I May Destroy You (and your chances of an award)
There’s been a lot on social media about the omission of I May Destroy You from the Golden Globes Awards 2021 nominations: people are angry and confused that Michaela Coel didn’t make it anywhere near the nominee list.
Some are calling it racist, others are calling it simply misguided. However, what I am more surprised at is how people continue to be surprised when every year it seems to be the same story…
An immediate parallel that springs to mind is Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag. It was fantastic — an outrageous female led comedy, written and starring mostly women. It showed us masturbation, objectification of men and pushed the boundaries of religion and lust. I, like millions of others, loved it. But, what Fleabag also gave us was the same type of ‘funny woman’ we’ve seen since the 80s, and one that continues to be the emblem of British female humour.
Funny comediennes are often posh, white straight women, fitting the ‘Cambridge Footlights-esque’ trope that the Americans so faithfully love. It’s crisp. It’s cute. It’s commercial. Emma Thompson. Jennifer Saunders. Joanna Lumley. Miranda Hart. The list could go on (although I can acknowledge the exceptions of Julie Walters, but she is often side-lined as outrageous, bordering on slap-stick)
So to me, Netflix’s The Crown receiving six nominations makes sense. It conforms with the perception of the stiff upper lip Brit, peppered with scandal. The same goes for Normal People — albeit this is probably for the quaint, but sexy, Marianne that Daisy Edgar-Jones portrays on (and off) camera.
The 90 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association like this UK and Ireland. They don’t like the raw (and truthful) world that I May Destroy You so elegantly constructs.
Michaela Coel’s gritty series pushed the boundaries of the BBC. Looking at rape, the identity of sexual assault victims, race, dating apps, writing, the arts, love, long distance relationships, drugs, bullying, and revenge, it is outrageous to not even get half a nod at the globes.
The snub has been recognised throughout, with even nominees questioning the exclusion. I found Copaken’s article for The Guardian stunning in it’s honesty and humility, and cringed on behalf of Emily in Paris. When your own writing team is questioning the Globe’s decision, you know something is up. The truth of the matter is that Emily in Paris is comfort TV, whilst I May Destroy You is uncomfortable TV, and in a year like 2020, that’s what the board in Hollywood were looking for. And in a year of BLM and a general awareness of inclusion coming to the forefront, perhaps people are shocked that systemic problems don’t disappear over night.
I May Destroy You is uncomfortable in all the ways great television needs to be. It confused you and it upset you, and made you question what it truly means to be a human. Ultimately anyone who has seen the series knows that Coel doesn’t need an award to validate that achievement (though it would nice…)
Originally published at http://leahmontebellowing.wordpress.com on February 6, 2021.
