Since premiering in June 2020, the HBO series I May Destroy You has enthralled viewers with its edgy filmmaking and biographical premise, which is based on the experiences of creator Michaela Coel. The dramedy was written by the multi-faceted English artist Coel, who stars in the main role as writer Arabella Essiedu. I May Destroy You could shock casual streamers with its provocative themes, but it comes from the mind of a woman who experienced the focal events in real life.
When I May Destroy You begins on HBO, Arabella attempts to balance her and personal and professional lives. She visits her love interest Biagio (Marouane Zotti) near Rome, and returns to America with editors inquiring about the status of her second novel. After putting off her writing responsibilities in favor of a night on the town with friends, Arabella wakes up with a gash on her forehead and fuzzy memories about how the evening ended. From there, I May Destroy You explores the protagonist’s willingness to make people accountable for their actions, all the while trying to maintain friendships with people who may not have her best interests in mind. The HBO series fundamentally revolves around a sexual assault, and challenges viewers to think about cultural norms that negatively impact the lives of the less-privileged.
The premise from I May Destroy You stems from Coel’s experiences while writing the sitcom Chewing Gum. Released by E4, the British series features Coel as 24-year-old virgin Tracey Gordon, a woman who seeks a more exciting lifestyle. At the 2018 edition of Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Chewing Gum’s creator and star revealed that she was sexually assaulted during pre-production:
“I was working overnight in the company’s offices; I had an episode due at 7am. I took a break and had a drink with a good friend who was nearby. I emerged into consciousness typing season two, many hours later. I was lucky. I had a flashback. It turned out I’d been sexually assaulted by strangers. The first people I called after the police, before my own family, were the producers.”
When Coel made the announcement in 2018, she was already working on “Jan 22nd”; a series that would ultimately become I May Destroy You. In the HBO series, fiction does indeed mirror reality, as Arabella comes to a dark realization in the early morning while working on her second novel. And not only is her character sexually assaulted in the storyline, but also further victimized by inner circle people. The narrative becomes even more intense when Arabella’s new love interest takes off a condom during sex, but doesn’t seem to take any accountability for his actions. Arabella then publicly calls him out at a public event, and the use of social media becomes even more prominent in the overall storyline. Coel recently told BBC’s Newsbeat that “It’s been quite hard but cathartic because I’m reflecting on a dark time rather than feeling it is happening to me right now.”
Prior to I May Destroy You, Coel appeared in two episodes of Black Mirror, and also had a small role in Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi. Now, through her HBO series, Coel has the opportunity to reach various demographics who genuinely want to learn more the experience of being female, and Black, and underestimated, in a rapidly-changing world. I May Destroy You is partially about the question of consent, but also about personal self-evolution and finding the strength to speak up when everything is on the line. “The show is calling for introspection,” Coel recently stated [via Vulture], “We know how to look out… We’ve been doing that. Don’t forget: Also look in.”
