Dear Olin Community,
I am proud to announce the beginning of a new tradition, the connecting of minds and hearts through books, movies, podcasts, and any other media you can think of that contains flavors of LGBT+ characters and concepts.
For our debut, I will be reviewing the Netflix feature film Nimona. If you haven’t checked this movie out, I implore you to give it a try.
Plot summary (without spoilers):
Ballister Boldheart is a knight in a futuristic medieval kingdom who’s fought tooth and nail to earn his place among the noblemen that share his ranks. He has been met with critique and skepticism throughout his life due to his lack of high-esteemed family, but that has only made him more determined to succeed. When he is suddenly outcast due to a crime he’s falsely accused of committing, he must team up with a witty, chaotic kid named Nimona to find a way to clear his name. Little does Ballister know, Nimona turns out to be the exact type of creature he’s been trained to protect the kingdom against.
Nimona’s got everything you could ever want in a “Kids’ movie”: Harrowing adventure, hateful betrayal, beautiful Achillean and Sapphic representation, heartbreaking social commentary, and, of course, a deliciously overt allegory for being transgender in a world that just can’t seem to wrap it’s mind around the concept. At least, until it’s forced to.
Nimona is based on the comic of the same name, which was created by the writer behind She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Nate Stevenson: a transgender individual. The movie feels like it was written by Trans, Non-binary, and Gender Non-Conforming people, with the same people set as the target audience. It is so beautiful to see characters like Nimona given depth and miles of personality, on top of their gender identities.
So if you haven’t seen Nimona, I hope I’ve given you enough reason to put it alongside all the other worthwhile watches of the year.
For more information, check out the IMDB page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt19500164/?ref_=ttmi_tt
Trigger warnings:
Analogies for transphobia
Mentions of suicide and a non graphic suicide attempt
Mild violence
