While I don’t think it’s inherently wrong for Levinson to take inspiration from artists of color, he never pays homage to, or reconciles with, the fact that the art in question is used to further the development of white characters. Levinson takes a lot of his inspiration from artists of color, but where is the line between celebration and appropriation? Sweeney is surrounded by pink roses to complement her eyes, nose, and lips, all of which carry the same rose-colored tint. In an interview with Artnet News, Director of Photography for Euphoria Marcell Rév,talked about how he and Levinson took inspiration from early 20 th -century Mexican murals to film the scene of Cassie in season two where she is framed as a virgin or saint. Levinson isolates the aesthetic of Latinx culture, drawing specifically from artists of color and tropes of Latinx sexuality, to define characters who are not only in the Latinx community, but also those who are white. So why does Levinson think it’s okay to use the work of artists of color to aestheticize queer experiences and sexualities, especially for queer individuals who are white?Īs someone who is both queer and Hispanic, I felt more disconnected from this montage than anything else I’ve seen in Euphoria. The artist cannot be separated from their work. While some fans see this montage as an attempt to subvert gender stereotypes–– using queerness as a way to re-define celebrated artwork ––it made me wonder how aesthetics can really be separate from the identity behind the work, specifically for artists of color. This scene is followed by an intimate close-up of Jules as Kahlo in “Self Portrait as a Tehuana” (1943), with a drawing of Rue on her forehead where Diego Rivera sits in the original. ![]() One of the couples they represent in this “lover’s montage” is Frida Kahlo (Jules) and Diego Rivera (Rue). The two characters are portrayed as various famous couples–Jack and Rose from Titanic, Yoko Ono and John Lennon, and Jack and Ennis from Brokeback Mountain, to name a few-as a way to communicate the current strife of their relationship. While that situation deals specifically with Cassie’s relationship with her body, a similar situation occurs in season two, with a relationship montage for Rue and Jules. While the scene is not meant to shine a negative light on abortion, it does highlight Cassie’s loneliness – both sexually and corporeally – in this moment. This sentiment is juxtaposed by the fact that she is in the process of aborting a child. While the goal of the scene is not to sexualize her, that is just the point: she is in a desolate, barren ice rink, somewhere she spent her childhood. Although nothing is said, the audience can gauge how she is feeling based on the music and tone of the scene, not to mention her movement on the ice. Take, for instance, the dimly lit, sterile ice rink where Cassie imagines herself to be while she gets an abortion. ![]() Levinson uses aesthetics to portray each character’s sexuality in ways that aren’t explicitly revealed through dialogue. For example, take the character Cassie (played by Sydney Sweeney) who, according to Rohitha Naraharisetty from The Swaddle, takes on the role of, “an undeniable sex goddess shown bouncing, gyrating, and thrusting her way through Nate’s fever dreams with abandon.” While sexualizing teenagers isn’t new, Levinson aestheticizes it, using sexuality as a stylistic point of reference in the show. Some argue that to achieve this, Levinson often oversexualizes the characters, by making their roles in the show partially–if not entirely–reliant on their mobility as sexual agents. From a post-football practice locker room sequence of 30 - originally supposed to be 80 - penises, to “ Lolita -esqe” sex between 50-year-old men and underage girls, Euphoria has never been afraid to use sexuality as a means of exploration and examination.ĭirector Sam Levinson uses sexuality to guide the audience through the lives of each character. HBO’s Euphoria caught the attention of fans and critics alike, attracting an audience of 6.6 million for the finale of Season 2 alone.
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