By: Mason Mattu, Section Editor
Boots, Netflix’s recently-released gay military dramedy, stars a very talented Miles Heizer (Parenthood) as Cameron Cope, a closeted gay teenager who enlists in the Marines in 1990s South Carolina. The story is based on Greg Cope White’s memoir, The Pink Marine.
A central question to this series is whether Cameron should stay or go. Cameron enlists in the military rather impulsively, not realizing that it was illegal to be gay as a Marine. “Living a lie is too high a price,” Cameron’s repressed and fully-out alter ego says to him in the final episode. “The longer that you stay here, the more you’ll betray who you really are — until, one day, you won’t remember who that is . . . and I’ll be gone. What happens to me?”
Throughout the series, Cameron struggles with whether he should leave bootcamp because of the brotherhood and growth he sees while training alongside others who, despite their buff appearances, are just as lost as he is. One example out of the ensemble cast is the charming Max Parker (Vampire Academy) as Drill Sergeant Sullivan, who carries the weight of his own sexuality while putting on a macho façade and barking orders to his trainees. Meanwhile, Captain Fajardo, played by the talented Ana Ayora (The Big Wedding), struggles with her identity in her own way, being a woman in a very sexist and male-dominated military.
What I liked about Boots was the fact that it is a departure from stereotypical representation of the gay community on television. The series has only one sex scene, which feels more like a view into Sullivan’s struggle with his own identity than just sex — despite its very photogenic cast. There’s no dramatic “coming out” moment for our main character. His struggle with his identity is not resolved at the end of the show — it remains repressed, messy, and in Cameron’s context, illegal.
The question of whether Cameron should stay or leave the Corps is not entirely based on his sexuality. If he stays, he loses a chunk of himself. If he leaves, he loses his courage, willpower, and brotherhood with fellow soldiers. This complicated duality is intentional. It is carefully constructed by the show-runners, who evidently would like the audience to view Cameron as a nuanced, gay character. While focusing on Cameron’s experience as a closeted gay soldier, the series also places it within several other broader problems that he faces, including living with a narcissistic mother, coping with death, and the contradictions of masculinity itself.
Beyond its narrative complexity, Boots is visually stunning. Cinematographers Bruce Francis Cole and Pedro Gómez Millán portray the landscape by drawing attention to the gruelling nature of the bootcamp while also creating a dreamlike green hue. Alongside this, the camera is often focused on the eyes of characters in the centre frame. This helps establish a sense of emotional connection to the deep-rooted thoughts and fears of all the men in the squad.
Boots perfectly captures one of many potential experiences of being gay, while allowing Cameron to be a multi-dimensional character with something for everyone to relate to. Yes, his alter ego does (very iconically) break into “Fernando” by ABBA. However, the genius of the series shows itself in how it is different from queer representations I’ve seen on television growing up.
Boots presents us with a nuanced picture of being queer and its life dilemmas for those who are balancing their identities and achieving their own aspirations in inherently oppressive settings.
The Peak’s rating: 5/5 raccoons. It’s a must watch!
