Ever since they started releasing original shows and movies, Netflix has been a hot commodity with its seemingly non-stop top hits. Shows such as Orange Is The New Black, The Crown, Stranger Things, 13 Reasons Why and many more have become fan favorites that have grown their own groups of loyal fan following.
One of Netflix’s most recent fan favorite, Sierra Burgess is a Loser, is a film about a stereotypical “loser” that, after a deviously deliberate mix up, finds herself in a peculiar situation with a boy that thinks she is someone else entirely. Sierra Burgess is played by Stranger Things and Riverdale alum Shannon Purser, an upcoming actress that finally landed the role of the main character that isn’t completely forgotten about within the first few episodes of the show.
Purser delivers an incredibly bone-chilling song, Sunflower, sung in the film when her character pours her heart out through music. Whether you watch the film or not, it’s a song worth listening to.
Released only three weeks apart, the ambiance of Sierra Burgess is a Loser highly resembles its Netflix original sister, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before; not to mention the fact that both films include the same actor to play the love interest: Noah Centineo.
The film also has a hint of similarity to some beloved John Hughes films in the 80’s, viewers might feel a sense of nostalgia when watching Sierra Burgess. Boy meets girl, girl falls in love with boy, boy has absolutely no idea girl exists, and so on.
Despite its intended light-heartedness, Sierra Burgess ran into some controversy when deaf actor and model Nyle DiMarco called out the film for inappropriate jokes.
“So one of my close friends’ deaf brother is in Sierra Burgess. When I learned, I was elated. Finally more deaf actors/representation & ASL inclusion in films… Only to find out the deaf
character was written and used for a terrible joke. PS- pretending to be deaf is NOT okay,” DiMarco tweeted.
Annie Welch, a Wright State University ASL instructor gave her opinion on the topic:
“It is offensive to some Deaf people to see a hearing person pretending to be deaf. For many years, this society has always look at Deaf people as they are inferior or deaf and dumb. For anyone who tries to avoid a conversation or being hit on at the bars, it is easier to pretend to be deaf because almost immediately the person would leave you alone and not wanting to deal with communication barriers. We have our voices through our signing hands. We want to be viewed as equal,” said Welch.
DiMarco also called out the film for including homophobic/trans-phobic slurs. Compared to other girly girls in the film, the main character has more of a boy-ish style. With this, jokes are made about her possibly being a lesbian.
“It is extremely easy to make jokes about marginalized/disfranchised groups… but that makes you a lazy writer,” added DiMarco.
Whether this is a problem to some and not all, this is an issue that is completely up to the viewer to decide if they want to watch the film or not.
“I agree with Nyle. It is not okay to pretend to be deaf when you are hearing,” Welch added.
While the viewer is destined to experience major second-hand embarrassment due to the main character’s constant unfortunate choices and poor judgement, you are bound to enjoy this light-hearted, yet charmingly awkward film. Looks like Barb got a partial happy ending after all.
