TELEVISION
Queer Cast Shines on “Are You The One?”
Diverse group gives LGBTQ participants mainstream visibility
BY MATT TRACY
The question of “Are You
The One?” has been answered
with a unanimous
“yes.” Note: This article
has spoilers about Season 8 of “Are
You The One?”
An MTV matchmaking show
featuring a group of 16 queer and
single 20-somethings holed up in a
house in Hawaii ended in dramatic
fashion on September 9 when all
the remaining contestants found
their “perfect match” at the last
minute to share a $750,000 prize.
The long-running show made
history this year, in its eighth season,
when MTV opted to fi eld the
fi rst sexually fl uid cast, giving a
major boost to queer visibility on
mainstream television following
the trailblazing path paved by the
ongoing FX show “Pose.”
This season of “Are You The
ON THE TOWN
A Holiday Lantern Extravaganza
Revel in amazing lights, global food, colorful art at Hello Panda
BY JENNA BAGCAL
Head to Citi Field this
winter, where bright
lanterns, international
cuisine, and cultural
arts will collide.
From December 6 to January 26,
the Flushing stadium plays host to
the fi rst-ever Hello Panda Festival,
produced by CPAA North America.
Spanning 750,000 square feet, the
landmark event will feature more
than 120 handcrafted lanterns,
global food vendors curated by The
World’s Fare, and arts experiences
including live performances, modern
art exhibits, a holiday market,
and traditional crafts.
“Hello Panda’s mission is to not
only give New Yorkers and visitors
something they’ve never seen before
but also deliver an experience
they can’t fi nd anywhere else,” said
TWITTER/ THEBASITSHOW
Basit Shittu and Jonathan Monroe overcame a
rocky beginning to form a tight bond down the
stretch.
One?” encompassed a racially diverse
slate of cast members, including
trans men, gender nonbinary
individuals, and cisgender
men and women who were tasked
with fi nding the person best suited
for them according to a rigorous
matchmaking algorithm calculated
Winston Wang, general manager of
CPAA North America. “Our festival
will offer a variety of immersive
and social media moments that
introduce guests to the artistry
of lantern-making while bringing
different communities together
through food and culture.”
The festival’s lantern display
is sure to delight with more than
300,000 LED lights and several
interactive elements. Some of the
world’s leading lantern artisans
will handcraft and paint more
than 120 displays to refl ect the
tradition, innovation, and creativity
of the Chinese art.
Attendees can explore six different
lantern theme parks that
deliver distinct, immersive experiences.
The never-before-seen exhibits
will be spread throughout
the parks: Dream World, Holiday
Wonderland, Discovery Zone, Interactive
prior to the season.
The contestants used trial and
error as part of a matchmaking
process reminiscent of speed dating.
They partied, dated, went on
outdoor adventures, and concluded
each episode with a ceremony during
which contestants would pick
a potential perfect match and the
show would only reveal how many
— not which — perfect matches
emerged from the entire group.
The contestants originally aimed
to secure the $1 million grand
prize, but that opportunity was
squandered one week when there
were no perfect matches during
the ceremony. The grand prize was
then reduced to $750,000.
Throughout the season, contestants
navigated the ups and downs
of the long journey towards fi nding
their pre-determined one and
only while simultaneously demonstrating
to mainstream society
HELLO PANDA FESTIVAL
The Hello Panda Festival runs December 6
through January 26 at Citi Field.
Music Zoe, Sports World,
and Community Interactive Zone.
Display highlights include the
world’s tallest Christmas tree lantern,
life-sized dinosaurs and safari
animals, a huge fairytale castle,
and a 98-foot-long light tunnel.
Food will also be one of the main
attractions at this year’s Hello Panda
festival through a partnership
the vast diversity that makes up
queer millennials from across the
nation. That was seen in numerous
examples, including when one
gender nonbinary character with
they/ them pronouns, Basit Shittu,
stated that they are a “vers top,”
undoubtedly rattling the minds of
folks throughout the nation who
are still perpetuating rigid gender
norms and who are not familiar
with queer-specifi c language surrounding
sexual roles.
Each week, contestants voted to
send a couple to the truth booth,
where it would be revealed whether
or not they were a perfect match.
One couple, Brandon Davis and
Aasha Wells, managed to connect
rather early in the show and found
out in the truth booth that they
were indeed a perfect match.
Others came out of their shell as
➤ ARE YOU THE ONE?, continued on p.25
with The World’s Fare. Organizers
of the largest and most diverse
food and drink event in New York
City will lend their tastemakers to
curate vendors in the tented and
heated food pavilion. Foodies can
choose dishes from 60 diverse vendors
offering a wide selection of
global cuisines.
“The World’s Fare is honored to
partner with Hello Panda to celebrate
culture in the world’s most
diverse city,” said Joshua Schneps,
World’s Fare CEO. “There was a
natural synergy between the festival’s
mission and our organization,
and we couldn’t be more excited to
take this journey together.”
Hello Panda will feature both
traditional and modern cultural
arts through live performances,
galleries, and a holiday market
➤ HELLO PANDA FESTIVAL, continued on p.25
September 12 - September 25, 2 24 019 | GayCityNews.com
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