Michaela Coel is on a roll!
The titan of talent is blazing a trail with self-created shows such as ‘Chewing Gum’ and most recently ‘I May Destroy You’ – the latter of which is receiving critical acclaim on both sides of the pond.
Written, directed, and executive produced by Coel, the BBC/HBO title invites viewers into the luminous world of London, as it unpacks a rivetting story of consent, race, youth culture and working in the media. All with a brand of nuance that many argue has yet to be seen on screen…until now.
In the new issue of British GQ, the star opens up about the hit which has taken the box by storm, as well as racism, and much more.
Peep pics and more below…
On The Bold Direction Of ‘I May Destroy You’:
“You say to somebody that you’re making a show about sexual consent and I think that people have a prejudice about what that might be. For me, this show was never, ever coming from a place of anger. It was coming from a place of curiosity and of exploration. I think a lot of people maybe didn’t quite understand that.”
On Experiences With Racism:
“I have so many that it brings me to tears to think about, so I don’t want to share them, because they’re painful. I also realise that while being very aware of the direct, aggressive forms of racial abuse, racial violence and even police questioning that I’ve had in my life with no criminal record – I’ve had great encounters with the police and bad encounters – when I think about the racial abuse that I experienced over the course of my life, I’m also understanding that everybody is deeply traumatised. I think if you can stand there and say that you don’t think racism exists, you are a very traumatised person and your trauma has made you blind to what is going on right in front of you. They don’t see that they’re blind. That’s what we’re dealing with right now, which is much more concerning than dealing with someone who is maybe pretending to not be racist or has this intentional hatred. We’re dealing with actual blindness, which is a whole other thing, isn’t it?”
On Advice She’d Give Young Black Creatives:
“Whenever I’m asked this there is this unfortunate element of “I can give you words, but those words are not definitive and those words do not bring any certainty in terms of your career aspirations”. But I can definitely say that it will only do good to take regular breaks from social media and maybe not being on social media. I can say that it will do you good, because it will give you time to have introspection, but I don’t expect anybody to really take that advice. When you’re creating, you have to investigate how you feel, how you think, who you are, because you’re creating. That’s important. That’s my advice.”
********
We’re all sorts of addicted to the show and are so here for Ms. Coel’s come-up.