Life Beyond The Happy Ending: The Mindy Project And Breaking The RomCom Mold
I’m not sure what The Mindy Project’s ratings were when Fox dumped it, but I have a feeling its swift cancelation after just three (critically well-received, I might add) seasons had more to do with the direction of the show. Because where could a show go once the female lead not only got her man, but also got pregnant? What in life could possibly happen beyond that point that anyone would relate to or ever want to see?
Shows and films with female romantic leads often end one of two ways. Either the woman gets her man (end scene with a wink to camera, or some such thing) or she decides to go it on her own (end scene with determined gaze into the distance, representative of the successful – and oh so single – life before her).
Why do mainstream television shows and films often end in such a manner? After all, most of us know that when big decisions like that – to spend your life with someone, or to go another way – are made, that’s when much of life’s dramas, loves, laughs and tragedies get their first footholds.
Hollywood likes to end women’s stories with men: to be with them, to not be with them. The implication is nothing that happens after such a decision is interesting. The relationship and the people in it cease to be dynamic enough to showcase once that decision has been made. Sure, on occasion we get a film documenting the trials of a couple in the throws of divorce. That’s interesting enough for Hollywood. But the little bumps and hiccups that made up the journey to that place? Not so much.
And god forbid we showcase a relationship on film that actually ends when death does them part, unless the entire movie/series only showcases how they ended up together in the first place, because that’s the only romantic/interesting part. Their deaths are also permissible fodder for the camera, because that’s enough to get some tears flowing. I’m looking at you, The Notebook.
My long-winded point is this: Mindy Kaling is tapping into what we all know to be true – that life is messy and complex, and doesn’t end or even set a final course when we make a life-altering decision like getting engaged. Life goes on after we find the perfect guy. It even goes on after we have a kid with him.
Think about it. Who is that a simple process for nowadays? How many generation X or Y couples with kids do you know where only one spouse works? How did they deal with maternity leave? How many people even get paternity leave? What happens when both people have careers they are really in love with, and still want to raise their kids without outside help?
Mindy Kaling is simply pointing out this truth: life is interesting beyond the fairy tale. Women are interesting after they find their guy, even (gasp) after they pop out a kid.
Women earned the right to vote last century, fewer than 100 years ago. We’ve come a long way in a very short period of time, in comparison to the rest of humanity’s progressive movements throughout history. We’ve still got some shit to navigate. For women with serious career ambitions, like Mindy Lahiri, life is not easy breezy. It’s often not cute. It’s inconvenient, inspiring, disappointing, and rewarding, and often it is all of those things at once.
Mindy and Danny ended up together in one of my favorite (and most re-watched) episodes of television of all time at the end of season 2. Now they’ve got a kid and are engaged, but Danny’s old school, patriarchal view of family structure (dad makes the decisions and wins the bread while mom pops out a lot of kids and stays at home) is threatening to tear them apart. Meanwhile, Mindy has been compromising what she really wants out of life to keep the man she loves, and has finally seemed to realize she won’t be happy if she continues to do so. And in the middle is a little dude named Leo.
That’s not cute, or easy, or breezy, or Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan-y, but you know what it is?
Interesting. And real.
So I guess what I am saying is, thank you Hulu, for showcasing something beyond the everyday romcom. And suck it, Fox, for not having enough vision to do so.