Today we're rewinding back to the year 2018 to visit the movie Love Simon.

This movie was based on the 2015 novel, Simon versus the Homo Sapiens Agenda, by Becky Albertali.

I feel like we're going to keep saying a version of this.

Love Simon was notable as the first gay something. In this case,

it's the first major film studio release about a gay teenage romance, and it was actually financially

successful. It grossed $66.7 million worldwide against a production budget of $17 million.

This is a moment in which I would like to pause and offer a PSA.

Rose was the first gay movie written by gay men with a huge marketing budget.

And Love Simon was the first major motion picture, blah, blah.

And soon we're going to be talking

about Brokeback Mountain, which was another kind of first in queer cinema.

But queer cinema has existed, as long as cinema has existed.

We're looking at these movies that were important and are important and are sometimes really

great, but we're looking at them in part because they

were big deals. When we say first, we're talking about moving into the mainstream studio-made

films. Okay, PSA over, back to Love Simon. Love Simon is about Simon Spear, who really wants to tell you that he is just like you.

I'm just like you.

For the most part, my life is totally normal.

My dad was the annoyingly handsome quarterback who married the hot valedictorian.

And no, they didn't peak in high school.

He is normal.

He keeps telling us, except that Simon is gay and in the closet.

...