‘Sense8,’ and what it truly meant

Sense8%2C+and+what+it+truly+meant

By Addison Toutant, Staff Reporter

On June 1st, the first day of LGBT pride month, Netflix announced that they were cancelling their series “Sense8.” Many people were infuriated, myself included, that the show was canceled, especially after the season two cliffhanger.

Personally, I’m not mad at how it got canceled in favor of another season of “13 Reasons Why.” The reason I’m upset is because “Sense8” was more than a television show. It was an expression of acceptance.

The show follows eight people around the world who suddenly become telepathically linked with each other. These people, known as Sensates, are able to speak with each other from continents away and tap into each other’s skills and knowledge.

This concept is extremely unique. It allowed for an extremely diverse cast of characters, and that alone would be meritorious enough. However, the producers, the Wachowski sisters, went a step further.

Out of the cluster, it is stated in the first episode that one of them, Nomi Marks (Jamie Clayton) is a lesbian transgender woman, and another, Lito Rodríguez (Miguel Ángel Silvestre), is gay. These characters do have conflicts regarding their sexualities, but that isn’t the entire point of their characters. They are treated as totally normal people and they act like any other person.

That is absolutely amazing. Many shows, movies and even video games have a token gay character. For the most part, their treated as a joke and not supposed to be taken seriously, many times falling into a comic relief role. That is not the case in “Sense8.” Lito is, for the most part, a pretty serious character. Yes, he is involved in many of the shows funnier scenes, but that stems from the character being an actor, not being gay.  Despite these characters having special abilities and talents, they all feel extremely relatable, and that is the most important part of the show.

I started watching this show when I was questioning a lot of things in my life, including my sexuality. “Sense8” is what helped me realize that no matter what my choices were, I was a valid person. And the reason I came to that conclusion is because “Sense8” is a celebration of everything that makes us human. Ethnicity, personal skills, sexuality, personal struggles, none of that matters. We are all valid, and we are all human.