Ethan Garcia explores how the show Maid represents people living in poverty in the United States.
Alex is in shock. She has been through enough stress already. She just witnessed her mother lose her mind because the house that she owned was taken from her. Alex sees her mother being taken away on a stretcher after punching through a window and breaking her wrist. This is the lowest point of the show.
Maid is the best-limited series on Netflix I have watched so far. It’s binge-worthy and captivating storyline kept me entertained the entire way. The show’s portrayal of important and realistic topics/issues that exist in the real world such as domestic violence, single-motherhood, mental health, and poverty really stood out to me.
The protagonist, Alex, an adult, stay-at-home mother of one daughter, experiences numerous obstacles throughout the show, one of the underlying causes is her lack of income. She escapes her “home” from her alcoholic, abusive husband in the middle of the night with nowhere to live and no money to maintain herself and her daughter. Her reliance on her husband financially set her up for a hard time if anything like this were to occur. Every cent that Alex spent was displayed on the screen as a math equation so the viewers understand the pressure of having little to no money.
Did Alex Get Lucky?
Now, I do think Maid does a good job showing an accurate depiction of poverty in the United States. But did the show actually portray what poverty is like? In most cases, yes. Alex was able to push through her obstacles with her own hard work, but also with the help of others. Some of them include Alex’s mother, Regina, and the manager of the DV shelter. Firstly, David Bianculli in 'Maid' is an unflinching portrait of a single mom's will to survive talks about Alex’s mother being her only choice of being someone to take care of her daughter while she had no money to afford daycare. He states that the real theme of the show is that those unexpected showings of support are what kept Alex going.
In addition, Wheeler points out that every time Alex accomplishes something, a setback appears out of nowhere, which induces stress on her and the viewers. He classifies the show as “exhausting to watch” at times because of this. Alex’s financial situation forced her to rely on the help of others in order for her to move forward. This may have worked out for Alex in the show. However, in most cases, people who are homeless and/or jobless do not have anyone to ask for help. Unfortunately, all they can do is live on the streets and ask for money. Alex had people to help her through her struggles, which is a good thing. But I feel like someone in real life would not have that many helping hands, especially if it was a person of color who wasn’t attractive.
Alex suffered a lot throughout the show financially. Every dollar spent was one less available to buy food. Mike Hale discusses how Alex’s financial status affected her during her journey. In Review: Love, Anger and Disgusting Toilets in Netflix's 'Maid', Hale describes Alex’s residential status as constantly changing throughout the show. Living places such as domestic violence shelters, halfway houses, family/friends’ houses, and even back to the trailer she left at the start of the show.
Paula’s Role in Alex’s Story
Generational trauma plays a significant role in Maid. A lot of the things that occurred to Alex, were also experienced by her mother, Paula. Paula is also a victim of domestic violence. Alex’s had flashbacks of the night she hid in a cupboard while her mother and father argued. Hearing the smacks as her father would hit Paula. That was the night Paula took Alex and ran away in the middle of the night. Sound familiar? Alex did the same thing with her daughter Maddie. There were many instances where Alex’s life was made more difficult because of her mother. For example, Paula would have to take care of Maddie while Alex had to go to work. Alex specifically told Paula that she should only call her if something was up, rather than calling Maddie’s father, Sean. Yet, Paula would still contact Sean regardless. This would stress Alex and force her to go search for her daughter.
It is evident that Paula suffers from mental illness. Alex mentions at the beginning of the show that Paula suffers from undiagnosed bipolar disorder. And we the viewers witnessed her mental state decline as the show progresses. That being said, she was dating a man who took advantage of her mental illness for self profit. He was the reason Paula lost her house and even kicked her out of the trailer they were in. She was homeless and in the same situation as her own daughter. Alex now had to worry about making money to maintain herself, her daughter, and her mother. Which added a tremendous amount of weight to her shoulders. The lowest point of both Alex and Paula’s mental state in the show was Paula’s “episode” where she ended up punching through a glass window and injuring her wrist. In Review | the Already Great 'Maid' Is Even Better with Mother-Daughter Stars Andie MacDowell and Margaret Qualley, Inkoo Kang touches on Alex’s relationships with her husband and mother, two people who have pasts of abuse. Stating that both people have reasons for being the way they are. Alex’s mother was mentally ill and also suffered from domestic violence from Alex’s father years before, and Sean was an abusive alcoholic who had parents that carried the same traits. Both articles really prove how domestic abuse not only affected Alex but also the people surrounding her as well. And portrayed how domestic violence bred those struggles in their lives. Of course, I am not blaming Paula for her actions. But it is undeniable that she did play a significant role in how Alex’s story turned out.
On the contrary, it can also be argued that Alex was affected positively by her mother. About halfway through the series, Alex had the revelation that her father was physically abusive toward Paula. And is the reason why she and her mother ran away from home. I feel like Paula gained way more respect from Alex after the realization and also gave Alex a sense of hope. She saw that her mother had made it this far and understood a lot more about all of Paula’s decisions up to this point. Despite the amount of stress Alex experienced because of Paula, she still knew she loved her mother and always made sure she was well. She constantly worried about Paula. The scene of them sitting at the riverside and conversing about what’s next for both of them solidified their relationship. They finally understood each other.
Having a loved one with mental illness can be draining and stressful, you may argue about many different things. But at the end of the day, they are the ones who truly love you and care for you. It is your job to do the same for them.
Ethan Garcia is a current first-year student and Bloomfield College in New Jersey. He is a student ambassador (Storyteller) who cares about his school and community and is currently studying music technology.
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