Insecure (2016-)

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Insecure (2016-) poster

Insecure is an American comedy-drama television series created by Issa Rae and Larry Wilmore, and is partly based on Rae's acclaimed web series Awkward Black Girl. [1]

Plot

Unpacked stories of black female experience from the perspective of two female protagonists, Issa and Molly, who have been best friends with each other since their college days in Stanford. They both navigate their career and relationship experiences in the late 20s while living in their hometown of Los Angeles, California.

They share a close bond and, throughout the show, deal with internal struggles within themselves, their friendship, and the African American community. Issa works on a non-profit that benefits middle school-aged colored students called "We Got Y'all" The half-hour series explores social and racial issues related to contemporary black experience. [2]

Background

As the writer, Rae felt that it is so rare to watch "a show about regular black people being basic" in contemporary entertainment. Insecure has nevertheless been hailed as revolutionary. Part of Issa's insecurity on-screen—feeling "not black enough for black people and not white enough for white people"—is a personal experience of Rae, as she has had a real sense of feeling out of place as a Black woman growing up.

While she was in university, Rae began to notice that many of the TV shows she loved were all-white comedies. This got Rae frustrated and decided to start making her own stories, portraying everyday black life. [3]

Black Empowerment Values

Insecure is still a television text that unapologetically emphasizes the perspectives of Black women. This is summarized by the words spoken by the character in the season two trailer:
I know that as Black women it can feel like there’s a lot of things stacked against us. We feel invisible at work. We feel the pressure to have the perfect relationship.

The success of Insecure is proof of how digital spaces engage young Black women in ways that can facilitate their media production efforts, their self-representation, and their potential entry into the television industry. This is not to suggest that the rise of individuals such as Issa Rae is commonplace, but her remarkable achievements – including being nominated for the Golden Globe Award twice – signal how some Black women are going through the television industry in ways fuelled by their online content, rather than relying on an industry networking system. [4]

Black Racism in TV Series

In the second season of Insecure, Molly is clearly paid less than her white peers. In this case, the related issue related to intertwined racism and sexism that have arisen are more demonstrative of Black feminist television representations. [5]

Reference

  1. “Insecure”. Retrieved on January 11, 2021.
  2. “Insecure”. IMDb. Retrieved on January 12, 2021.
  3. Mulkerrins, Jane (Aug 5, 2017). [https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2017/aug/05/issa-rae-media-presents-blackness-fierce-flawless-insecure “ Issa Rae: 'So much of the media presents blackness as fierce and flawless. I’m not' ”]. IMDb. Retrieved on January 11, 2021.
  4. Sobande, F. (2019) “Awkward Black girls and postfeminist possibilities: representing millennial Black women on television in Chewing Gum and Insecure”.
  5. Sobande, F. (2019) “Awkward Black girls and postfeminist possibilities: representing millennial Black women on television in Chewing Gum and Insecure”.