​Heartstopper Season Two (Netflix)

Kim Ri Eun: Every love comes with choice. Teens are no exception. The rugby team captain Nick (Kit Connor), the toughest guy in school, falls in love with Charlie (Joe Locke), who happened to sit next to him, and is at the crossroads of choices. Nick experiences homophobia within his rugby team—his peer group he’d been with for a long time—as he becomes close to Charlie, who had been bullied in school ever since people somehow found out about him being gay. And as he grows to accept his bisexual identity, his concerns about coming out deepens. 

Produced with cheerful animated effects, Heartstopper depicts those universal feelings of excitement in various forms of teen romance, but it doesn’t overlook the fact that these excitements are entangled with struggles about gender identity that drive them into a dark corner. That’s why the scenes that constantly appear in Season Two—of teenage couples with various gender identities holding each other’s hands and running away—serve as a metaphor for the reality of LGBTQ youth who are forced to flee to a safer place. 

Darcy (Kizzy Edgell), who has always been very confident about being a lesbian, lives under the shadow of her mother who can never truly understand her daughter’s perspective; MTF trans woman Elle (Yasmin Finney) navigates a romantic relationship with her longtime friend Tao (William Gao), but knows that her heart leans towards the art school of transgender artists. 

While his friends all run off holding their lovers’ hands, asexual Isaac (Tobie Donovan) has no romantic feelings for anyone and must choose between burying himself in books or heading to a dimly lit library. But Heartstopper Season Two shows how teenagers who are marginalized or struggling for a variety of reasons of their own come to confront the world with their peers, united in strong solidarity. After their graduation party with many happenings like Nick coming out and Darcy running away from home, rather than rushing off to some place else, Charlie and his friends get together at Nick’s house and throw a party to be each other’s “comfort zone,” just like the theme of Elle’s artwork. 

But the reality still remains divided binarily, like Truham Boys’ Grammar School and Higgs Girls School, and things may not change much for those who don't belong to either group. However, Heartstopper goes beyond showing various forms of love; it suggests that the strengths to stand against these challenges lies not at the dark end of the hallway or an isolated room, but in strong solidarity, love, and friendship. Although it may have some elements of fantasy, perhaps it’s the most powerful fantasy that a teen romance drama can shout to reality.

​Spotify - “50 Rapper, 50 Stories: The Playlist”

Seo Seongdeok (Music Critic): There’s a wide consensus on where and when Hip-hop was born. On August 11, 1973, at a block party in the Bronx, New York, DJ Cool Herc used two turntables to keep the beat constantly going. And August 11, 2023 marks 50 years from then.

Earlier this February, the Grammy Awards put up a tribute performance curated by Questlove to commemorate the 50th anniversary of hip-hop. After that, there was a steam of media highlights celebrating the genre, including Billboard’s “50 Greatest Rappers of All Time”, “50 Greatest Rap Groups of All Time”, Rolling Stone’s “The 100 Best West Coast Hip-Hop Songs of All Time” and “The 100 Best East Coast Hip-Hop Songs of All Time”. 

Most recently, the New York Times published a special feature online titled “50 Rappers, 50 Stories”. Jon Caramanica, who wrote the article, commented that the history of hip-hop isn’t a narrative of cohesion, and can be explained by constant cacophony and diversity. As such, “50 Rappers, 50 Stories” presents interviews by 50 rappers all mixed in different orders, linking them together. Those 50 rappers aren’t ranked by their influence or greatness. Instead, they offer a glimpse into the decades-long journey of how hip-hop established musical innovation and popular support at the same time. Meanwhile, the New York Times created a Spotify playlist featuring 50 songs by these rappers. 

Great ships never travel in a straight line. They change courses and speed countless times, eventually forging the path that we call history. This playlist is like a river that runs from DJ Hollywood all the way down to Ice Spice. It’s a trace and proof of erosion and sedimentation.