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Chewing Gum - General Discussion

Meredith Quill

By Meredith Quill
in Chewing Gum

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

I knew I was going to love this show within the first few minutes. The faces Tracey was making while Ronald was praying were hilarious. I love that Tracey realizes that wanting to have sex with Ronald is normal and healthy, but I also love that she admitted she had no idea how to do anything. When she sat on Connor's face, I totally cracked up. Ronald is The Worst for insulting Tracey. How dare she want to do more with her boyfriend besides pray?! Is it wrong that I laughed when he got hit by a car?

Candice's makeover of Tracey was definitely eye popping. I love Candice's nan! Heh, that's probaly partly because I can't imagine my grandmother advising me (or any of my friends) to get my tits out. Chewing Gum reminds me of Some Girls (which I also loved) and Candice reminds me of a combination of Saz and Amber with a little bit of Holli thrown in.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Oh, Tracey! Hooking up with a guy once doesn't make him your boyfriend! And it's okay to just make out with a guy! That's what your teens and 20s are for! I had to laugh at her pregnancy panic. I had a friend who had a similar freak out which made Tracey's even funnier (especially since I didn't have to go buy a pregnancy test for Tracey like I did for my friend who was CONVINCED she was pregnant). I was totally with Candice when she just flat out laughed in Tracey's face about it. I loved that when she tried to buy the morning after pill, the pharmacist explained that it was intended for people who had actually had sex and then he gave her a box of condoms.

This episode confirmed that Ronald is THE WORST. He texted Tracey to come over to his place just so he could yell at her and tell her that he expected her to wait on him hand and foot while he recovered - what the hell, man? Thank goodness she had enough common sense and self esteem to tell him that they shouldn't be together since they don't like each other very much.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

I'm usually not a fan of "someone accidentally took drugs and then has a bad trip" storylines, but I couldn't help but laugh at Tracey at that party. I was cringing with secondhand embarrassment earlier in the episode when she was convinced that she was doing an awesome job selling perfume.

LOVED the whole estate plotline with the used dildos. It was so wrong but still so funny. Aaron is a good boyfriend for agreeing to dance at the party. I can't blame him for blurting out the truth after one of the girls shoved a used dildo in his mouth. BLECH.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Although this episode made me laugh, it also made me sad that Tracey was so desperate to have sex with Connor she would arrange a threesome in the back of a butcher shop. The makeup people did a good job making the unicorn girl's sores look cringingly realistic!

Poor Cynthia. I was hoping that her internet search would lead her away from the strict religious views of their mother but it looks like she just got scared straight back to sweating with Jesus.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Part of me was a little disappointed in the outcome because I enjoy platonic male/female friendships, but man, Boy Tracy went from fun BFF cousin to creepy super inappropriate cousin unexpectedly. Naked board games, dick pics at dinner, dude!

The shine is definitely off of Connor now, which is a shame because I initially liked that he was so accepting of Tracey. The problem is that instead of deciding that Connor isn't worth her time, she decided to fix him.

At least they're being consistent with Ronald being a dick. He was a dick at the bar, he was a dick by barging into Tracey's house, he was rude about the food, and he had the fucking gall to get involved with her sister? Ugh!

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Man, Cynthia is a pill. She was totally willing to overlook the fact that Ronald was making out with another guy just because she wanted to get married? Hee, I love how willing Aaron was to go undercover. It was sweetly realistic that he was insulted Ronald would make out with the prat in the stupid hat but not him. I was totally surprised that Ronald came out at the wedding!

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Bad Bitch In Red

Bad Bitch In Red

Well I cheered when he got hit by the car.  We can be wrong together!

On 1/4/2017 at 2:12 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I knew I was going to love this show within the first few minutes. The faces Tracey was making while Ronald was praying were hilarious. I love that Tracey realizes that wanting to have sex with Ronald is normal and healthy, but I also love that she admitted she had no idea how to do anything. When she sat on Connor's face, I totally cracked up. Ronald is The Worst for insulting Tracey. How dare she want to do more with her boyfriend besides pray?! Is it wrong that I laughed when he got hit by a car?

Candice's makeover of Tracey was definitely eye popping. I love Candice's nan! Heh, that's probaly partly because I can't imagine my grandmother advising me (or any of my friends) to get my tits out. Chewing Gum reminds me of Some Girls (which I also loved) and Candice reminds me of a combination of Saz and Amber with a little bit of Holli thrown in.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

I was already annoyed with Ash when he gave Tracey the old "Where are you from? No, where are you REALLY from?" interrogation. I can't tell you how many time I've been subjected to that nosy and inappropriate kind of shit.

Loved that once Tracey snapped out of it, she ruined his couch. Hee, and Ash's little son was the best. First he had no respect for Ash and then he was in love with Tracey!

Good riddance to Ash and his weird fetishist ass. It never would have worked between him and Tracey anyway since he didn't like Beyonce. I just wish that Connor had seen Tracey and Ash together so he could see that Tracey is capable of moving on too (and not just with a fake boyfriend like last week!).

I'm glad Candice and Tracey have made up. They need each other. I thought at some point Candice was going to say she was mad at Tracey for pimping Aaron out to Ronald, but I guess it makes sense that childhood friends sometimes get annoyed with each other for no reason. Well, not NO reason since Tracey was pretty hard to live with.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Things I never thought I'd see: girl Tracey, boy Tracy, Candice, and Aaron at a sex club. I KNEW boy Tracy wasn't over girl Tracey, but ewwwwww, tricking her into going to a sex club? That might be creepier than sending her a dick pic during family dinner. Hee, but I love that Tracey announced to everyone that she looks like Beyonce.

I thought Joy was having a breakthrough when she realized that God loves everyone - even graphic designers. Her evangelizing and judgment in S1 was a bit much but I hope this doesn't send her spiraling.

I loved Louise until she converted. When she told Joy drily that she had managed to have a successful career, an amazing body, and a sound man without a man, I was hoping she would stay forever.

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

So the problem wasn't that Ronald was gay but that he's fundamentally a selfish prick who doesn't give a shit about anyone else's feelings! Poor Cleveland.

I'm still not clear why Tracey gave Orlando to Connor and his girlfriend, but at least the dog isn't with that pervy photographer anymore!

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

Candice, you disappoint me! I mean seriously, Aaron is awesome. How could she go and fuck his dad?!

And Cynthia! How is she going to explain their house being robbed to Joy? I am all for women taking charge of their sexuality and I fully support Cynthia losing her virginity. Just pick someone better, girl.

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Blakeston

Blakeston

On 2/5/2017 at 9:22 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm still not clear why Tracey gave Orlando to Connor and his girlfriend, but at least the dog isn't with that pervy photographer anymore!

Presumably she wanted to save him from a life of bestiality, but couldn't keep him for herself, so she gave him to owners who would treat him decently.

I love, love, love this crazy show. I can't say that I liked season two quite as much as season one, though. I think the lack of Connor throughout most of season two had something to do with that. I have a real soft spot for him, and he and Tracy have so much chemistry together.

I'm glad they showed us a (slightly) softer side of Joy - I agree that her cartoonish-ness in season one was a bit much.

I wasn't crazy about the depiction of Tracy and Candice in episode 5 (when she cheats on Aaron with his father). Both Tracy and Candice's negative traits were ramped way, way up in that episode, to the point that they didn't seem like themselves.

And I remain mystified by Boy Tracy. I'm still trying to wrap my mind around the idea that he's straight. Back in season one, were we supposed to assume he was gay, and then be shocked when it turns out his secret is something far more scandalous - ie, wanting to bone his cousin?

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DianeDobbler

DianeDobbler

(edited)

I've been side-eyeing this show on Netflix for a long time, hesitating because I hate quirky and whimsical, and that's what I assumed this was. I didn't know it was a British show. I binged watched the whole thing over a few days. The most amazing, for me, were the scenes in the homeless shelter. Brilliant. I don't know how Michaela Coel conceived that and it WORKED. It was mesmerizing and also had a lot of suspense. By the time we started flashing back I was dying to know what happened. And then the contrast between what Connor thought happened and what actually did, and both made sense.

I, too, was really disappointed that Louise recanted and fell into the stereotype of lonely spinster.

I really like Connor's girlfriend (Emily)? She became really fun once it was revealed she was 45. That happens in real life - there are people who don't start aging until later so it can get kind of vague about how old they are. Are they 26? Are they 42? I know someone like that. It also makes Emily more formidable, while also, IMO at least, making a long term thing between her and Connor unlikely. It both reinforces and undermines them as a couple.

I found the Connor/Emily instagram story funny with her happy and in love faces and his awkward, WTF ones.

Cynthia's pursuit of, and success in, losing her virginity was terrific. I was mad that her home was robbed because in its own mechanical way, her plans had worked to perfection. But the guy turning out to be sort of her stepbrother was funny.

Aaron's dad was perfectly cast. What a dick. Yet you can see the sexual appeal he might have. However, while I understand he personifies what Candice thinks she wants Aaron to be, I don't understand why Candice stayed with Aaron if that's really what she wants. *I* can see why a girl would want him - he's funny, he's good-looking, he's kind (and I guess, rich, it turns out), but considering what attracts Candice, I don't get it. Is it really so hard to find an asshole to date if that's what she's into?

I liked Ronald's scene with Cynthia, and his maliciously triumphant expression when he asked her if she was a lesbian. And then I felt sorry for Cleveland, and scared that he'll go back to Ronald just because he's vulnerable.

Edited by DianeDobbler
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jeansheridan

jeansheridan

I have only seen two eps so far but I love this show and the writer's POV.  I am too old to "get" everything but I like that Tracey lives in such a specific world .  I love the farce.  And the flashes of sincerity.  That there is a variety of faces and looks.  (And there were two DIFFERENT women wearing hijabs and their hijabs were not ignored).  It feels like a full world.

So happy someone in the UK had the brains and heart to greenlight this.  A show totally told from the POV of a young, under educated, working class woman is refreshing.  

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Mindthinkr

Mindthinkr

Someone from over at the Housewives threads recommended this and boy I am not disappointed!

Was that game she played with her sister  similar to the American game Sorry? 

That ending episode 1 

Spoiler

Where she sat on his face with her pajamas on

had me doubled over with laughter. This is so funny and refreshingly new. 

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Negritude

Negritude

Lately I've been listening to a YouTube vlogger named Chrissie. She does a lot of excellent videos on the topic of colorism and she would have a field day dissecting this show and the character of the biracial best friend (whose name escapes me and I don't feel like Googling it). In the last episode Michaela Cole's character even says something like you're mixed race, you're supposed to be more smarter and more evolved. As much as I'd like to believe it was meant to be ironic (that's probably not the right word), but something tells me she probably wasn't. I enjoy the show as a peek into Black working class England but the shades of colorism that run through it leave a bad taste in my mouth.

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auntiemel

auntiemel

(edited)

Wow, I just watched the finale today. I've been parceling the episodes out as little rewards for doing things like laundry for several months. I didn't want it to be over. I didn't expect the finale episode to make me cry, but it sure did! The scene toward the end with Candice and Tracey in C's bedroom was absolutely beautiful. I think those two characters, for all their cartoonishness in certain ways, are such a shining example of a strong, bonded female friendship where the two people might not even like each other all the time, but they love each other absolutely.

Then, the baptism at the end with all of the estate-dwellers dressed in white was so stunning, and such a visual contrast to the generally neon-y palate of the show. And, on a shallow note, Tracey and Candice were so beautiful with their short hair and minimalist make-up.

I only realized during Tracey's last speech what the significance of the title Chewing Gum was, with the "stick together like chewing gum and sidewalk" analogy. Because of the interplay of sexuality and religion so prominent in the show, I'd always assumed that it was a reference to the christian purity metaphor about chewing gum, which I heard a million times growing up in a fundamental christian denomination. I like the real meaning so much better - it's so much more positive!

All in all, I loved this show so much! I think Michaela Coel is brilliant, I want to be her best friend and just soak up her brain 24-7. I'm so sad there most likely won't be a season 3.

Edited by auntiemel
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JustaPerson

JustaPerson

I finally got around to watching this show after it chilling in my list for like 2 years and it is HILARIOUS! But you guys already knew that. I was surprised that Tracey and Connor's relationship was so complicated...and poignant? this season. Clearly he has huge issues with intimacy if he can have sex with everyone but Tracey. Their secret language (ish) and him referring to her as his best friend was sweet. He definitely came across less dopey than last season. Still seems to be unemployed though. Emma and Tracey's dynamic was hilarious too, with Tracey's thinly veiled hostility and Emma overestimating their relationship at every turn. I'm glad there will be a season 3 because I hate to leave #Tronnor like that. 

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ElectricBoogaloo

ElectricBoogaloo

This recent interview with Michaela Coel includes some info about Chewing Gum:

Quote

Coel wrote a ten-minute scene that would become the first iteration of Chewing Gum Dreams, an idea that germinated as a bit of poetry and gradually grew into a 45-minute one-woman show in which she inhabited 11 different characters over a series of vignettes in her imagined world of Hackney. She played Tracey, the 14-year-old narrator with an attentive ear for language and an anthropological curiosity about the social dynamics of schoolyard cruelty; the hustler, Fat Lesha; their racist teacher, Miss Mott; Tracey’s beautiful, light-skinned best friend, Candice; and Aaron, Candice’s abusive, much older boyfriend. There’s a darkness beneath the everydayness of the world that can catch you like an undertow. One early scene ends with Aaron sexually assaulting Tracey, who says:

I watch his frame getting further and further away. I see a demon. It’s stuck, underneath a really thin layer of his skin, and it’s just staring at me. I watch its face, inside of his back, with the little bit they took of me until they get so tiny they’re gone.

“Chewing Gum Dreams was a muscular piece,” says Kadiff Kirwan, who later played the TV version of Aaron in Chewing Gum. “She’d come off buckets of sweat. You’d be like, This is amazing and gross at the same time.” Coel dropped out of school again, but it didn’t matter, because she had found what she’d been looking for. She did the fully formed version of Chewing Gum Dreams at the Yard, the Bush, and, in a sold-out run, the National Theatre. “I don’t remember specifics; I just remember the feeling,” Coel says of the early performances. “When I perform, it’s like a ride, and I’m very in the ride. My God, I loved it, and I loved it because it was also understood. I love words. Once the word is connected to you, it’s connected to you.”

The words are beautiful, and some lines still move her to tears. The last scene ends with Tracey and Candice in the hospital. Candice has just given birth, and Aaron is nowhere to be found. Both of them are too teenaged to be dealing with what’s to come. Tracey says:

I sit in the chair by her bed and I wait with her and we wait for a word from someone; a doctor, a nurse, or each other. She is gray in the face, hollow bones, terrified, ugly and wasted, but she is my home, she is my home, she’s home for me, she is where I live, and she’s beautiful. And I’m gonna take care of my home.

[...]

The title Chewing Gum Dreams came from a poem Coel wrote during drama school. In it, she imagines dreams falling like candy from the top of a tower block only to crash into the concrete and get ground down by designer sneakers — “deep into pavement like chewing gum.”

Coel was 26 when executives from Retort, then a subsidiary of Fremantle Media, asked if she would adapt Chewing Gum Dreams for television. She said, “Holy shit, yes, of course.” She had never written for television before, and her first scripts were rangy and, well, like scenes from a play. Not until after an arduous round of drafting did a friend ask Coel what the script editor was doing. She replied, “What’s a script editor?” So finally Fremantle hired one who helped Coel understand the beats and structure of a broadcast sitcom. They wanted to drop Dreams from the title, an indication of what the show would become — a 30-minute comedy in candy tones with an optimistic swing. The dark parts were still there, just tucked into the corners. “In hindsight, they want to keep the audience in a good mood so they can buy things from the ads,” Coel says.

Still, she loves what she made, and audiences did too. The TV version of Tracey would be more hyper and much hornier — a young woman with a missionary zeal to lose her virginity. Her lack of experience does nothing to dampen her enthusiasm. Coel brought an exuberant, Lucille Ball–esque physicality to the role: Her Tracey has a seemingly boundless imagination for doing strange things with her body that involve everything but sex. When the show premiered in the U.K. on Channel 4 in 2015, Coel became a star. The following year she won two BAFTA awards — one for writing, the other for performance in a comedy. The show was picked up by Netflix, where she gained a broader (American) audience. Even if the metaphor of the original title was lost in its TV iteration, Coel still sees a parallel to her own life in Tracey’s. “On one hand, it’s about a Christian girl who wants to lose her virginity,” she says. “On the other, it’s about a girl who is marginalized from the world and wants to be a part of the world, and so she pursues that right as loudly and as absurdly as she can because it’s part of her humanity.”

It’s difficult to sort Coel’s time on Chewing Gum. The show launched her career, but making it was marred by professional challenges that highlight the inevitably complicated dynamic of institutions trying to bring in “outsiders” — people with no television experience whose very cachet comes from the fact that they don’t look like you — without actually empowering them. The imbalance was clear from the outset, when the executives at Fremantle declined to make Coel an executive producer on the project. “The production office felt like the place I have no access to: the curtain rod behind where Jesus is dwelling,” she says. “You come to my trailer whenever you need something, but I can’t access you.”

Friction was inevitable. Coel arrived the first day to discover that five Black cast members were confined to a single trailer, while a white actor had one to herself. Coel stormed into the production office and told them that what it looked like out there was “a fackin’ slave ship.” “In that moment, I was like, ‘This is disgraceful,’ ” she recalls. “While the mess is going on outside, you sat here, clueless.” (The production ordered more trailers.) Another tense moment arose between herself and the director, Tom Marshall, after she discovered he was calling the actors Cynthia Erivo and Ronke Adekoluejo “the twins,” instead of using their names. She asked a producer to speak to him, but the next day it happened again. She asked to sidebar with Marshall, and he lost his temper. “He screamed at her like she was a naughty schoolchild, to the point where she physically got upset and left set,” Kirwan recalls. “It felt as if every single day that I had spent earning the respect of the crew and the cast had just disappeared,” says Coel.

Still, she was involved with virtually every aspect of making the show, from the music to the costumes to postproduction. “That eye for excellence made that show what it was,” says Olisa Odele, another real-life friend, who plays her onscreen friend Ola on Chewing Gum. For the second season, Coel asked to be made an executive producer. “There was a three-hour meeting, and the exec was just like, No, no, no, no,” she says. They made her a co-producer instead. “I think it has to do with greed,” she adds. Her friends put it less diplomatically. “You’re trying to pawn her off with this little crumb,” says Kirwan. “It’s like she built this house and gave the keys to someone, and they locked her out of different rooms in her own house, which is absolute bullshit.”

 

 

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