Villaneve Deserved Better, #KillTheTrope !

Our goal: raise €6,000 so we can rent billboards in the UK and USA spreading awareness about the following; 

 

LGBTQ+ fans are no strangers to the ‘Bury Your Gays’ trope, which has a long and harmful history in pop culture. This trope sees LGBTQ+ characters as more expendable than their heterosexual counterparts, and kills these characters off moments after the character experiences acceptance and happiness.

 

Fans of Killing Eve were left heartbroken and traumatized after the season 4 finale, wherein the show's final moments, our beloved (and very queer) Villanelle was violently murdered, leaving her beloved Eve screaming in agony - aligning Killing Eve, a show that once celebrated its inherent and nonchalant queerness, with this very trope.

 

In the days that followed the finale, fans and critics alike expressed their outrage, heartache, and its profound effect on them. Fans were left feeling abandoned and betrayed by the choices the writers made, especially as the original text, penned by Luke Jennings, gave its queer characters a happy ending. Many have experienced worrisome mental health crises and have questioned their ability to live happily as queer individuals. Comments made by the showrunner about her decision-making process had homophobic subtext, and whether she was aware of it or not caused immeasurable damage to the community and fanbase.

 

Back in 2016, fans of ‘The 100’ experienced a similar betrayal, leading to fans' significant outpouring of generosity and action. Over $160k was raised to benefit The Trevor Project, and the nonprofit organization LGBT Fans Deserve Better was established to carry forth the mission of responsible queer storytelling in film and television. In addition, this organization launched a series of billboards calling for the end of this trope for good and developed The Lexa Pledge:

 

1. We will ensure that any significant or recurring LGBTQ characters we introduce to a new or pre-existing series will have significant storylines with meaningful arcs.

 

2. When creating arcs for these significant or recurring characters, we will consult with sources within the LGBTQ community, like queer writers or producers on staff, or members of queer advocacy groups like GLAAD, The Trevor Project, It Gets Better, Egale, The 519, etc.

 

3. We recognise that the LGBTQ community is underrepresented on television and, as such, that the deaths of queer characters have profound psychosocial ramifications.

 

4. We refuse to kill a queer character solely to further the plot of a straight one.

 

5. We acknowledge that the Bury Your Gays trope is harmful to the greater LGBTQ community, especially to queer youth. We will avoid making story choices that perpetuate that toxic trope.

 

6. We promise never to bait or mislead fans via social media or other outlets.

 

7. We know there is a long road ahead of us to ensure that the queer community is appropriately and fairly represented on TV. We pledge to begin that journey today.

 

We aim to carry on the legacy of those who fought for Lexa, and fight once again for the end of ‘Bury Your Gays’ once and for all. Our goal is to launch one or several billboards in places in the UK such as London (and other locations relevant to the show) and locations across the US. Our objective is to communicate that it’s time to #KillTheTrope for good. Queer fans deserve a reprieve from this devastatingly bitter representation.

 

Much of this project hinges on getting the proper support from participating organizations. Should we run into issues securing the billboard, we will look to other advertising efforts like newspaper or bus stop ads. If we are once again deterred, we will divert all donated funds to The Trevor Project. Frankly, we are eager to get as many eyes on this message as possible.