Supplemental Response #4: Julia

I May Destroy You is probably one of the most important shows of the past decade. I think it is revolutionary on multiple levels. Firstly, I think that on an industry level Coel's decision to turn down Netflix's $1 million offer in order to retain copyright of her material is an important statement. In the current streaming landscape, I think a lot of questions surrounding IP have become very opaque, and this helped me contextualise the rights of screenwriters in the same way we might look at the current highly publicised case of Taylor Swift's musical copyright against her former label. Positing female creators at the center of the legal/business affairs of their projects is an important step forward. 

Secondly and most importantly, this show offers a genuinely transformative approach to the discussion of rape culture. I May Destroy You offers incredible nuance to the idea of consent in our current understanding of sex and dating. It is difficult to watch, and that's exactly the point. We follow as Coel's character Arabella needs to make sense of her own assault, while her friends and family also encounter complicated brushes with consent and boundaries in their own lives. In the final episode of the show, Coel offers us multiple potential endings to the show, ranging between horror, comedy, and tearjerking. Both the form and the content of this show are aware of the difficult reality of grappling with sexual assault: there is no perfect justice, there is no ideal recovery, there is just trying to put one foot in front of the other to move forward. Having this kind of narrative available for viewing is unbelievably important.

However, the greatly disheartening part of this story is of course the lack of general recognition of this work among mainstream accolades. Important works like I May Destroy You are completely ignored by the Emmys and Golden Globes, whereas works like Promising Young Woman, which advocates for a white-feminist brand of half-baked rape revenge fantasy, are lauded everywhere. I am frustrated. But in the meantime, all I can do is recommend I May Destroy You as essential viewing.