If any television show represents the struggles and the hypocrisy that wome face it is this on! (Happy (early) Women’s History Month!!!)
Maid Recap
This Netflix original limited series based on the book Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land centers on Alex Russell who leaves her boyfriend with their young daughter after a violent incident. Alex handles what it means to be a woman in an abusive relationship, the different government programs that are impairing herself (and people in a situation similar to her own) from having a normal means of life, and persevering when it seems like the world is against you. The show tackles subjects like domestic violence, mental health issues, and systemic problems within the United States.
I’m So Proud of Her
Something you need to know about me, I’m weird. Most shows on streaming services release their episodes all at once, but I prefer to spread out the episodes once per week. For example, for Maid I would watch one episode on Friday and then the next episode the next Friday. That way the show will last longer and I can really sit and enjoy the character development, I don’t like to rush through what I watch. So when I started watching Maid, it took me a while to really get into the show and the main character. I wasn’t fully invested until maybe the third episode, but once that third episode ended I couldn’t wait for the next Friday to come to find out how Alex (the main character) would fight the next bureaucratic bullsh*t that got in her way and the was a lot of bureaucratic B.S. that she had to tackle along the way.
I thought the show was expertly written in a way that people who don’t know much about government programs or legal technicalities would kind of understand what Alex was going through when she left the father of her daughter and enrolled in domestic violence programs all while trying to get jobs as a maid without going over a certain number of hours. For example, there is one scene in the second episode (maybe) where Alex’s ex is suing her for custody of their daughter because he has had a job for their entirety of their daughter’s life (two going on three years) and can therefor offer more stability for Maddy (their daughter). When Alex and her ex are in front of the judge, lawyers’, etc, all that Alex can hear when the lawyers and the judge are talking is “legal legal legal” because while she may have understood the words that they were saying she may not have a full grasp of what those words really mean and to be honest most of us wouldn’t either.
I don’t want to reveal too much about this show other than for a show about domestic violence you feel uplifted watching it. You root for Alex because of the cards that she’s been dealt in life. You cry when life knocks her down and you cheer when things start to go her way. Watch it, enjoy it, and celebrate domestic violence survivors because they are the unsung champions of the world.
If you or someone who know is involved in a domestic violence relationship, please call the National Domestic Violence Hotline phone number at 800-799-7233 or text START to 88788 to get help or visit https://www.thehotline.org/ for other resources and help. Help is available whenever you need it.
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