I have a real love/hate relationship with Kimmy Schmidt.
I hate it for the same reasons I love it. It certainly gives me a hero to look to. I would like to think of myself as someone who is trying to reclaim innocence and strength like Kimmy and someone who is trying to hang on to the strong sense of self she FORCED herself to create while being held captive.
"I'm gonna break you Kimmy"
"NO YOU WON'T"
I got ANGRY. I mean viscious angry when my therapist used the word "victim" around me (he's since learned to NEVER use that word)and I appreciate how they look at the different ways that the other women were dealing with the trauma- some better than others. One woman plays the victim card all the time "But I'm a MOLE WOMAN"(batting her eyes) Another suffers from the inability to get away from abusers and becomes an abuser herself. (I'm sure we will see more of Gretchen)
I know no one wants to watch a drama about PTSD. It just gets too heavy for them and it's so complicated and the nuances are hard to understand. So I can actually appreciate the fact that Tina Fey has created a character who introduces a character that delves into a topic that most would rather NOT understand and gives the world a 'comedy cliff notes version' to normalize it and put into the culture's subconscious so that when someone sees someone react in a bizarre fashion they can search back through their experiences (with TV) and say OH... I get it... Something bad happened to them. They aren't crazy- just traumatized.
Much like the author of the article I too felt those pangs and felt... Things leaking out about my own trauma as I saw her dealing with the unmistakable signs of PTSD.
The relationship with the vet I thought was especially poignant. The thing is those with PTSD DO tend to find one another. Don't know how, we just do and I have three people close by who deal with it better than I do. But what I appreciated about that scene was that it put the two traumas on even footing. They are different but they still had the same f*cked up effect on the brain.
I REALLY hope they bring the vet back as I can actually see that 'relationship' being important to Kimmy as she moves through the next season and dealing with her abuser.
I also hope that she continues to have the therapist (Tina Fey) come back and work with Kimmy again. Kimmy NEEDS therapy and she WAS getting something good from her therapist. What's more is that while the character is over the top, it drives home the fact that our therapists are just ordinary f*ck ups like everyone else. They don't HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS. They just have some tools for us to use and can guide us along the way. I think making these people REAL and flawed can help those who are suffering and scared to seek help do so. Hell, one of the things that helped me finally settle down a bit was my therapist telling me what a f*ck up he was (in those terms)
It's not supposed to be a serious recreation. It's Tina Fey. It's satire but it's close enough to accurate to speak clearly about what's going on.
If you want a drama that gets a little too close to home (and you can stand Marvel Comics) watch Jessica Jones. Some of that shit though is VERY triggering. I turned off the first episode, crying and shaking.
Anyway... That's more than my .02 worth.
