Does “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” Take Jabs at the Way the Media Responds to Survivors of Trauma?
In the first episode of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015), the viewer witnesses the events following the women being rescued from the bunker. It’s not therapy or counseling. It’s a whirlwind media tour and celebrity interviewers showing them overly-effusive pity. The women are immediately nicknamed the “Indiana Mole Women” by national media, an all-too-common media tactic of branding stories with a catchy nickname to boost their public exposure. Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) even refers to herself as being one of the “Mole Women” periodically throughout the show when she wants to reveal her past. The assumption is that the other character will immediately recognize who she is and her story (at least as portrayed in the media) because of the nationwide media coverage that rapidly dissemined through American culture. Kimmy is correct. Any time Kimmy reveals she’s a “mole woman,” the informed character’s eyes light up and they’re filled with horror, having been conditioned to a certain set of thoughts and beliefs about the incident.
The first episode shows Kimmy and the other captives appearing on a fictional reenactment of NBC’s Today show. The interviewers do not delve into the horrors of the experience from an emotionally sensitive perspective. The “Mole Women” are not being offered resolve. Again, no counseling, no therapy - They’re given an ambush makeover and gift bags. When their fifteen minutes of fame are up, they’re shuffled out the back door along with a well-wishing of “Thank you, victims!” shouted by some goofy token low-level staffer of the show. The intent of the show is to satirically portray the media’s reaction to a serious and sordid story. And, the show generally succeeds. It is funny. It’s lightheartedly written in such a way that doesn’t attempt to imply that all media is entirely brazen and unapologetic, but it does suggest that the media can exploit victims like Kimmy and her fellow captives as a hot story capable of garnering national attention.
The show’s theme song is also stylized after the popular trend of taking news clips and auto-tuning them into viral internet songs, a frequent consequence of today’s news media. It seems to be an overt reference to the massively popular meme of the 2010 Antoine Dodsen interview and subsequent remix that became a viral hit practically overnight.
Overall, Kimmy Schmidt takes jabs at how the media represents victims and survivors of terrible situations. Yet, the satirical nature of the show conveys this message in such a way that does not come across as too heavy handed and still entertains.