The way Coel did it proved the truth of another of Roth’s central beliefs: that any work of fiction worth its salt is an argument with itself. In lesser hands, this could have meant a dreary and dispiriting recitation of received wisdoms: black people and women good, white people and men bad etc. Throughout the series, the assault was also the springboard for a full-scale rumination on all our current cultural concerns (or obsessions). It’s hard not to see deep similarities between Michaela Coel and Philip Roth After finally identifying her attacker, Arabella/Coel dramatised three possible endings to see which of them best represented her feelings, before firmly suggesting that they all did. The conclusion she came to in that final episode was pretty Rothian too: that having so many different and sometimes contradictory ways of telling her story was her story.
#FINALE OF I MAY DESTROY YOU SERIES#
The same happened to Arabella in episode one and for the rest of the series she wrestled with how best to write about it (or, in other words, how best to write the programme we ended up watching). The show, by now famously, was based on a sexual assault Coel suffered after her drink was spiked.
On Tuesday night, as an adaptation of Roth’s The Plot Against America began on Sky Atlantic, Coel’s I May Destroy You was serving up a dazzling final episode that confirmed how Rothian the series has been.įor one thing, the main character Arabella, played by Coel herself, was - like many a Roth protagonist - not just a writer, but a writer concerned with transforming autobiographical experience into the kind of fiction that, in a tricksy twist, is partly about its own creation.
Nonetheless, this week’s television made it hard not to.
#FINALE OF I MAY DESTROY YOU TV#
Looking for more TV recommendations and discussion? Head over to our Facebook Group to see new picks every day, and chat with other readers about what they're watching right now.It might seem a bit of a stretch to see deep similarities between Michaela Coel (young, female, black and currently very fashionable indeed) and the late Philip Roth (increasingly discredited as an embodiment of all those phallocentric white guys who once ruled American fiction merely because they were great writers). Readers in the US are encouraged to contact RAINN, or the National Sexual Assault Hotline on 80.ĭigital Spy now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox. Rape Crisis Scotland’s helpline number is 08088 01 03 02. If you’ve been affected by the issues raised in this story, you can access more information on their website or by calling the National Rape Crisis Helpline on 08. Rape Crisis England and Wales works towards the elimination of all forms of sexual violence and sexual misconduct. Had that level of creative control been snatched away from her, the end product could have been a very different kettle of fish, watered down to suit someone else's idea of what it should look like.īut Coel's vision, thankfully, burns bright. Not only did Coel write I May Destroy You – and solo, we should add, choosing not to employ the help of a writers' room – she also executive produced and co-directed, ensuring that her fingerprints are all over the final version.
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