Across its five seasons , Issa Rae ’ s HBO series has given us an ever-changing and imperfect exploration of modern Black adulthood .
The End of “ Insecure ,” an Art Work and a Phenomenon
Across its five seasons , Issa Rae ’ s HBO series has given us an ever-changing and imperfect exploration of modern Black adulthood .
When the series finale of “ Insecure ” airs , next month , on HBO , it will mark the end of a fascinating decade for Issa Rae , television ’ s heretic maven . In 2011 , Rae débuted a YouTube series called “ The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl ,” a rogue comedy of humiliation that attracted a cult following of young Black Internet addicts . ( A stoner college freshman at the time , I was a proud member .) Rae played J , an angsty , alternative version of herself , who lived in Black Los Angeles , where she struggled to navigate work , friendship , and romance . An awkward public presence , she vented by writing aggressive raps in private . Her maladjustment was distinct from that of the contemporaneous blipster or blerd , who felt that he was specially persecuted because of his tastes ; J ’ s awkwardness was personal , and what made “ A . B . G .” click was her wry , outlandish subjectivity . She was more Larry David than Moesha .
“ A . B . G .” became an example of the kind of art that Black writers could create if they sidestepped the traditional models of television-making . The Internet afforded Rae creative freedom , but it came with financial constraints : although fans funded the production of the show via Kickstarter , it was impossible for the series to turn a profit . And , besides , the box was still king .
Like her contemporaries Ilana Glazer and Abbi Jacobson (“ Broad City ”) and Katja Blichfeld and Ben Sinclair (“ High Maintenance ”), Rae turned her Web series into a network deal . She would create an HBO show with Larry Wilmore , and star in it as well . Eventually , the trades shared the title of the project —“ Insecure .” The artist faced an interesting dilemma : How do you preserve and transfer to an established medium the gonzo vibe of art made for online consumption ? Or , better yet : Should you ?
Rae , smartly , adapted to her new home . When “ Insecure ” premièred , five years ago , “ A . B . G .” fans searched for the connective tissue . An actor or two from the Web series popped up , in minor roles . The rapping became interior monologue . The milieu was still Black L . A ., but the aesthetic , pioneered by Melina Matsoukas , then a musicvideo director for Beyoncé and other artists , had been glammed up . “ A . B . G .” was lo-fi ; “ Insecure ” was Instagram pretty . The characters were still twentysomething and struggling to have it all , but they were decked out in designer clothes while doing so .
J was gone , and in her stead was Issa Dee , a millennial similarly frustrated by her professional and romantic ruts , which were clearly of her own creation .