Naivety, Christianity, sexuality and Beyoncé: welcome to the completely barred world of Chewing Gum ! This colorful UFO comes straight from across the Channel, and more precisely from the London suburbs where its creator comes from. The talented Michaela Coel takes us into her bubble, where taboos and conventions have no place.
Let us be clear from the beginning: Chewing Gum will not be to everyone's taste. The series was first broadcast on the mythical English channel E4, thanks to which we saw the birth of programs as legendary as divisive as Skins or Misfits. In the same way, Michaela Coel's rather peculiar humor may put off some. It must be said that she does not go with the back of the spoon! It's both violent and surprisingly simple. But whether you love it or hate it, the world of the brilliant British clearly does not leave indifferent. Simply because Coel manages the rare feat of bringing something new. A good dose of discomfort, a joyful mix of pastel colors and totally improbable situations: here is the tangy recipe for Chewing Gum.
The role of his life
Chewing Gum tells the story of Tracey Gordon, a 24-year-old woman from the impoverished suburbs of London. At first glance, the life of the Englishwoman does not look very cheerful. Cashier in a small local convenience store, she still lives with her mother, a strict woman who swears by abstinence and prayer. Tracey, meanwhile, prefers to worship Beyoncé. She does have a boyfriend, but he is downright frigid. He pays little attention to her, refuses to touch her before the wedding and uses her mainly as a cover to hide his homosexuality. However, the young woman has only one idea in mind: to discover the joys of sex, the ultimate taboo.
Even so, Tracey is far from unhappy. Through its focal length, this merry mess is not depressing. She takes us into a world of her own, folkloric, crazy and devoid of any notion of hindsight. Naive and well in her bubble (a bit like Diam's, what), she has little awareness of the world around her. The director does not hesitate to "break the fourth wall". That is, to make her character speak in front of the camera, speaking directly to the viewers, because "Tracey's world is unknown and strange to most people. You have to help them get in."
Michaela Coel, whom you have already met several times in Black Mirror for example, was largely inspired by her own life to create Chewing Gum. Initially, the multi-talented artist had turned it into a poem, then a play. Given its success, the story was adapted into a series. "Chewing Gum Dreams was born from an acknowledgement of failure, an inability to recognize myself in the pieces I was offered. I wanted to do something else, to write a text that resembles me," says the director. Well, it's mission successful! Coel has created a unique and complex character, in his image. The actress does not hesitate to use her atypical and elastic physique to reinforce comic situations.
Welcome to the cassos
Coel was born in the poor suburbs of London, just like her heroine. "I come from a world you rarely see on screen and I wanted to show that." In Chewing Gum, the director has fun with the clichés of the city, like these two young pregnant women with makeup who boast of living on allowances. "The people I grew up with are funny, it's not hard for me to build funny characters. I just see funny people around me all the time."
But it is also a question of giving another image of the suburbs. "I grew up in a city, and I was never afraid. I want to show another face of these neighborhoods, more whimsical than the hard, violent, gray one that we see in most British series. (…) I tell myself that there is a risk that fiction will no longer just become a reflection of society, but that society will reflect what it sees in fiction, and, in such a framework, that these dark stories can have a negative impact."
An image of the colorful suburbs, scenes of downright failed sex (a bit like in real life actually), and a role made by and for her. Michaela Coel succeeds in making us laugh with these unlikely ingredients. We hope that the sequel will flirt as much with discomfort and bad taste. Because deep down, it feels good.
