Clairo’s ‘Immunity’ is a Queer Coming of Age Film
By: Tori Ladd
Tags: Music, LGBTQ, Film, Indie, Pride

LGBTQIA+ Music

Clairo’s ‘Immunity’ is a Queer Coming of Age Film

A Pride Month gem for LGBTQIA+ youth

Sofia, know that you and I

shouldn’t feel like a crime.

Claire Cottrill- known in the music world as Clairo- is a Massachusetts-raised singer-songwriter and luminary of the indie pop genre. After her 2017 viral bedroom hit “Pretty Girl”, an original song with an accompanying impromptu music video of her lip syncing (suitably) in her bedroom gained an overwhelming amount of attention, the Gen Z singer’s fanbase flourished with young people who related to her and her message of fortitude.

Her words “I’m alone now but it’s better for me/I don’t need all your negativity” accompanied by a simple lulling instrumental was enough to obtain almost overnight success. Whether she is posting memes or advocating for social justice on social media, she stays engaged with her dedicated audience.

Clairo first brought up the topic of her sexuality in a tweet in May 2018 saying “B.O.M.D. is also G.O.M.D. for ur information” referring to the song from her first EP diary 001 whose acronym stands for Boy Of My Dreams. She explained further in an interview with Out that “I’m still not really sure what my sexuality is, but I do know that it’s not straight.” Though currently labeless when it comes to sexuality, she explores love and relationships with women through her vivid language and picturesque instrumentals of Immunity.

A coming of age film is one that follows a main character (usually a young person) through a transformative time of their life. It’s a story of maturation where we experience the character overcome hurdles to attain personal growth. Some recognizable examples of coming of age films include the 80’s paradigm The Breakfast Club, the cult classic Clueless, and more recent hits like Moonlight and Love Simon. Strains of loneliness, love, and revelation knit these stories together just as they do in Clairo’s LP.

The songs that construct Immunity illustrate a cinematic queer coming of age story.

Through dreamy and honest lyrics supported by fuses of glossy melodies and indie rhythms, we can see her script screened before us. Until recently, the honest depiction of LGBTQ+ people (especially women) in film or music were few and far between, leaving queer youth with little media to relate to. Clairo joins the voices of similar artists such as girl in red, mxmtoon, and Hayley Kiyoko (deemed Lesbian Jesus by fans) giving women in the community an outlet to celebrate themselves by releasing unabashed gay bops in her own electric lo-fi style. The record places its listeners into its cinematic universe of lovely teenage chaos. She does not shy away from the truth of her emotions nor from the use of “she/her/hers” pronouns when singing about relationships which only conjures an even clearer image of Clairo’s dramatic narrative.

We let Clairo lead us on her odyssey of icy isolation, anxiety-ridden self-discovery, and blossoming romance starting with the first track off the album, “Alewife”.

This song acts as our opening scene in a somber but powerful flashback exploring her eighth grade self and the mental hurdles she experienced. The lyrics are all at once self involved, tragic, and at times even humorous- just like every tween’s eighth grade experience. We can imagine a shot of a shadowy blue-washed room with fourteen year old Clairo centered on her bed. The shot closes in on her as she says “I lay in my room wondering why I’ve got this life.” As “why me?” as these lines may read, this true story of Claire questioning being alive is dreadfully relatable and reassuring. As “Alewife” persists from timid to vigorous, we learn that it was her close friend who “saved her from doin’ something to herself that night.” This song is a dedication to Clairo’s friend Alexa who she claimed saved her life that night. Our main character has an established friendship and the album already passes the Bechdel Test.

Immunity’s gleaming first single “Bags” turns a mundane moment of watching TV on the couch into a fully fleshed will-they-or-won’t-they scene between the ingenue, Clairo, and her love interest.

She stated in an interview with Genius “I think this song is definitely about one of my first experiences with a girl, but I think as a whole it’s just about being comfortable or becoming comfortable in between spaces.” Her hesitant voice singing “Can you see me using everything to hold back?/I guess this could be worse/Walking out the door with your bags,” over a wavy synth shows us her conflicting emotions of earnestness and nervousness. She hopes for the best but expects the worst. We can see the half empty wine glasses, the close-up of their hands inching toward each other so slightly, Clairo’s face in focus featuring eager side-glances at her couch companion. The anticipation is palpable. “Bags” leaves the listener with the feeling of a classic love story escalation and even features a reference to the Academy Award winning LGBTQIA+ film Call My By Your Name.

It’s hard to be still while listening, “Sofia”, the final single from Immunity.

Clairo explains in a tweet that “Sofia” “is about my first ever crushes on women i saw in the media. people like sofia coppola, sofia vergara, etc…” This upbeat dance-tune features a dense guitar and polyphonic vocals making it the most concert-ready of the record. She sings “I think we could do it if we tried/If only to say, you’re mine,” in the chorus offering a fresh queer rendition of a sentiment we have heard again and again from straight artists- much like the LGBTQ+ film genre which has become more mainstream than niche over the last decade or so. “Sofia’’ is a confession of adoration and joy color graded in soft rosy hues. The lyrics can come across as trite at times, but who doesn’t love a corny romance to indulge in every once in a while?

Through Immunity, Clairo gives her listeners in the community a space to be seen and revered. With the previously mentioned tracks and many others on the LP, we are seeing Claire Cottrill’s instrumentalized diary- a novel-to-film-like work that plays out the ripening of Clairo’s love life, artistry, and ultimately career.