Tired of living through major historical events? Do you feel like the times are never going to stop being unprecedented? Does every news alert fill you with existential dread and anxiety?
Introducing the wonderful optimism of Red, White & Royal Blue! This month, we invite you to dare to imagine a world in which the bi, mixed race, First Son of the United States and the gay spare to the British Throne have a clandestine affair and the world is Mostly Totally Fine With It. In this episode we discuss the serendipity of rom-com plots and what exactly it takes to make a queer rom-com as escapist and light-hearted as other Netflix and Amazon Prime original movies. Call it delusion or optimism - it's a good time either way.
Music by Max Elliott
Bibliography
Brennan, Matt. “‘Red, White & Royal Blue’ is the gay rom-com we’ve been waiting for”. LA Times, Aug. 2023, https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2023-08-10/red-white-royal-blue-prime-video-gay-romantic-comedy-bros-fire-island-happiest-season
Carey, Leigh A. “Queer Rom-Coms Are Finally Getting Their Due”. The Zoe Report, Jun. 2023, https://www.thezoereport.com/culture/lgbtq-rom-coms-on-the-rise
Gutterman, Annabel. “Casey McQuiston Is Writing the Queer Rom-Coms She’s Always Wanted to Read”. Time Magazine, May 2021, https://time.com/6050860/casey-mcquiston-one-last-stop/
McQuinston, Casey. Red, White & Royal Blue.New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2019.
McQuinston, Casey. Interview by Savannah Walker. BookPage, May 2019, https://www.bookpage.com/interviews/24017-casey-mcquiston-romance/
Red, White & Royal Blue. Dir. Matthew Lopez. Amazon Studios, 2023.
Staples, Louis. “The Complicated Politics of Queer Rom-Coms”. Harper’s Bazaar, Dec. 2022, https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/a42355387/politics-of-queer-rom-coms-2022/
Walsh, Savannah. “Red, White & Royal Blue May Be “the Most Expensive Bit of Fan Fiction Ever””. Vanity Fair, Jul. 2023, https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2023/07/red-white-and-royal-blue-may-be-the-most-expensive-bit-of-fanfiction-ever
Yucarba, Jo. “1 in 5 studio films included an LGBTQ character in 2021, GLAAD report finds”. NBC News, Dec. 2022, https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/1-5-studio-films-included-lgbtq-character-2021-glaad-report-finds-rcna61872
