How I May Destroy You tackles the danger of "Karens"
Photo credit: HBO / BBC
By digital spy
I can destroy you follow episode six spoilers.
Note: The following article contains a discussion of sexual assault that may bother some readers.
Halfway through I May Destroy You, Michaela Coel continues to carefully show each character with nuances and balance the worldliness of life with its complexity. In the first six episodes, Coel addresses the different ways in which sexual harassment, assault and rape culture are anchored in our daily lives, but are still difficult to identify and define.
In the sixth episode, "The Alliance", Coel examines the reality of fake rape allegations, especially racist white women, who use their privilege to insidiously hurt and kill black men in many ways. These scenes mainly take place in the past, when Arabella's white female high school colleague sneaks around from the start and lies to her family.
Photo credit: BBC / Various Artists Ltd and FALKNA / Natalie Seery
At school, Theo accuses Ryan, a young black student, of violently raping her at the knife appointment to punish him for asking for payment and photos during sex.
Unknown to Theo, Ryan had already shared these photos with another student, Dylan, although he said he would never show them to anyone else. Although Theos and Ryan's encounter was mutual, he took their photos without their knowledge before they made a paid agreement. For this reason, Theo's suppressed anger at Dylan is understandable to some extent - but it doesn't excuse her deliberate racism and deliberate harm against Ryan.
Recently coined by Black Twitter as "Karens", there is a story of white girls and women who cry wolf and use their perceived kindness or innocence to criminalize and end the lives of black people. This applies in particular to sexual assault and rape. The lynching of Emmett Till, The Exonerated Five, and Christian Cooper's Central Park experience are just a few examples, and there are countless others, many of which are undocumented or widespread.
Karens, Beckys and even Susans are aware of the privilege that their white grants, as well as the unjustified policing and systemic racism that are present in all facets of Western society. Black women are often at or at the forefront of protests and disputes and defend black men if they are wrongly accused or killed. "The Alliance" is an appropriate group name for Arabella and Terry, who, even in high school, are aware of the false claims made and promoted by the predominance of whites.
Photo credit: BBC / Various Artists Ltd and FALKNA / Natalie Seery
Young Arabella and Terry publicly express how their tears would be perceived differently by their teacher - something that is too familiar to black women. Terry mentions that "white girls are tears of high currency" by suspecting innocence and taking immediate action. Arabella follows and insists that her sneezing is perceived as a sign of intimidation, let alone her tears, which are considered "weapons of mass destruction emerging from her eyeballs".
Black children are deprived of their naivety at a very young age and forced to act in the area of serious politics, hoping to be considered "good" or worth living. Coel makes this clear through the initiative Terry and Arabella take to investigate Ryan's case and provides photo evidence of what really happened to their headmaster. As a result, Ryan is not charged and ascribes to his "sisters who have his back" that they get out.
Shortly thereafter, Theo - the Becky, who developed into a full-blown Karen - described the group of black and brown children as "fucking African monkeys" after their tears with weapons did not work as planned.
Today, Theo has become the leader of a sexual assault support group and continues to center her border story while exploiting others - half of whom are black women.
Photo credit: BBC / Various Artists Ltd and FALKNA / Natalie Seery
Though Theo was the victim of leaked photos, revenge porn, and a suspected sexual assault by her father, the web of lies that created her tarnishes her plot at the end of the sixth episode. Terry is not convinced that Theo is different from the liar she was years ago, while Arabella is delighted by Theo's growth and the community that led her as an adult. With little or no appreciation or openness to past experiences, Theo basks in the praise she receives.
I can easily destroy you. They not only research the normality of modern rape culture, but also try to examine how large the spectrum is and how blunt we are as a people of its borders.
I May Destroy You will air on BBC One and is available on BBC iPlayer.
Rape crisis England and Wales are committed to eliminating all forms of sexual violence and misconduct. If you are concerned with the issues addressed in this story, you can go to their website for more information or call the National Rape Crisis Helpline at 0808 802 9999. Rape Crisis Scotland's helpline number is 08088 01 03 02.
US readers are encouraged to contact RAINN or the National Sexual Assault hotline at 800-656-4673.
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