It was just another day during the pandemic when all we had was OTT. People were either talking too much, or not at all – I was the latter. This also meant that it felt like I had too much bottled up, and no outlet for my thoughts at all. It was almost like not being seen. Maybe it was the timing of everything, but when I first started watching The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, it felt like someone had written something FOR ME – and then some more.
I’ve always been told that I’m stubborn, too opinionated and feisty – things that make a woman less likable. When I take a stand, and make it clear that I’m taking a stand, I’m told that it’s better to not always react. That silence is also a response. Then I found this show with its subtle yet savage commentary on what it’s like to be a woman – all of it.
The web series focused on WHY it matters to express when you’re being walked all over..or to simply put – why raising your voice, especially as a woman, is important – even if it means yelling, to be heard. Growing up I’ve always struggled with the idea of doing more to get what I want, solely because I’m a woman. Like the protagonist in the show, I’ve always done more to be seen or at least acknowledged. Midge Maisel, who plays a homemaker-turned-comic, is a woman who likes being noticed – which feels wrong, but it isn’t. Like her, I’ve always wanted to be appreciated so badly for what I do, and that’s because people are incapable of telling a woman that she’s talented, or funny or just nice.
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel starts as a journey of this literally perfect woman whose husband cheats on her, and one random day, decides to leave the relationship. Now, when I say ‘literally perfect’, I know there’s no one definition of perfection, there cannot be. However, Midge Maisel was the conventionally ‘suitable’ woman of her times – she fit in every criteria, of every person. So, for people who’d argue that the man ‘left’ because the woman wasn’t good enough, cannot have a lot to say here.
It then follows her journey of becoming a successful stand-up comedian, after she stumbles on stage with a mic in one hand, on the same night when the husband decides to leave. It’s important to note here, that the show is set in the US, during the time when women’s equality movements had not even properly begun. So, for a female comic to go on and say, “Tits, fuck, vagina, DIVORCE”, wasn’t exactly appreciated. For a woman to have any opinion, especially when it meant asking for equality, wasn’t appreciated. Now, this is an important detail because our society is technically still stuck in those times. We do not like our women to do anything ‘out of line’.
(Here, the phrase ‘out of line’ means anything that men do, but women should not, because, sanskaar.)
When I talk about the The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, it shows that it matters to me. It matters because it not only tried to say what I had been, but also because it left me with a lot more to learn about women. For instance, in an episode, Midge Maisel (who’s the protagonist and plays a comedian), talks about the role of women in society. She starts, “Women could be bleeding from the head, and they’d host a dinner party if the invitations were already sent out.” She goes on, “What if we discover one day, that we were always the ones in charge? Just, no one told us.” This hit and made me look at the women around me, and how they do so much – how they are so much, just no one sees.
Our society especially treats the women as secondary characters who are meant to always support the man. It’s never the other way round. So, to get anything that men already have, we have to fight harder. At times, we have to take things that we are not handed. For Midge, this meant grabbing any opportunity to make it big – and she does that through five seasons. It also addresses how for women it particularly matters to find success in what they do because they don’t often get second chances. If a man fails, it’s a misstep, but if a woman fails, she fails the people around her. In the show, we constantly see the protagonist having to compete with men and lose despite being better than them. Now that I think of it, it’s also her passion for her work that I relate with. I’ve always been passionate about things that I like to do, but I’ve almost never been acknowledged for my ambition. For me, like her, it’s either ignored or frowned upon.
There are so many other moments that are so honest that they stay. Of course there are a number of other films and shows that have managed to do that. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, however, does it like no one else – no, wait, that’s bias speaking, so I’ll focus on logistics. The show is extremely well-written and the way it manages to focus on emotional details, is commendable. It is also cinematically pleasing which is important for art, to get the point across. Oh, and it’s funny as hell. This is particularly important because the show leaves no scope for men to say, “Women aren’t funny.” We are; she is.
More than that, it talks about the struggles of women, everywhere, and what it takes to thrive in a society that never treats them as equals. It’s about motherhood, being a wife, being a daughter and more. In one scene from the show, we see Midge bickering with her mother because her mother thinks the solution to all her problems is getting married, and quitting stand-up. She struggles to make her understand that her work matters, and ends up realizing that her mother is the way she is because the society made her that. It’s about how women who are not feminists are just as stuck in the system – it’s the society that hinders them from growing. This was especially relatable because I’ve never had a settled relationship with my mother. Even on good days we’re arguing about stuff – but it’s because her idea of equality is different from mine – and we both don’t have it.
During an episode, while performing a set, Midge mentions, “Unfortunately, sometimes to make things work in a man’s world, you need a man.” This sums up the show for me. It’s honest, real, nothing preachy and yet so on-point. It says what you need to hear, but never sugar coats it. It doesn’t see women as victims. It doesn’t show them as fragile objects who need men, but also talks about needing men, because men have the power. The show is, in fact, marvelous; and like feminism, it’s important for men too.
All images are screenshot from the show on Amazon Prime Video.
