Tina Fey, the first head female writer for Saturday Night Live, writer of Mean Girls, producer and writer of 30 Rock, and now creator and writer for yet another hit comedy: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Known for her blunt, honest comedic style, Fey may be called a comedic genius. Her insight into the harsh truths of society’s flaws shine through in her writing and production.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is yet another successful outlet for Fey’s amazing creativity and comedic talent.
The title character, Kimmy Schmidt (Ellie Kemper), is one of the “Indiana Mole Women” who were taken into captivity by a Reverend who convinced them that the apocalypse had scorched the entire Earth, and only they were safe in his bunker. Fifteen years later, Kimmy and the other women are rescued, and exposed to a new society foreign to them. The plot’s premise is taken from two short moments from Fey’s show 30 Rock, in which Kenneth the NBC page mentions his hometown reverend who predicted the apocalypse, and when Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) sees a young, innocent girl getting off a bus who says she just escaped a cult after many years.
Perhaps the most interesting premise of the show is its connection to Greek philosophy of Plato and Socrates. Socrates speaks of a group of people chained in a cave. For their entire lives, they only gain a sense of reality from shadows upon a wall. Eventually, one escapes and must reinterpret his sense of reality, just as Kimmy must as she experiences an entirely altered world.
As Kimmy–clad in pastel yellow and light-up Skechers– plants her feet in the strange jungle that is New York City, she establishes a job as a nanny to a rich housewife Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski), finds a best friend Dong (Ki Hong Lee) in her GED class, as well as finds an apartment with a spunky, gay, African American roommate Titus (Tituss Burgess). And thus, the stereotypes begin.
Dong works part-time as a Chinese food delivery boy, while Titus mimics many of the flamboyant stereotypes of a gay man aiming to sing on broadway. A ridiculous looking, almost monstrous plastic surgeon Dr. Sidney Grant makes an appearance, and has a striking resemblance to the real Dr. Frederic Brandt, known as the “Baron of Botox.” These are just a few simple examples of the innumerable moments of harsh comedy within the show. Many viewers use these moments as fuel to say the Fey is racist or prejudiced herself; however, to say this would to be missing the point of Fey’s comedy and personality entirely. In bringing to light society’s bluntest topics by means of comedy, Fey highlights how ridiculous modern stereotypes are.
These instances of satirical comedy are what make Kimmy Schmidt, as well as many of Fey’s other movies and shows, a hit. Available on Netflix, the showly is widely popular and will be appearing for a second season in 2016.
