony-wng mil “Dear Evan Hansen,” along wh the cur, should approach the film versn not jt wh great anxiety, but wh actual fear, for may soon turn to loathg.

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DID YOU THK EVAN HANSEN WAS GAY? YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

Gay wrer Benj Pasek discs how the novelizatn of the mil expands on LGBTQ them and a muny of support. * dear evan hansen gay themes *

) Search the terms “Evan Hansen gay. You’ll fd no shortage of people the procs of disverg, as the Broadway mil–turned–major motn picture heads for theaters everywhere on Friday, that Dear Evan Hansen is not a queer story—that the tular Evan Hansen is not some sad, gay kid gettg bullied and ridg out high school the bathroom at lunch.

EW TALKS YA: REVIEWS OF A BTERSWEET GAY ROM-, THE DEAR EVAN HANSEN NOVEL, AND MORE

“Dear Evan Hansen” is a powerful movie, on many levels. The story is not about Christians who are gay. But the movie’s them of beg margalized, beg a relatnship, ce, and acceptance… * dear evan hansen gay themes *

Yet this pervasive notn, that Evan is gay, lgers on, years sce the Broadway blockbter’s but. The entire plot hg on the dience buyg to the ia that he is anx and weird but not gay. Baked to the song are both homophobic unrton and the lgerg notn that perhaps Connor and Evan doth prott too much.

There are supposed jok about how life whout Connor was “rough” or “hard, ” and the even more blatantly homoerotic le, “Our iendship go beyond/ Your average kd of bond/ But not bee we’re gay/ No, not bee we’re gay/ We’re close but not that way/ The only man that I love is my dad. ” It’s also worth notg the role of Evan Hansen has been played by a strg of out gay actors. ) Which is not at all to suggt gay actors n’t play straight, but this public knowledge and stg pattern certaly do ltle to shape the narrative away om the ia that “this is a gay story.

But ’s unfair to say that to watch Dear Evan Hansen and fd gay subtext is like readg tea leav for a hidn sign. Makg Connor nonilly queer only nfirms what so many fans and crics of the show knew herently, and what a zilln other people on Twter felt about the show whout really ever engagg wh the material beyond the surface: Dear Evan Hansen is, ep down, as gay a story as they e.

WHY DID PEOPLE THK DEAR EVAN HANSEN WAS A GAY MIL?

The gay rom- we've been wag for is jt one of the hot YA tl om last month we've got thoughts on. * dear evan hansen gay themes *

“The gay inty—you’re livg a world where the world is basilly tellg you that you’re not enough.

” Dear Evan Hansen traffics gay stereotyp and experienc, g them for s own benef to make Evan as othered om his classmat as possible (as othered as a whe man ever n be, that is). LGBTQ fans are wele to fd themselv him, while ternalized homophobia keeps the verse suatn, a straight dience member relatg to a gay character, om beg a realy the show nsirs. All that we’re left wh are clichéd trop and close, vented, fely not gay male iendships.

* dear evan hansen gay themes *

No wonr people thk Evan Hansen is gay, no matter how hard the mil might try to stop them om dog so. " "When we expand the book, was really tertg and fun for to get to explore the character of Connor, " said the gay wrer. Lbian, gay, and bisexual young people are almost five tim more likely to attempt suici than their straight peers.

The lyrics, self-aware of the romantic nuendo of this suatn, clu "Our iendship go beyond / Your average kd of bond / But not bee we're gay / No, not bee we're gay / We're close, but not that way / The only man that I love is my dad / Well anyway! Until I met Miguel, " Connor reunts remembrance of a classmate om boardg school, addg, "He was the first person I'd known who was openly and proudly gay. "The gay inty -- you're livg a world where the world is basilly tellg you that you're not enough.

'Dear Evan Hansen' is a mil about a young boy lyg about his iendship wh a ceased classmate. Yet many thought was about a bullied gay teenager. * dear evan hansen gay themes *

It’s also a show that has stck a chord wh a number of dienc ― cludg the LGBTQ Hansen isn’t portrayed as gay, the set of stggl the character navigat as an outsir and plex them of the show seem to have ronated a remarkable way wh queer Levenson, part of this nversatn centers around how the show grappl wh mental health, an issue that disproportnately affects queer people. Matthew MurphyStrikgly, a number of actors who have played Hansen durg s Broadway n openly intify as gay.

This uld have, perhaps, rmed the way the men brought their own journeys to self-acceptance to the way they approached the Levenson, the stg of gay actors to play the character of Hansen was never tentnal.

So yeah, this one is fely for the gays. "So many people wikipedia-g Dear Evan Hansen today and so many people fdg out 's not a mil about a gay kid who broke his arm lol, " tweeted Vox wrer Alex Abads. For those who haven't seen the Broadway productn and have only the play to gui them, makg the assumpt that Dear Evan Hansen was about a gay teen who was gog through about of prsn and broke his arm seems easy enough.

The gay actor repris his Tony-wng role a starry movie adaptatn. * dear evan hansen gay themes *

There's even a song where Evan sgs about how he and Conner, the other boy, weren't gay.

"Our iendship go beyond/Your average kd of bond/But not bee we're gay/We're close, but not that way, " they sg the song "Scerely, Me. "So, why did the entire ter thk this mil was gay? Well, there are several is that the lead role hasn't only been played by multiple gay actors, but that those actors seem to keep endg up relatnships wh each other.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* DEAR EVAN HANSEN GAY THEMES

YA reviews: Dear Evan Hansen novel, a btersweet gay rom-, more | .

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