Insecure 2016

I was skeptical this was going to be any good after the pilot. It hadn't occurred to me that this was the spin-off (extension?) of the web series I came across years ago. Identity politics is a tough road to travel. At one level we all can understand logically that we're the same and go through relatable drama and get caught in similar dialogue. Then you add the burden of your cultural or sexual identity and sometimes in trying to round out your voice you almost parody yourself. This was my initial reticence. I don't need another "awkward-type" fumbling around in the dark telling me how very awkward they feel and, man, this life thing right? I don't find invitations into the bathroom particularly deep or a source of insight just because that's where you like to amateur rap. It's real, just in a mundane way.

I keep coming back to the idea that this is almost like Girls if Lena Dunham were attractive and exhibited more tact. Girls over time sort of devolved into a self-indulgent screed pretending like it was celebrating and satirizing entitlement, I think because it realized that the voice that launched the show was fundamentally weaker than the expectations for it to keep telling stories. I hope that's not what happens to Insecure, though I suspect given the title, the creator will show an increasingly evolved and intimate portrayal of her characters. On the second to last episode I finally felt it starting to feel more sincere and real. I'm getting drawn in and finding myself curious as to how things will resolve.

The part that feels the weakest is the comedic voice. Again back to Girls, I remember at least pretty consistently laughing my ass off at characters like Adam or some of the physical comedy. Here Insecure feels like it walks a finer line in pawning off a few chuckles to side characters or the idea of "general white obliviousness." Perhaps it's deliberate? In that there's always a kind of tension or stress trying to be black while navigating a white environment, except, even among friends the dialogue leans heavy. Mind you, that isn't a problem in and of itself, it's just that you can feel like there's maybe supposed to be more of a joke there, but it rarely comes.

I think I'd just like to see the show with a little more edge. Had Atlanta not come out, I'd only have white analogues or something like Masters of None to generally pit this against, which I think can blind you to voices it's harder to recognize by being on the outside. At the same time, regardless of culture or skin color I feel a show lives or dies by its ability to dig into the heart of its humanity first and then use the individual voice to color it, so to speak. Leaving aside the consequences of marketing and the hype machine. I'd like to see "more," that amounts to not just an increased episode count.