Yalesca Orellana explores how Maid is a fantastic show that highlights the real-life experiences of people that face domestic abuse and homelessness.
The first episode of Molly Smith Metzler Maid opens with Alex (Margaret Qualley), a 25-year-old living north of Seattle, laying awake watching Sean (Nick Robinson), the man who recently ended an argument with her by punching a hole in the wall. She grabs their 2-year-old daughter Maddy (Rylea Nevaeh Whittet) and tiptoes out of the mobile home they share after she's certain he's asleep. She and Maddy are going to become homeless for the first time in their lives, but it will not be the last. The scene is ongoing acting, casting, and scripting, but it's also a near documentary on a real-life show.
The Netflix original series Maid follows a survivor (Alex) as she tries to leave an abusive relationship, with flashbacks to her upbringing and connection with her ex-boyfriend Sean. Stephanie Land's memoir Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survivewas the inspiration for this series. As the show progresses, we see a woman attempting to provide a secure home for her daughter while dealing with financial troubles and domestic abuse. We gain a new perspective on how women are abused and how poverty and homelessness are shown throughout the series. While Maid is a fantastic drama, what is important is what the show portrays in real people's experiences of domestic violence.
One of the ways that Maid portrays the reality of a situation of domestic violence and homelessness is through the depiction of living in a shelter with her daughter. Alex and Maddy go to the shelter at two different points in the television series and both cases, it calls our attention to what life is like in a shelter which is unique in Hollywood because it does not show that kind of the world. With only 18 dollars in her pocket, Alex and Maddy arrive at their first shelter in Esquimalt, Canada, a women's shelter. She was surrounded by battered women who had been there for a few months to several years. Alex and Maddy, who are not used to the setting, attempt to sleep in their room, which is warmly welcomed by the owner. Despite all of Alex's concerns, she is unable to sleep with Maddy by her side since she is unclear about her next steps.
Alex eventually loses the energy to fight and recognizes that there is nothing more she can do as she ponders what she can do to help her case with Maddy. Daniel, a friend of hers who lives in the same shelter as her, encourages her to fight for what she wants, which is for her and Maddy to be in a decent environment without Sean. Those days spent sleeping on the floor of her shelter room with no expression on her face, on the verge of giving up, demonstrated how domestic abuse and poverty may impair one's mental health. A scholarly article written by Krishnan reveals how poverty can connect with anxiety or depression. It states, “Poverty is associated in these communities (as in many others) with higher unemployment, substandard housing, greater family stressors and conflicts, significant mental health issues such as depression and addictive be- behaviors, and limited knowledge of and abilities to seek help and service.” Poverty is linked to several additional factors that can lead to mental health issues. In Maid, Alex was homeless and dealing with other issues like family tensions, unemployment, and regular housing. Alex's performance showed how unhappy and lost she was, how close she was to giving up, and demonstrated how realistic the scenes and series can be.
In addition, due to her relationship with her ex-boyfriend Sean, Alex began to bounce from shelter to shelter because of abuse. Sean demonstrated several types of domestic abuse while being intoxicated by striking walls next to Alex and breaking glass, which dropped upon Maddy's hair in little bits. The show allowed viewers to observe how people can be abused in ways other than physical violence. The series did not depict a bruise on a leg or an eye, but it did highlight the fact that emotional abuse is still abuse. Polacko explains how society has brainwashed Alex into believing that abuse is solely physical and that the young mother is unaware that she is a victim. As we follow Alex's attempts to flee for good, we learn from her that just because someone has a scar or a large mark does not indicate they have not been abused.
An area of research discusses the show's focus on abuse. Tv critic Hale, talks about how the series was created to expose love, mental illness, and alcoholism, which are all too common. However, the show appears to depict a different aspect of those lines. Hale explains how instead of displaying physical abuse, the film depicts a different type of abuse: mental and emotional abuse.
In Maid, Alex goes back to live with her ex-boyfriend. In the last few episodes, we see her stuck on the couch for days while Sean psychologically abuses her. Baldry conducted a study to reveal how psychological abuse can hurt more than physical abuse. “Multiple regression analyses revealed that psychological abuse was a stronger predictor of anxiety and depression, low self-esteem, and intrusion/ avoidance symptoms than physical abuse.” A variety of shows and films have featured physical violence against women. There are, however, few films about emotional abuse. Without even touching you, a person's actions and words can traumatize you. Sean, an alcoholic, is an excellent illustration of this type of individual. He claims to adore Alex, but he mistreats her. He's verbally abusive, prone to rage, manipulative, and has a habit of lying.
Not only does Maid highlight abuse and homelessness, but it also exposes us to rarely seen truths about our professional responsibilities, frustrations, and overload, all of which make us sick to our stomachs and explains why social work has been labeled "an impossible job." Viewers are introduced to Alex's first "social services" worker, who has a cold demeanor—a defense we are all too familiar with. It is the result of dealing with numerous disadvantaged people who are looking for hope and assistance through a broken, contradictory system that unjustly withholds basic resources. With this, we experience Alex’s thoughts of shame as she imagines how bad the social worker thinks of her. We see her struggle trying to provide food, clothes, and medicine for Maddy. This portrayal provides viewers with a genuine perspective of a social worker associating with someone who needs help, as well as a glimpse into the pain and fear of individuals who have been abused.
While most scenes in Maid demonstrate a realistic viewpoint on how domestic abuse and poverty can be linked, it also revealed unusual and unrealistic moments with a single mother and her daughter struggling through homelessness. Skoski explains how domestic abuse portrayed in the show falters with realism through Alex’s parenting skills. Abuse is tough to deal with on its own, but it becomes even more challenging when a child is involved. As a victim of abuse, you may experience feelings such as rage, despair, and frustration. Alex, like her two-year-old daughter, always has a cool collective demeanor in the episodes. We also see situations in which Alex struggled so hard to get away from her abusive relationship that she had to constantly bounce back and forth with him. This highlights how a victim of abuse can be responsible for their behaviors leading to poverty after being harmed or abused.
Maid is a story that will inspire women who have been or are experiencing domestic abuse. Watching Alex's struggle through homelessness, financial difficulties, and abuse provides a realistic picture of what people can face in real life. As Alex is packing up her clothes to move to the shelter she says a few powerful words to her mother, “Emotional abuse is abuse.” With those words we realize Maid is more than simply a drama; it also educates viewers on the numerous systemic reasons why it takes a victim of domestic abuse seven attempts to flee for good.
Yalesca Orellana lives in North Jersey and is attending Bloomfield College as an education major.
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