By: Saddiyah White
Usually, in society it seems as though most people believe it is so hard being a man, but what about being a woman? Is it really all that easy? The childbirth, the social expectations, the discrimination in workplace positions, and the justify of your hobbies if they’re not “ladylike”? That is a life of anything BUT easy. The Amazon Prime series The Wilds demonstrates women experiencing signs of depression, juggling more than they can handle, managing in inhabitable environments, and so on. While researching and studying this show it touched on so many social issues that happen today that you can’t just choose one.
At the beginning of my research of the show I was so concerned about why these girls were put in the situation they were in, like why them. These girls did not come from the same backgrounds, most of them didn’t know each other, and shared none of the same hobbies. As I watched episode after episode I realized I was paying attention to the wrong aspects. The diversity of the group was not the correct focus or purpose, the many problems and feelings women encounter was. The Wilds effectively focus on issues and emotions women experience by creating visuals from the past, the actual trauma, and the aftermath stages of all of their lives. Also giving insights into each individual girl’s personal life and being able to see the background of each of them too deeply understand the reasoning behind them on the show.
One of the ways the show focuses on issues and emotions with visuals from the past where one of the main characters Leah was the only girl out of the bunch who not only stayed to herself but cut off the world. She didn’t speak to anyone, she just sat alone moping around. The flashbacks from the past showed Leah being in a “relationship” with a grown man. She thought she was in love and he ended up neglecting her when he found out her real age and began getting paranoid because he was afraid and ashamed somebody knew about them. Leah became heartbroken because he forbade her to see him anymore. This led to depression which is a social issue and emotion women face. The Office On Women's Health (2017) source discusses depression from Destiny’s Child Michelle Williams. She states, “ I also felt a sense of hopelessness, of wanting to give up everything. When I was depressed, I had no interest in the things that usually brought me joy and energy. It felt like I was simply going through the motions of my life without really being there.” In her experience, she explains the phases of her life where she was depressed and how she dealt with it then and now. In the source, Moreh, S. & O'Lawrence, H (2016) also discusses that depression has a huge impact on people. It states, “Everyone experiences unhappiness at some point throughout his or her life. Most often these feelings are a result of change due to various events such as growing older, illness, the loss of a family member, or the breakup of a relationship.” This explains how serious depression really is and the ways it can impact you. These two sources connect back to what the show displays with Leah, proving that when women come up against depression it is not easy.
Although one of the girls faced depression before the plane crashed and the abandonment on an island happened; the girls went through other dramas on the island as well, the actual trauma. In one episode one of the teenage girls Shelby has a dispute with some of the other girls but it’s mainly towards Toni. Toni likes girls and was doing something sexual referring to another female and Shelby didn’t like it and was offended due to the fact she was raised to believe that aspects like that were wrong. Her parents, mainly her father discouraged females from dating one another. The source AVERETT, K. (2016) discusses how parents raise their children based on their sexual preference. It acknowledges no matter the preference of a parent, how will they raise their children? It states, “Gay parents are less inclined than heterosexual couples to promote gender conformity in children.” This relates to Shelby’s parents resisting her to participate in lesbian relationships. This quote explains that parents of certain sexes are more likely to promote the same sexual preference relationships as themselves in their children. Which of course is an issue some women come across as well, parents not approving of them dating another sex. Sometimes situations like this impact relationships with parents and children.
Not only was homophobia an issue the girls faced on their unfortunate journey but they run into peer pressure from each other. In one scene from the show, this issue was represented very well. In this particular episode Rachel, Nora and Leah are in the middle of the ocean trying to get supplies from under the water in a part of the plane. Nora is holding down the fort above water while Leah and Rachel go under to try to get the supplies. Rachel is so desperate to get the supplies but Leah can’t hold her breath long enough to get them. They keep going back and forth so Leah can go up for air, but the one time she tries to go up Rachel grabs her ankle forcing her to stay underwater while she can’t really breathe. She begins screaming Rachel’s name underwater begging to let her go and Rachel refuses but eventually lets her go which represents peer pressure. A source American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2018) discusses the effects of peer pressure. Explaining that it plays a significant role in both the social and emotional development of adolescents. It states, “However, peers can also have a negative influence. They can encourage each other to skip classes, steal, cheat, use drugs or alcohol, share inappropriate material online, or become involved in other risky behaviors.” This relates to Rachel forcing Leah to participate in the risky behavior of diving underwater without some sort of breathing mask and trying to retrieve a heavy item. This quote explains that teenagers go through peer pressure with friends as the girls did in the show.
As the show addresses issues and emotions women are forced to deal with, in the aftermath stage of their journey they give insights into each individual girl’s personal life. In the aftermath part of their journey, the girls are now at some sort of safe house and they are being investigated about what happened to them. The girls discuss all the suffering they went through with the investigators while still not understanding what is happening. The source Strapagiel, L. (2020, December 30) discusses the backgrounds of the girls and how their stories relate to real-world issues as a woman. It states, “ None of the girls’ backstories feel too made-for-TV wild. Each one speaks to the tragically mundane trauma of simply being a young woman moving in the world.” One strong aspect of this article is how it relates all the characters as a whole even though they have nothing in common. All of the girls have very diverse personalities but are categorized as one; womanhood in America. Another source Bird, M. (2021, January 14) allows readers to deeply understand the reasoning behind each girl on the show. This article tells their role on the show and goes into the girl’s real lives telling who they are other than the characters we know. In the text, it states, “If you're obsessed with all things involving The Wilds, we've created a go-to guide so you can get to know the up-and-coming cast a little better.” These two sources display background information on the girls on and off the show.
Despite my beliefs about the show, I came across an article that disagreed with my idea of The Wilds. This one article discusses their feelings about the show but also describing the show as a whole. This particular writer describes the show as bad and basically all over the place since they believe the scenes didn’t mix together well. The writer also shockingly says that the show was predictable. It shocked me because the show kept me on my heels not knowing what was going to happen because the show was very intriguing. The writer did mention that the show lacks unity. In the text, it states, “ Lol... this... this was pretty bad, and the unfortunate thing is I don't even know how to express how bad it is without giving spoilers or going step by step through every detail and every scene that just didn't mashup. It wasn't the worst thing ever though, nor the worst I've seen this year (Ragnorok), and I do admit this was initially suppose to be a "[DNF]" write-up but despite how absurd it was something kept calling me back to it. Maybe it was its predictability, that odd satisfactory one can get when they know exactly where a story is heading (especially if it's a mystery-thriller), which makes for very laid-back viewing.... or I don't know, maybe I just like to self-harm” The quote is a detailed feeling of how the writer feels about the show and the main aspect they didn’t like about the show. It also states, “Overall, The Wilds is a badly put together series with a few highlights. It does so many things at once but lacks cohesion and coherence.” Most of their opinions weren’t really reasonable. Although I disagree with this writer on a lot of topics they discussed I am willing to do further research on the aspects they dislike about the show. As said before The Wilds exploit women’s social issues and emotions throughout the show and the girls.
Thinking back to all the issues and emotions The Wilds represent in the show; again is it really that easy being a woman? These girls went through a lot of trauma and were still expected to remain sane. Therefore, this is the reasoning behind how The Wilds effectively focus on issues and emotions women experience. By displaying experiences within the past, current trauma, and aftermath of their wretched journey.
Saddiyah White is a Bloomfield College student.
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