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Lily Collins is an expat in Paris in the new Netflix series
In “Emily in Paris”, Collins plays a woman from Chicago who is sent to Paris to work. The series is created by Darren Star, who is also behind successful shows like ‘Sex and the City’ and ‘Younger’. ‘Emily in Paris’ is released on October 2 on Netflix. (September 30)
AP
If you were surprised to see “Emily in Paris” receiving two Golden Globe nominations on Wednesday, while “I May Destroy You” was dismissed, you are not alone.
Deborah Copaken, writer of the Netflix series about a young American woman making her way in the City of Light, says she was also shocked – and angry.
“Now, am I excited that ‘Emily in Paris’ was nominated?” Copaken wrote in an article by the Guardian, published Wednesday. “Sure. I’ve never been even remotely close to seeing a Golden Globe statue up close, let alone being nominated for one. But that excitement is now, unfortunately, tempered by my anger over (Michaela) Coel’s contempt. What ‘ I can destroy you ‘I didn’t get a nod to the Golden Globes is not just wrong, it is what is wrong with everything. “
Coel wrote, co-directed and starred in the HBO series, which explores the trauma of sexual assault. Although Copaken considers the show to be “a work of absolute genius”, he received no Golden Globe nominations.
“‘I May Destroy You’ wasn’t just my favorite show in 2020,” wrote Copaken. “It’s my favorite show of all time. It takes the complicated issue of rape – I’m also a sexual assault survivor – and infuses it with heart, humor, emotion and a story so well constructed that I had to watch two times, just to understand how Coel did it. “
“Emily in Paris” was nominated for best comedy or musical, and Lily Collins, who stars as the influential emerging Emily Cooper, was nominated for best actress in a comedy or musical.
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Although Copaken is happy to see “Emily in Paris” nominated, she wrote that the show has its shortcomings.
“Did I take the criticism of the show personally?” she wrote. “Sure. Who wouldn’t? But neither. ‘Emily in Paris’ aired a few months after I spent June and July marching for racial justice through the streets of New York with my kids. I could definitely see it as a show about a white American selling white luxury, in a pre-pandemic Paris free of its vibrant African and Muslim communities, can irritate. “
According to Copaken, the absence of “I May Destroy You” on the nomination list speaks to larger racial issues, with the writer referring to a 2017 report by the non-profit organization Color of Change that found that 91% of showrunners are white and 80% are men.
“Yes, we need art that reflects all of our colors, not just some,” she wrote. “But we also need to reward programs (and music, films, plays and musicals) that deserve them, no matter the skin color of their creators. Is ‘Hamilton’ great because Lin-Manuel Miranda is Puerto Rican? Do not . It’s great because it hits. Likewise, how can anyone watch ‘I May Destroy You’ and not call it a brilliant work of art or Michaela Coel as a genius is beyond my ability to understand how these decisions are made. “
Lily Collins compares ‘Emily in Paris’ to ‘SATC’, speaks of engagement: ‘I just kept shaking’