How Ginny and Georgia Can Influence Your Writing
Hey creators!
This past quarter, I finished Season 3 of Ginny and Georgia and I enjoyed it, but seasons 1 & 2 just were more entertaining for me. However, they delved into deeper discussions this season. After watching it, I realized parallels between Georgia and one of my main characters, Sage, from my pilot, “Burning Sage”. Here’re reasons why I think the show is so captivating and how we can use it to make our stories equally so.
Complex characters. We are able to see so many of the people we interact with in these characters. Sometimes we see ourselves. Our positive and not so positive attributes. Ways that we can empathize and sympathize with these people. Giving our feelings a face or a name. Seeing the messy is cathartic to actually accepting ourselves. Georgia and Max are my favorites! They can be irritating and very much
Mental health. We all got something going on. ADHD, the tism, anxiety, depression, self esteem, stress in general…any and everything else under the sun. The show tackles so many mental health challenges simultaneously in such a beautiful way. Some of it is triggering and some helps us to understand ourselves or others better. One thing that it does is motivate empathy and allow us to explore ourselves.
High school friendship dynamics. Who doesn’t love shows and movies about high school?! For some, this can be triggering because of drama, rumours, and bullying. For others, it’s nostalgic. Either way, it’s a real depiction of how friendships develop and change throughout the course of the (roughly) four years you’re with these people.
Generational trauma. Speaking of triggering!!! The show gives us a front seat to how parents and grandparents can affect children. Some is nature, while other attributes are nurture. Georgia really traumatizes her kids and doesn’t even realize it all the time. She’s self aware enough to know that she can be better though. Right now, so many people are speaking on generational trauma and how it’s passed down and I appreciate that they showed this honestly and realistically in a way that allows us to see that each character usually means well, but can only operate from exactly where their healing will allow them to.
Georgia’s character has so much depth and pain. We are able to view her as a victim but also justify why she does the bad thing for good reasons. We also don’t villainize her for putting her children in horrible situations, including ones to protect her feelings and her well being/freedom. The disappointing part for me when I watch this show is that we don’t get characters like that for black women very often, which is why I wrote Burning Sage. Sage is a main character who embodies all complexities of being a woman in a capitalistic world through the Black lens. I wrote her so her humanity is recognized and embraced and so that people like her (like me) can be empathized with and not villainized for doing the bad thing but helping someone. How many times can we forgive Georgia but not the Sage’s of the world? When do we get to root for the women who look like me?
Using these elements can make your story and characters more interesting and well rounded because they add depth. Depth is exactly what society is looking for and needs right now. Social media doesn’t give it to us. Our stories and relationships need to.
Storytelling is a powerful medium. We are able to affect change, even the smallest amount in how a person views themselves or interacts in their community. I find it fascinating and feel so grateful that I’ve been chosen to participate and use it to help others. If storytelling is a superpower of yours, use it for good.
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