The Charm Offensive

Featuring two men of color in love, Dev’s script, and his hesitation to show it to producers, symbolizes the necessity of representation for diversity in mainstream media. When Parisa offers to promote Dev’s script with publishers, Dev rejects the idea: “we get like one studio queer movie a year if we’re lucky, and they’re usually about two white people. My movie is not marketable” (162). Dev believes that producers are unwilling to make a film representing LGBTQ+ love, especially between two characters of color. Charlie begins to question his sexual identity after reading the script and struggling with attraction to Dev, underscoring the importance of LGBTQ+ representation to provide messages of inclusion. Dev’s script illustrates the ramifications of a single love story and the need for sexual diversity in books, movies, and television.

Dev’s hesitation to share his script with anyone, even Charlie, symbolizes how Dev hides himself from others. He informs Charlie, “it’s super personal. The script is a lot of me. It’s, like, all of me. I put all of myself into it, and if you hated it, it would be like…” (92). Dev greatly fears others rejecting the parts of him that are more vulnerable and serious. Dev always pulls away when he and Charlie enter into emotional conversations, guarding his heart from Charlie’s rejection.