'Betty' premiere offers a subtle, non-preachy nod to #MeToo but Camille might be the real problem here
Spoilers for 'Betty' Episode 1 'Key Party'
'Betty' might be a spin-off of Crystal Moselle's skateboard dramedy feature venture 'Skate Kitchen' but the six-part HBO miniseries also takes time to offer its subtle nod to the #MeToo movement, specifically the changing dynamics of how women have been programmed to respond to casual harassment and sexism. Right in the pilot, the show uses Dede Lovelace's sweetheart of a character - Janay, to address how harassment doesn't always come in the form of abuse or even rape. It can be minor little things - something as trivial as grabbing the arm or offering problematic compliments. But even with a senile old man being projected as the problem here, it is the show's central female character Camille (Rachelle Vinberg) who comes off as the most infuriating.
The half-hour pilot kicks off with Nina Moran's Kirt and Janay holding an all-female skate session at their local skate park. Set in the backdrop of New York summer and unannounced rain, Kirt - the goofy, flirty one doesn't shy away from making a move on any female that breathes. Similarly, Janay, a wholesome person to the core, can't stop helping people in need - be it the condescending Camille who they just met at the skate park or an old man unable to unlock his doorknob. After rains ruin their plans of having a proper skateboard session, Camille discovers her backpack with all essential belongings has been stolen. So Janay decides to help her look for the stolen backpack while Camille's other friend decides to go smoke up with Kirt and a common friend of theirs.
Janay offers Camille her phone's tracking app and together they go around town chasing whoever stole their phone, based on the location the app shows. It's a chase long enough for them to almost give up after Janay decides to help an old man who can't seem to insert the keys properly inside his doorknob. After trying every key in the batch, they realize maybe it's not his house after all. He looks incapacitated enough to not remember where he lives. And once they finally help him find his correct house, the old man suddenly shows way too forward an interest in Janay. He grabs her arm and makes whatever move his dilapidated self can which is both awkward and uncomfortable, to witness and to bear, clearly. This incident makes Janay open up about how she had a school bus driver when she was little who would always compliment her 10-year-old self about how pretty she was, and how if she was 10 years older it would be brilliant for him - the usual creepshow vibes.
This opens a conversation between her and Camille about how as kids or even as grown-ups, women are programmed to tolerate harassment like this because clearly Janay never told her parents about this cause she didn't want to get the driver into trouble. Back where Kirt and Camille's friend are smoking up, the men constantly try to shade Kirt for trying to teach women how to skate, which newcomer Honeybear's Moonbear promptly calls out for how problematic it is. Ironically enough, even with all these general sexist bias and prejudice that our central female skaters are hit with, it is one of their own - Camille, actually - who comes off as the most annoying.
Being the protagonist of the parent movie, Camille's rebellious, domineering nature is still intact, but also comes with copious dosages of narcissistic pursuits. After everything Janay does for her throughout the first episode including going through creepy old men trying to make a move on her - when the time comes for Camille to get Janay, Kirt and Honeybear in a members-only all exclusive club, she turns her back on them. Camille gets in thanks to an acquaintance but says admitting the other three girls is not a call she can make. Of course, it could be seen as dramatic riffs for shock value but honestly, Camille, just get your sh*t together, woman. These girls helped you find your bag and belongings, least you could do is show some moiety of respect at least.
'Betty' premiered on Friday, May 1, and will air weekly at 9 pm only on HBO.
