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In My View
- Living A Value Based Life
- Self-Care In A Crisis
- Baby Girl Expectations
- My Feminist Journey
- The Experiential Diary
An Ode To Insecure
Issa Rae Is A Ray of Sunshine
She is dope, hilarious and the queen of making audiences die from second-hand embarrassment and awkwardness. From her web-series The Mis-Adventures of Awkward Black Girl to her cinematic features in The Lovebirds, The Photograph, Little and The Hate U Give, and of course, her hit television show, Insecure, it’s very clear that Issa Rae is not short on talent and excels in the work she does.
Over the years she has showcased her impeccable writing and producing abilities. Her skills have been evident since she graced us with her presence online, and her craft has developed so greatly that she went from shooting an online series on YouTube, to having her own show on HBO. As a result of her hard work and determination, we get to witness such greatness primarily through 30-minute episodes of her hit show, Insecure. As previously stated, Issa Rae has a collection of brilliant works, but we know her best for insecure and that’s why I feel like it’s fitting to discuss the show in greater depth and highlight the reasons why it’s so great and vital when it comes to black representation on screen.
What is Insecure?
From AF to Lowkey, Insecure has been providing us quality content since it hit television screens in late 2016. Without giving too much away, the show follows a working to middle class African American woman, Issa D, and her life in LA. The first season is centred around Issa reflecting on her life – work, friendships and relationships – and this leads to the breakdown of her five-year relationship. The seasons that follow continue to focus on Issa D and the world she inhabits, in a very enlightening and entertaining.
As a television show it has so many great things about it. We see the complex characters presented in front of us, navigate their lives in LA. The show explores race and what it means to be black in certain spaces, relationships and their everchanging dynamics, mental health and the impact it has on our lives and the lives of others, growth and personal development, and societal changes, particularly issues such as gentrification. All these interesting themes are paired up with interesting storylines that keep us entertained and allow use the gauge different perspectives of the black experience.
Being Black
As the show generally depicts the lives of black people, the show doesn’t have to overtly talk about race. Being black isn’t a token, it’s the norm, so there is no need to highlight their blackness like it’s something alien. There are actions and mannerisms that are familiar to black audiences, and they don’t require explaining, unlike shows with token black characters that require explanations because of the otherness blackness is presented with. On top of that, because black is normal, there are so many references to black culture we get to enjoy, which is great.
Obviously, the black experience isn’t monolithic and these are fictional characters brought to life, but I think the show does well to highlight what the black experience can be like. From the scenes in predominantly white working spaces like Molly’s first law firm, or Issa’s job at We Got Y’all, we can gauge what it’s like to be black in these specific spaces. There’s a brilliant balance in how this notion is presented. It is a daunting reality, but it can be comical too. Insecure does well to convey this notion, particularly with Issa’s subconscious scenes that show what she wishes she could say being juxtaposed with what she does say. The microaggressions in the work environment are highlighted in such a relatable manner; it’s nice to be seen and understood on screen.
Generally, the portrayal of black people is beautiful in Insecure, because it celebrates us, criticises us, understands us and most importantly, it humanises us, unlike other shows that caricaturise and/or solely stereotype us. Stereotypes exist, they’re not shunned, but the depiction of these characters goes beyond them and explores how multifaceted we are as beings. Not every day black excellence; you’re allowed to be black mediocre, black poor, black down and out. All types of black are showcased and we love to see it.
Black Communities and Gentrification
Typically, the conversations that arise on the program mirror the conversations that we are actually having in society. For example, the struggle of gentrification. The show begins with an LA artist and images of the remaining ungentrified parts LA. From the jump, Issa Rae lets us know that she is a proud LA woman and that the location where the story takes place is very important.
Part of Issa’s personal development and growth is inspired by gentrification and the effects she notices it is having in her local area. She puts an emphasis on the idea that black people deserve to have nice things within their own communities and that black businesses deserve the same love and support these mega corporations get. This concept is repeated several times until the idea of the block party is conceived. The block party idea emphasises how black communities do want the improvement in their areas and want them to development, but this development needs to occur with their voices and input, rather than ignore them and drive them out of communities they spent years building.
Mental Health
Mental health is a conversation that black communities all over the globe have been needing to address, and within the past few decades the entertainment we consume is starting to address mental health and encouraging black people to talk about it. Oppression and repression of emotions is not a healthy combination.
In Insecure, we see how depression contributes to the breakdown of Issa and Lawrence’s relationship. Depression is shown to debilitate the couple’s communication, reduce the effort put into the relationship and create an emotional distance and a lack of understanding between the pair. This then leads to poor choices and the pair’s relationship is not able to survive.
The conversation of mental health and self-care continues as the show depicts a main character – Molly – that seeks therapy in order to address the issues in her life. Molly is a beautiful, successful woman, but it does not mean she is lacking in personal or professional problems and showing her actively go to therapy is powerful and encouraging for the audiences. Not only does it express to black people that it is okay to seek help, but in providing scenes of therapy sessions, it breaks downs the stigma and allows people to gauge how therapy can be conducted and the uses of it.
Other ways the show has discussed mental health include: Nathan’s bout with bipolar and how his actions were affected by it, and Tiffany’s breakdown and disappearance as a result of suffering with postnatal depression. The show does well in infusing hints in the storyline that the characters are struggling with something, but doesn’t overtly state it until necessary and this goes to show that the show is written with an understanding of a breakdown in someone’s mental health can be very subtle and unnoticeable.
The show overall encourages black folks to look after themselves. Our mental health matters and for so long the narrative of being strong no matter what has been thrust on black communities as if we’re superhuman, but that’s not the case.
Friendships
There’s a big focus on friendship and how vital it is for functioning in life. The friendship dynamics we see – especially with Issa, Molly, Kelly and Tiffany – highlights how your core group is important when it comes to support and being there for the highs and lows. The important moments in life are even sweeter when you have your friends by your side and we glimpse that with some special moments.
We also see how friendship isn’t smooth sailing and how life events can change how we view our friends and what we need from them. When events occur, dynamics are shown to change in a realistic and relatable fashion. Through Issa and Molly’s friendship, we see tensions generated and both characters have to evaluate whether or not the friendship serves them. Depicting this friendship being tested and breakdown is important as friendship breakups are real and popular media needs to show this more often. I’ll be real though, Molly was straight up trippin’, but that’s a topic for another day.
Additionally, when it comes to friendships, the dialogue we are presented with demonstrates that it is okay to call out your friends and be real with them. With that in mind, the show makes sure to emphasise that we have to be thoughtful in how we approach one another, even if we are familiar, because without compassion and understanding, tensions can brew and have devastation consequences on how we communicate with those we love.
All in all, there are many aspects of friendship are depicted in the show. The realistic and honest portrayal of them is something that we love to see, and I definitely cannot wait to see what the next season has in store for us.
Relationships
Relationships play a big part in the storylines we are gifted with. We see marriages, long-term relationships, short-term relationships, casual flings, open relationships and all sorts explored within the show. The dilemmas of modern-day dating are presented, alongside the problems that come with traditional relationships. Different outlooks are showcased in order to let us know that regardless of the situation, relationships are complicated and our choices have consequences. It’s not a new lesson to learn, but the show doesn’t shy away from showing intricacies of some of the actions and consequences, whilst also saying it’s okay to live your life and make certain relationship choices. There is no judgement of conventional and nonconventional relationships, just introspective analysis through brilliant storytelling.
I won’t give too much away here as it’s best you see for yourself, if you haven’t already.
Growth & Personal Development
Becoming yourself is a process that is shown on Insecure through the characters of Issa and Molly, in particular, and it is partially what contributes to their fallout. Both characters find themselves in messy situations often, but throughout the show’s progression, they find ways to curb certain things that are bad for them and unlearn behaviours that have not served them well in the past. However, as they go through these amazing bouts of personal development and growth, they neglect to see the other is changing in certain aspects and critique where they still view the other’s flaws and failures.
Depicting growth and personal development in this manner is great because firstly it shows that it is a process that is unique to the individual and what you view as good for you, others don’t necessarily do. The idea that in growth you can outgrow others is important to shed light on and the show does this so well with interesting storylines.
Furthermore, when it comes to growth and personal development, in the latest season, we were gifted with an episode that featured Lawrence and Issa re-examining their relationship how it broke down. The open and honest communication they engage in is beautiful to see and it highlights how far these characters have come since we first saw them, and this allows audiences to reflect for themselves and know it’s okay to be vulnerable in such a way.
Comedy
Laughter is guaranteed when you watch Insecure. The mix of awkward moments, hilarious characters iconic moments and timely one-liners allows the entertainment factor to forever flow. The characters that can always provide a giggle or belly laugh include Kelly, Ahmal, Chad, Thug Yoda and TSA Bae. Iconic moments include “broken pussy”, the Coachella tasering, and the overall aftermath of Coachella. Many of the funny awkward moments come from Issa’s time at We Got Y’all and the work she had to do with those dusty ass co-workers, and of course, Issa’s awkward ass always provides us with good laughs.
Want Some More?
There are so many other aspects of the show that deserve appreciation. The writing firstly deserves all the flowers. The show is steered by excellent writing and we see this through great character introductions, the constant hints about developing plot lines and well thought out dialogue. Additionally, the directing is superb, and we love how the showrunners – Issa Rae and Prentice Penny – collaborate with black directors to bring this show to life. The soundtracks for each of the seasons have been second to none. The locations we see are amazing and pretty much a shout out to LA’s beauty. Whoever is on hair and makeup kills it every time! The cast is already beautiful, but the hair and makeup department really know how to make these melanated beauties pop off even more. And lastly, the costume and wardrobe department really know what they’re doing, especially when it comes to Molly’s fits – chef’s kiss.
Overall, I don’t think you can go wrong with Insecure. It’s a show that depicts real conversations, real situations and real (types of) people. 10/10 would recommend.