Netflix Brazil Posts Incredible Pride Video

"Fictional characters represent real people."

From: NewNowNext

To celebrate Pride month, Netflix Brazil released a moving video that shows how LGBT Brazilians connect with the out and proud fictional characters of Netflix’s original series.

The video features individuals and couples posing in front of a screen upon which scenes from their favorite Netflix shows are playing. As shots from LGBT-inclusive shows like Sense8, Orange is the New Black and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt flicker by, the participants discuss the importance of seeing people like themselves represented on TV.

“When you have a complete character who happens to be trans or happens to be gay, it reminds everyone that these people are human beings,” reflects Gabi, a Brazilian trans woman.

Though the video is touching and offers an important look into the Brazilian LGBT community, one thing it doesn’t fully address is the immense violence this community faces.

Even as the country passed marriage equality in 2013 and continues to host the world’s largest pride event (São Paulo Gay Pride Parade, which annually has over 4 million attendees), Brazil is still home to 44% of the entire globe’s anti-LGBT violence.

As one participant in the video says, “I think it’s easier for people to accept others in fiction than in real life. But even when I suffer prejudice on a daily basis, [watching a show like Orange is the New Black helps me] to handle it with more tranquility.”