How did Alice Oseman get the British school setting right in the Netflix adaptation

Alice Oseman Perfectly Encapsulates British School Experience in Heartstopper, “Even the uniforms are similar to my school’s,” Says Joe Locke

Alice Oseman, the author of the webcomic, Heartstopper is based on, wasn’t ready
to hand over her brainchild to anybody. And for good reasons. She was involved
in everything from casting to uniform. That resulted in countless happy fans and
the Netflix adaptation staying true to the comic.


FROM CASTING TO THE GAY QUIZ, EVERYTHING WAS ACCURATE IN HEARTSTOPPER

For a 27-year-old to perfectly capture the British school experience along with
young queer love is a great achievement. Oseman wanted the casting department to
cast actors with exact sexual identity and ethnicity as her comic book’s
characters. Thus Joe Locke was cast for Charlie Spring. 

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

And according to Joe, Oseman was pretty accurate with her depictions.

“Even the uniforms are similar to my school’s and the form groups and every math
class look the same,” shared
[https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/heartstopper-joe-locke-netflix-b2062325.html]
Joe. Apart from the perfect British school setting, Oseman was bang on the queer
experience. Young adults actually take such gay quizzes to determine their
sexual identity.

“The classic Buzzfeed ‘Are you gay?’ quiz was genuinely a popular trend at my
school,” he shared. 

ALSO READ: THIS ‘Heartstopper’ Character Is Inspiring Millions in Different Ways
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-this-heartstopper-character-is-inspiring-millions-in-different-ways/]


ARE SCHOOLS STILL NOT ACCEPTING OF QUEER PEOPLE?

While Heartstopper gives you hope, the reality is a little different.
18-year-old, Joe, explained that other students are still hard on queer people.
Gay is often used as an insulting remark. 

“Difference is seen as a bad thing in a lot of schools and to other teenagers
because you don’t fit in with a certain norm that’s seen to be acceptable. There
were definitely people who said things to people in my year who were different.
And part of that is because, when you’re a teenager, you don’t know yourself,
and a way of covering that is to attack other people.”

[data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==]

“A lot has changed in recent years but there’s still a long way to go. But we
can learn ways of trying to make it better,” he concludes.

“School can be a wonderful place but it can also be a not-so-wonderful place if
you don’t happen to fit in properly.”

Just like Charlie, Joe’s teenage years weren’t smooth sailing either. Although
he wasn’t bullied, he confessed to keeping to himself and going through a
“quiet” phase. 

ALSO READ: Can We Expect ‘Heartstopper’ Season 2 Amidst Netflix Subscribers
Loss?
[https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-can-we-expect-heartstopper-season-2-amidst-netflix-subscribers-loss/]

Srabani Biswas

Comment

Alice Oseman Perfectly Encapsulates British School Experience in Heartstopper, “Even the uniforms are similar to my school’s,” Says Joe Locke - Netflix Junkie

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Srabani Biswas is a writer at Netflix Junkie. She is a sociology graduate from Lady Brabourne College. Previously, she has contributed to Sports India Show and The Sports Room as a sports writer, and interned at Ripples Learning. A daydreamer, a dancer, and a lover of dogs, she enjoys quiet evenings with her laptop and a cozy blanket. With so much to do and so little time, she is constantly worried about her growing pile of unread books and unwatched shows on Netflix. Her favourites include Stranger, Vincenzo, Hello! My twenties,  Emily in Paris, Never Have I Ever, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, Reply 1997 and Sex Education.

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Alice Oseman Perfectly Encapsulates British School Experience in Heartstopper, “Even the uniforms are similar to my school’s,” Says Joe Locke - netflix-junkie

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Alice Oseman, the author of the webcomic, Heartstopper is based on, wasn&#8217;t ready to hand over her brainchild to anybody. And for good reasons. She was involved in everything from casting to uniform. That resulted in countless happy fans and the Netflix adaptation staying true to the comic.
<h2>From casting to the gay quiz, everything was accurate in Heartstopper</h2>
For a 27-year-old to perfectly capture the British school experience along with young queer love is a great achievement. Oseman wanted the casting department to cast actors with exact sexual identity and ethnicity as her comic book&#8217;s characters. Thus Joe Locke was cast for Charlie Spring. 
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28389 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alice_Oseman2-scaled.jpeg" alt="" width="2560" height="1439" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alice_Oseman2-scaled.jpeg 2560w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alice_Oseman2-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alice_Oseman2-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alice_Oseman2-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alice_Oseman2-1536x863.jpeg 1536w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Alice_Oseman2-2048x1151.jpeg 2048w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" />
And according to Joe, Oseman was pretty accurate with her depictions.
&#8220;Even the uniforms are similar to my school’s and the form groups and every math class look the same,&#8221; <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/features/heartstopper-joe-locke-netflix-b2062325.html">shared</a> Joe. Apart from the perfect British school setting, Oseman was bang on the queer experience. Young adults actually take such gay quizzes to determine their sexual identity.
“The classic Buzzfeed ‘Are you gay?’ quiz was genuinely a popular trend at my school,” he shared. 
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-this-heartstopper-character-is-inspiring-millions-in-different-ways/">THIS ‘Heartstopper’ Character Is Inspiring Millions in Different Ways</a>
<h2>Are schools still not accepting of queer people?</h2>
While Heartstopper gives you hope, the reality is a little different. 18-year-old, Joe, explained that other students are still hard on queer people. Gay is often used as an insulting remark. 
&#8220;Difference is seen as a bad thing in a lot of schools and to other teenagers because you don’t fit in with a certain norm that’s seen to be acceptable. There were definitely people who said things to people in my year who were different. And part of that is because, when you’re a teenager, you don’t know yourself, and a way of covering that is to attack other people.&#8221;
<img loading="lazy" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-28915 lazyload" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==" data-src="https://netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Actors-Kit-Connor-and-Joe-Locke-for-Heartstopper-in-relation-to-kiss-scenes-1200x644-1.jpg" alt="" width="1200" height="644" data-sizes="auto" data-srcset="https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Actors-Kit-Connor-and-Joe-Locke-for-Heartstopper-in-relation-to-kiss-scenes-1200x644-1.jpg 1200w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Actors-Kit-Connor-and-Joe-Locke-for-Heartstopper-in-relation-to-kiss-scenes-1200x644-1-300x161.jpg 300w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Actors-Kit-Connor-and-Joe-Locke-for-Heartstopper-in-relation-to-kiss-scenes-1200x644-1-1024x550.jpg 1024w, https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Actors-Kit-Connor-and-Joe-Locke-for-Heartstopper-in-relation-to-kiss-scenes-1200x644-1-768x412.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px" />
&#8220;A lot has changed in recent years but there’s still a long way to go. But we can learn ways of trying to make it better,&#8221; he concludes.
&#8220;School can be a wonderful place but it can also be a not-so-wonderful place if you don’t happen to fit in properly.”
Just like Charlie, Joe&#8217;s teenage years weren&#8217;t smooth sailing either. Although he wasn&#8217;t bullied, he confessed to keeping to himself and going through a &#8220;quiet&#8221; phase. 
ALSO READ: <a href="https://netflixjunkie.com/netflix-news-can-we-expect-heartstopper-season-2-amidst-netflix-subscribers-loss/">Can We Expect ‘Heartstopper’ Season 2 Amidst Netflix Subscribers Loss?</a>

Can We Expect ‘Heartstopper’ Season 2 Amidst Netflix Subscribers Loss?

THIS ‘Heartstopper’ Character Is Inspiring Millions in Different Ways

Joe-Locke-for-Heartstopper-series-1200&#215;644

https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/netflixjunkie-logo-2.jpg

https://www.staging.netflixjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Joe-Locke-for-Heartstopper-series-1200x644-1.jpg

How did Alice Oseman get the British school setting right in the Netflix adaptation, Heartstopper? Find it out here.

Srabani Biswas is a writer at Netflix Junkie. She is a sociology graduate from Lady Brabourne College. Previously, she has contributed to Sports India Show and The Sports Room as a sports writer, and interned at Ripples Learning. A daydreamer, a dancer, and a lover of dogs, she enjoys quiet evenings with her laptop and a cozy blanket. With so much to do and so little time, she is constantly worried about her growing pile of unread books and unwatched shows on Netflix. Her favourites include Stranger, Vincenzo, Hello! My twenties, Emily in Paris, Never Have I Ever, Peaky Blinders, Stranger Things, Reply 1997 and Sex Education.

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https://www.netflixjunkie.com/alice-oseman-perfectly-encapsulates-british-school-experience-in-heartstopper-even-the-uniforms-are-similar-to-my-schools-says-joe-locke/

Alice Oseman Perfectly Encapsulates British School Experience in Heartstopper, “Even the uniforms are similar to my school’s,” Says Joe Locke

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