Unbreakable: Females in Comedy

A couple of weeks ago, I fell off the wagon and had a good old Netflix binge. Who can blame me? Netflix had just released Unbreakable Kimmy Schimdt, a new comedy show created by Tina Fey.

If you haven’t heard of it, the shows follows a woman who was forced to join an apocalyptic cult in middle school and is finally rescued fifteen years later. She leaves her small town where she is only known as the “mole woman” because of her years in a bunker and reinvents herself in New York City.

If you liked the movie Elf, you’ll love this show. Because the main character, Kimmy, was kidnapped in middle school, her emotional development does not match her age. She wears a backpack to a club, uses phrases like “word up,” wears brightly colored clothes, and reads The Baby-sitters Club. She even has a discovering NYC scene similar to Buddy’s.

The opening credits, making fun of the popular trend of autotuning viral videos, states “females are strong as hell,” something which is seen throughout the show. Starting with Kimmy, who goes back to school and stands up to her cult leader, to Mrs. Voorhees, a woman who finds the courage to explore her roots and confront her crumbling marriage, the show is dripping with strong female roles. “It’s so empowering,” senior Shira Buchsbaum commented. Tina Fey has done a beautiful job of building up women without degrading men.

Not to mention that the show is still hilarious. Because Kimmy is not updated on all of the hip, new trends, she often unwittingly comments on our ridiculous culture. She is fascinated by our dancing and dubstep, cannot work a phone, and is confused by selfies. The show’s ongoing jokes are “on fleek” (a phrase Kimmy would not know about) and resurfaced throughout the season. “It’s my new Parks and Recreation,” Audrey Rowland said after watching it. I’ll let you be the judge of that, but it certainly on My List on Netflix.