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Jay_Sondr t1_itavkcu wrote

Reply to comment by meatball77 in Netflix officially announces second season for it's global-charting hit, Heartbreak High by rambledetamble

A threesome where the consent was ambiguous at best, an asexual homoromantic, and an autistic lesbian.

Got to get it right. ;)

MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS COMMENTS AHEAD. DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE SPOILED. ALSO A GENERAL CONTENT WARNING, THIS SHOW CAN GET PRETTY INTENSE, AND TALKING ABOUT THE SHOW CAN BRING UP SENSITIVE TOPICS SUCH AS: Rape, Abuse, Police Brutality to a Person of Colour, Severe Mental Illness, and more.

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meatball77 t1_itc8ij3 wrote

I was wondering if they would call it assault.. surprised they didn't even talk about it being not right

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Jay_Sondr t1_itcr95j wrote

These are kids whose sex ed was RACK OFF. Their sex ed was 'do push ups'.

They probably didn't even know a man, let alone two at the same time, could be raped by a woman. In the show, the two guys -- Malakai, in particular, who was intoxicated and had just been assaulted by a police officer and then emotionally coerced at his lowest point -- were angry, and confused and ashamed afterwards. They couldn't put it into words why they felt the way they did. While the writers knew what was up, Malakai seemingly left it at "but I'm not gay... am I?", while Dusty was furious at Harper.

The show called it assault by how the characters reacted to the threesome rather than just outright saying it.

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meatball77 t1_itd7yuh wrote

I just wish for teen education purposes (or adult) they would have made it clear. That type of situation is one we need to be educating the public on.

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Jay_Sondr t1_itdnclu wrote

I'm not sure that would be honest to the characters though.

How would you even write that into the show that doesn't come off as preaching to the audience? This is a show that does its best to hide from the audience that Peter Rivers is Darren's dad, or that Chaka is Darren's boss as examples.

I think the slow burn over seasons is more to the show's style. This is the show that treated Harper's entire story, from her kidnapping, to her father's mania, or schitzophrenia, or whatever that was (apparently it was ice addiction), a secret from the audience for the entire season. We, the audience, assumed that she was raped and spent the rest of the season trying to regain her confidence, autonomy and sense of self-worth, but that was just a red herring to the potentially worse reality: she lost everything. Her home, her humanity, her father, her best friend, her identity, and most importantly, her self.

This can't be the show that looks at the audience and says: "Hey guys, it's me, Amerie. Coercion is rape, my best friend Harper raped Dusty. And having sex with someone who is unable to consent, in this case because they're intoxicated and traumatised, is also rape. Harper, my best friend, also raped Malakai, my current/ex-boyfriend".

Only through character study and the characters themselves understanding and being able to articulate what has happened to them, can they truly reveal to the other characters and themselves, what has truly happened to them.

And when it does, shit will hit the fan.

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