I May Destroy caused a stir in Hollywood after the show's creator, Michaela Coel, made history as the first Black woman to win an Emmy award for Outstanding Writing For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie. The hit show––which was created and produced by the Black British starlet, who also played a lead role––swept the Emmy, achieving seven nominations and two wins (it also won in the Outstanding Music Supervision category).
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Looking back, we understand the gravity of Coel's victory through her profound acceptance speech, which reflected her distinct grasp of words and ability to look beyond the confining walls of a room, to speak to the world. Unlike many who take to the stage to thank their loved ones and collaborators, she embarked on a more holistic route, speaking directly to the audience that made I May Destroy You such a success. This tactic made the moment remarkable because it was as if we were being seen for the first time. In her speech, she read, "Write the tale that scares you, that makes you feel uncertain, that isn't comfortable." she continued, saying, "Visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success. Do not be afraid to disappear—from it, from us—for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence."
She also dedicated her award to "every single survivor of sexual assault", referencing the show's basis on her own story (In 2016, Coel's drink was spiked, and she was sexually assaulted by two men). Her acknowledgement of a collective struggle emulates one made by Viola Davis, during an equally historic moment `when she won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her role as the lead Annalise Keating in the Shondaland classic, How to Get Away with Murder. Davis gave an emotional speech, highlighting the disparity in recognition between white and Black female actors.
The erasure of Black British women TV and Film
Coel's win is a hopeful indication of a shift in the entertainment industry that no longer supports the exclusion of Black female creatives, especially those outside the US bubble. The representation––or lack thereof––is a reflection of how society views Black women. For years if Black women were to appear on the screen, they were given one-dimensional roles that played into stereotypes. In many cases, Black women were put on a comparative basis with white women, their proximity to whiteness directly correlating with the quantity and quality of screen time afforded. Those presented as desirable were often either lighter-skinned or mixed race. Furthermore, interracial relationships were typically explored through a Black man and white woman dynamic. A portrayal of "urban" British culture has infamously platformed white or mixed race female narratives at the expense of more authentic Black female renderings, as Emma Dabiri notably discussed in her 2013 essay, "Who Stole all the Black Women from Britain", which remains relevant to this day.
Naomie Harris and Cynthia Erivo are examples of Black British actresses who have divested from the British entertainment scene to the US for better roles, receiving praise over the years for their respective bodies of work in Hollywood. The relative abundance of opportunity stateside has been coupled with an increased demand for primarily American streaming services, such as HBO, Hulu, and Netflix, forcing British broadcasters to restrategise.
This lack of representation of Black British women on screen is mirrored behind the cameras as well. Up until the mid-1980s, there were no recorded Black female directors in Britain. Black and mixed-race women like Maureen Blackwood, Martina Attille and Ngozi Onwurah were seen as pioneers in actively challenging stereotypical representations of Black womanhood while asserting their presence in male-dominated Black British cinema. Industry enfranchisement for marginalised actors has since been amplified by the digital revolution, which has democratised the creative process. Nonetheless, as of 2018, there are only four Black and mixed-race British women directors who have had a feature film released in UK cinemas: Ngozi Onwurah, Amma Asante, Debbie Tucker Green and Destiny Ekaragha.
How Coel changed the narrative
Michaela Coel is no stranger to making history. Coel studied English Literature and Theology at the University of Birmingham between 2007 and 2009, before transferring to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, where she was the first Black woman enrolled in five years. Her time there birthed the creation of her own one-woman show, Chewing Gum Dreams. It later aired as a comedy series on Channel 4 as Chewing Gum, inviting a bigger budget, cast and storylines. Things took an even bigger turn when it began streaming on Netflix, penetrating global audiences, including the infamously hard to break the United States. Coel earned two BAFTA awards off the back of her television debut––the show was a clear success.
What made this all the more remarkable was that this show was built around characters who would normally not be the main focus. It followed the life of a young girl from a West African Christian family, desperate to lose her virginity, against the backdrop of marginalising society.
Some of the most striking moments were the ones happening backstage. Coel was shocked to see how her cast (who were mostly Black) were mistreated and discriminated against even though it was her show. Speaking to Vulture, Coel recounts arriving on set the first day to find that five Black cast members had been confined to a single trailer, while a white actress had one to herself. Describing the scene to the production office akin to "a fackin' slave ship", Coel recalls, "In that moment, I was like, 'This is disgraceful."
These incidents would inspire her to never work in an environment like that again, and without Coel's heavy involvement in nearly every aspect of Chewing Gum––from the costumes to postproduction––the outcome would have likely strayed far away from the creator's original vision. So, when Netflix offered $1 million for her next show, I May Destroy You, she rejected the offer because they would not give her 5% of her rights to the series, which would leave her with limited creative control. Coel ended up taking the show to the BBC and HBO.
As aforementioned, I May Destroy You is a fictionalised depiction of her own experience with sexual assault. Raw and uncensored in its nature, it encompasses multiple themes of sexuality, diversity within the Black diaspora, and relationships to provide an introspective portrayal of millennial life in the UK for those of Black African descent.
A shift in culture
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A 2018 report stated that "BAME workers represent 4.4 per cent of the film sector workforce, however, the proportion of BAME directors is lower even at a nominal 3.5 per cent." Reflectively, 13.8% of the UK's population falls into this group, indicating a massive underrepresentation. These stats can be coupled with the barriers women in the industry face––women holding just 36.1% of jobs in the creative sector and 29.9% of the most senior roles––to illustrate how women of colour, especially Black women, are doubly sidelined. Black women creators are systematically not given enough control or input into the narratives we see on British TV, and inclusion is a necessity if the UK is to curb its stateside brain drain of Black British talent.
Beyond Michaela Coel, we are seeing a positive shift in representation on and off-screen, largely down to the efforts of people from historically marginalised backgrounds already in the industry. Lyshana Lynch, who is Afro-Jamaican, made history by starring not only as the first Black 007 but the first female one too, in 2021's No Time to Die. Commenting on the groundbreaking move, Lynch said, "We are in a place in time where the industry is not just giving audiences what it thinks the audience wants. They're actually giving the audience what they want to give the audience. With Bond, it could be a man or woman. They could be white, black, Asian, mixed race. They could be young or old. At the end of the day, even if a two-year-old was playing Bond, everyone would flock to the cinema to see what this two-year-old's gonna do, no?" But that is not to say that everyone is happy about this sort of change. The star was so overwhelmed by the negative comments online that she removed all her social media apps and spent time healing by herself and with family.
As we continue to ride the global success of the talented Michael Coel, we are hopeful that this will open the doors to more projects directed at and created by Black women, especially outside of the US Geographic diversity in both portrayal and creation allows the intricacies of Black womanhood worldwide to be showcased in a way that is deeply informative and necessary. While still being mindful that the real work has only begun, the future seems promising.