Traditional heterosexual teen romance stories have had a set of rudimentary “first-kiss” locations for a small eternity now in both film and television. Whether it’s the tunnel of love or the beach blanket bingo, it’s almost always a sure-bet for viewers that whenever they see these archetypes arise, they can safely assume that the boy and girl will express their love before they roll onto the next scene. Now, a new trend has been set, and it’s gaining traction with queer love stories in film and television: The Ferris Wheel.

To be fair, the ferris wheel has been a staple in straight love stories as well, but ever since the 2018 queer teen dramedy Love, Simon, homosexual romance stories have used the ferris wheel for establishing a new relationship status. The most recent seasons of both Sex Education and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina used ferris wheels as catalysts for gay relationships. In Love, Simon, the ferris wheel scene tied into a line of dialogue where the protagonist said “Sometimes I feel like I’m stuck on a ferris wheel,” but there’s deeper symbolism to this motif.

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Ferris wheels could easily be seen as a metaphor for the LGTBQ community as a whole. The carnival rides tend to be colorful, flamboyant, and, of course, cyclical, which can come off as a representation of the highs-and-lows that members of the community have to deal with. That said, the heights and gentleness that ferris wheels possess carry an optimism with them. The view from the very top is often breathtaking, no matter where you’re located, and, frequently, the highest point that a rural or suburban teenager will reach before entering adult life.

For a plethora of reasons, the ferris wheel is the perfect location for a first kiss between two young lovers, and a principal factor is its public nature. The climactic scene in Love, Simon was so memorable because when Bram and Simon kissed, their romance was visible to the film’s other characters too, who cheered them on rather than turn their heads away in disgust. It was a fully cumulative way for the film to express its themes of acceptance and young love while doing it in a nostalgic presentation that reflected so many beloved rom-coms before it and still feeling relevant. The film’s success in this area immediately sparked an online debate with people saying that ferris wheels are now an integral part of queer culture, which allegedly did catch on.

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Of course, the examples haven’t always been luminous, with one particular case displaying the ferris wheel as a less positive place for queer romance. The scene in Sex Education where Eric and Rahim share a ride together actually has a similar appearance to the aforementioned one in Love, Simon, but it subverts our expectations by not having the characters kiss. We see Eric with his love interest, Rahim, as they’re paused on the ride, and Eric is in too awkward a state to make good conversation. Rahim asks him if he knows any good landmarks in the area, and drops a line of poetry from Pablo Neruda. Eric is not privy to either, even mistakenly calling Pablo Neruda a “her.” When the ferris wheel stops to let them off and Rahim exits first, we see a lovelorn Eric left behind. It evokes an extra sense of sorrow as it plays at such an inverse to the glorious scene from Love, Simon. In essence, this scene conflates with the “stuck on a ferris wheel” line from Love, Simon in a more acerbic sense.

For that reason, the ferris wheel also holds a satirical aspect to it. While it is fully understandable that ferris wheels have a veiled cultural representation for members of the LGBTQ community, it also shouldn't be dismissed that the rides are artificial constructs that are often poorly made and repetitive. It's a double-edged sword in that case, and ferris wheels thus have the potential to either blossom a relationship or stagnate it. Hopefully future instance of the Gay Ferris Wheel trope will find a way to be tongue-in-cheek with the scenario while also being able to elicit a great warmth.

It’s an interesting motif that will likely continue in media, especially as LGBTQ culture becomes more ubiquitous. These existing sweet and bittersweet representations of young gay love are palpable for anyone, regardless of sexual orientation. At a time where the Information Age has relegated so much of our attention to new technologies, it’s wholesome and whimsical to return to a simple and timeless archetype such as an amusement park ride.

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