I Am Not Okay With This - Review/ Media Project

Puberty is hard for anyone; ance, changing bodies, mood swings, and - superpowers?

The end of February of this year, the show “I’m Not Okay With This” came out on Netflix as a Netflix Original. Shortly after its release my mom and I decided to binge-watch it together. Reading this assignment; I thought this show was perfect to dissect since it’s only seven 23 minute episodes. So I proceeded to re-binge-watch it, if you will. With all this spare quarantine time; Why not?

Courtesy of Netflix

This show at first glance is reminiscent of Carrie in the trailer by replicating the famous covered in blood in a dress scene. But instead this show is a comedy-drama that follows the story of Sydney Novak (Sophia Lillis). To attempt to quickly summarize Sydney's, or Syd's, complicated life I’ll start with her description of herself, “just another boring 17-year-old white girl.” Residing in Brownsville Pennsylvania, she lives with her little brother Liam, who's a middle schooler that is too precious for this world, and her mom Maggie. Syd and her mom Maggie don’t have the greatest mother-daughter relationship. The mood in this lower class family shifted significantly after Syd’s dad, a year ago, hung himself in the basement.

Since moving to Brownsville, PA, Syd has made her first best friend ever, Dina (Sofia Bryant). Though Dina recently has found herself enamored with the school’s biggest and most popular jock, Bradley Whitaker (Richard Ellis). While Dina finds herself busy with her high school romance, Syd decides to find her own; Stanley Barber (Wyatt Oleff). Stanley is an eccentric stoner who listens to vinyl in his basement while his abusive father resides drunk upstairs. Stanley is also the only person to know about the real plot of this show, Sydney's secret. Syd can essentially break, move, or even hurt anything or anyone using her mind, though not exactly within her control. When she gets angry, embarrassed, scared, or even overwhelmed things around her will go berserk. Insane like dozens of trees falling all around her or as simple as making jerk-wad Bradley's nose bleed.

Courtesy of Netflix

The style of this show is similar to another Netflix Original, “End of The F*cking World.” These shows share that almost vintage feel with the use of clothes, colors, and music. The music in "I'm Not Okay With This" is just about all 80’s tunes, “to the extent that I had to double back and make sure it wasn’t a period piece. It is not; it just loves the ’80s, to the point that Stanley is an aficionado of VHS tapes,” said New York Times in their review.

This show isn’t a fixed set like The Office or Friends. It takes place in a small town with a population of 5,283 people. It's filmed in areas such as Syd's house, Stanley's basement, the high school gymnasium, and an old fire watch tower. This show is relatable to their audience since it takes place in a high school and not all of the characters are too dolled up. Sydney even confesses to have zits on her thighs.

The thing that makes this show so binge-worthy is how quick the episodes go and how they leave you wanting more with clever cliffhangers. What keeps me watching is watching the characters develop and change throughout the series. Oh and let’s not forget Netflix's feature that automatically plays one episode after another after only five seconds of the credits rolling. It’s a handy feature when you’re all cuddled up in a blanket on the couch, but that is definitely another reason I keep watching.

Courtesy of Netflix

There’s a lot of stereotypes in this show. The entitled athletic jock, dim-witted stoner, short haired lesbian, and a principal who takes his job a little too seriously. Bradley for example treats his high school career like his prime time. He’s the popular jock with his group of minions who worship the ground he walks on. As cliche in most of these high school shows, this attitude blows up in his face.

There were only a couple more obvious product placements that I could spot in this show. One was Vans shoes worn by Bradley while sitting in the back of his truck with an unnamed friend, or should I say minion, of his. The other were a pair of high topped white converse worn by Dina at school. There were also scenes with Sydney walking around a convenient store where Mountain Dew, Dr. Pepper, Kraft Mac and Cheese, and Kellogg's Cereal. But I'll let that slide since it would arguably be a little off-putting if everything on the shelves were made up products.

Courtesy of Netflix

One of my favorite features of this show was how the show created a moment behind every time Sydney breaks something using her mind. I should mention that this show is from the perspective and is narrated by Sydney. When she's losing control and is about to break something with her mind, it’s not just for no reason. We can tell this as an audience by the edited in rapid flashbacks that increase her anger as she narrates herself trying to calm down, all while a deafening high sound starts growing increasingly louder until it’s released. Gives me chills.

From the reviews I’ve read, it seems that the show "I Am Not Okay With This" is pretty well liked. And I’ll have to agree with most of their opinions. Sure you have your stereotypical characters here and there, but over all this show is enjoyable to watch. From the good music to the interesting storyline; I’d recommend this to a friend. In fact I have to about a handful already since its release.

After further analyzing this show, I learned that it’s okay to critique and point out shows on things such as stereotyping and product placements.