"I Am Not Okay With This" is a television series created by Jonathan Entwistle. Based on a comic book written by Charles Forsman, the show follows the story of Sydney Novak, a teenage queer girl dealing with her emerging superpowers while navigating high school and personal struggles.
Sydney Novak is a complex and multidimensional character who grapples with her own identity, emotions, and the pressures of conforming to societal expectations. Sydney's character provides a nuanced portrayal of a young woman coming to terms with her own power and agency. Sydney is not portrayed as the stereotypical "girly" character who is passive or delicate. Instead, she is a character who often through her voice over informs the audience of her anger and frustration at things that bother her. While Sydney is shown as a strong character who has superpowers, is not afraid to express her emotions and does not hide behind her insecurities (showing her neighbour Stanley Barber her thigh pimples) her character at the end of the day is still reduced to needing a guy to help her. In an episode, Stanley also appoints himself as Sydney's mentor. It is understandable that the writer might have been trying to portray the challenges that teenagers face alone as they grow up, and the difficulties of navigating life especially with an absent parent through Sydney's inability to control her superpowers. However, the show also focuses on how a guy Stanley Barber helps Sydney hide the mess of her superpowers which gives the perception that a strong girl with superpowers still needs a guy to help her balance her life and save her from trouble because she is unable to control her powers. While Sydney is strong enough to *spoiler alert* blow up a character's head in the show, there is still reliance on Stanley Barber, the more chill character, someone who smokes and dances and somehow is mostly free to help.
This is not your average show. The show's main lead is a female queer character, who does not fit into the traditional "perfect model" title. Her repressed sexuality, desires and emotions come out and are labelled as superpowers instead of being called "tantrums." Sydney is attracted to her best friend Dina, whose boyfriend Brad Lewis becomes a reason for Sydney's inability to control her emotions and superpowers. Understandably, Sydney is still coming to terms with the fact that she is queer and does not want to compromise her friendship with Dina, but Dina being her best friend, still isn't the one to know about Sydney's superpowers.
While the show is more complex than this and Sydney is battling with a lot of emotional trauma and coming to terms with her sexuality, Stanley Barber, the stoner guy is still the only person who seems to know what triggers Sydney's superpowers and is someone who is present to help her. The show also ends with the introduction of a mysterious male entity who says "let's begin," implying that he can teach Sydney more about her superpowers.
Absolutely loved your post about the show! I haven't seen it, but your analysis of it has given me a pretty understanding of what it is!
I really appreciate how Sydney's struggles with her sexuality and emotions as a teenager are portrayed as a superpower instead of the general negative common depiction that we are used to. Being associated with something that is usually seen as positive i.e. superpowers, it allows the audience to imagine that their adolescent struggles are not weaknesses. Still, rather they are rather powerful means of discoveries. The use of a male lead character, either for comic relief or just for the sake of having a male character, just adds a disappointing stereotypical representation to the…
I completely understand your frustration with the portrayal of Sydney's character. It's disappointing when a show that offers a refreshing perspective and explores important themes still falls into certain tropes and stereotypes.
While Sydney's character is initially presented as an independent young woman dealing with her emerging superpowers, it's disheartening to see her eventually relying on a male character to help her control her powers and navigate her life. I think it really undermines the potential for Sydney to fully embrace her own agency and growth. The fact that Sydney, a character with superpowers, is still portrayed as needing a guy to guide her and save her from trouble makes the show seem like a missed opportunity to break away…
Loved your post! I really miss this show :( its been a while since I watched it but I’m still bitter about Netflix abandoning the story on a cliff hanger and never renewing it for a season 2. I think that’s the beauty of having interesting coming of age tv series; you get so immersed in the characters' storylines that you remember them for years. Something else that stood out to me in this show was the fact that unlike other comic based adaptations that feature multiple people with superhero abilities or supervillains for the protagonist to connect with, Sydney literally had no one to match her power. Stanely seems dull in comparison, so her turning to him of all…
Loved the read! When I watched this show, I felt it quite elegantly delves into the process of self-discovery and the path towards adulthood. Sydney's supernatural powers, which she discovers throughout the series, serve as a metaphor for her journey of self-acceptance. Her ability to *again spoiler alert* move objects with her mind represents the uncontainable emotions and frustrations of adolescence, highlighting the internal struggles she faces as she tries to understand herself. She learns to embrace her individuality and reject the idea of fitting into a predefined mold, ultimately finding strength in her uniqueness.
interesting read! This is definitely going to be on my watch list. I liked how you mentioned that it is a rather complex show where sydney is emotionally overwhelmed and still trying to navigate through life which aligns with most of our realities (minus the superpower bit). I agree completely with a man being the Saviour and how a woman, ultimately needs a man, but i would also like to point out that a man, in many of these shows and movies are often synonymous with a woman's need for love. What probably stands out and makes this different is probably that sydney is queer and has feelings for her best friend, but ultimately the idea revolves around a woman's…