“She’s Gotta Have It” is a comedy-drama series which was created and directed by Spike Lee. It is a Netflix original and a reboot of Lee’s 1986 film.
The series which is streaming on Netflix, follows the story of 27-year old Nolan Darling who lives in Brooklyn, New York. DeWanda Wise portrays Nolan. She is a non-conformist trying to make her way in the world as an artist. She also has a free-spirit and is living life on her own terms.
Nolan does not believe that society should dictate to her. So she has three lovers; Mars Blackmon (Anthony Ramos) to make her laugh, Greer Childs the suave photographer (Cleo Anthony) and the corporate executive Jamie Overstreet (Lyriq Bent) for the bills. She beds them on her “lovin’ bed. But Nolan is frank and so, the men know that they are not exclusive. As is expected this is mature content, so there is lot of nudity in the series.
In a lot of respect, “She’s Gotta Have It” also pays tribute to Brooklyn, great cinema and artists. As such, Nolan is an all-round lover of arts, as she also happens to be a cinephile. It comes through in her conversations with Mars. Lee believes that he has been cheated out of an Oscar by the Academy. And he openly expressed this openly. Even so, he uses the series to reinforce his disappointment.
And in a world that increasingly defines the beauty of black women by long straight hair or how big their backsides or bosoms are, “She’s Gotta Have It” encourages African-American women to accept who they are. And to express themselves. Hence, Nolan is particular about expressing the free-form black woman through her art.
Furthermore, the dialogue in “She’s Gotta Have It” is very lyrical. And it makes the series very energetic whilst also conveying a strong message to the black woman.
An unfortunate personal experience also forces Nolan to use her art to address the disrespect men have for African-American women. She calls the campaign, “My name isn’t,” campaign. It is totally relatable and a major highlight of season 1. Meanwhile, after an exhibition in which her art was criticised, Nolan realises that the men are each beginning to have feelings for her. The questions is, what will she do? Will she eventually fall for one of the men?
The two seasons of ‘She’s Gotta Have It’ are currently streaming on Netflix.
