It is informative without being preachy, bold without being cringey and gloriously Kenyan while appealing to an international audience. If this is where we’re headed in terms of film making, we are approaching the promised land.
Big girl, small world is a Showmax original rom-com series starring a plus size career woman who tries to steer her life back on track after a huge scandal. There is not an aspect of it that cannot be sung praises. Starting off with the double entendre title, our beloved starring, Ciku (June Njenga) is big in every sense- her body, her influence, her bag, her lifestyle. The title exposits the dreadful paradox of her being overlooked, in all the areas where she seeks recognition while being unceremoniously singled out when her only goal is to be left alone.
The show surprises us with its refreshing viewpoint: It does not antagonize the lead character’s body size. Instead, it shifts the blame to fatphobia’s insistence on shrinking her and put her ‘in her place’. The accusing finger points to the society, highlighting the utter absurdity of it all.
The show welcomes us to have a hard look the unfairness and dehumanization that results from this exclusion and the parts we play in this. “I feel like life’s personal punching bag, and I’m taking it blow for blow” Ciku says, in a moment of exasperation.
The series presents us a plot you can watch without nodding off. The predictable moments in the show are forgivable and far in between. Where it fails to impress with the what, it makes up for it with the how. The main and supporting characters are archetypes familiar enough for us to feel at home with them but interpreted in such a unique way that made them strangers we wanted to get to know.
With every peeled layer, the main characters turn out to be more than cardboard cut outs. Our lead character, Ciku’s personality goes far beyond her body size. She’s an icon, and continues to believe it even when the world contradicts her. Cassim (Emmanuel Mugo), is introduced to us as a sketchy, unserious character who brings us comic relief. Upon a closer look, turns out to be deeply loyal and undeterred in his bigger than life aspirations to be a celebrated comedian, not just the butt end of his own jokes. Aisha (Daina Njuguna) surprises us with her ability to take responsibility for her messes and live her life on her own terms where as before, she seemed to be the out of touch, eccentric bestie with her parent’s stack of money to fall back on.
The show keeps the audience hooked by way of their meticulous production. It constantly surprises, with its ability to use other departments of production to drive the story. It uses Fake-Outs to absorb the audience into Ciku’s dark fantasies of unleashing wrath upon those that cross her. The audience therefore shares in her pain. The editing not only ensures smooth transition but serves artistic purpose. The costumes, anaesthetically pleasing and external aspect is subtly used to convey the character’s internal turmoil.
Case in point: In the pilot, Cassim’s color palette matches the one in Ciku’s home décor, as if he were a prop. Visually reinforcing his growing unimportance in Ciku’s life. The song, bodaboda by Madtraxx plays in the background during the meet-cute of our lead couple, marking the blooming of something beautiful. Later the song devolves into something that inspires retching in Ciku as their relationship swerves left.
Big Girl Small World, isn’t just a show, it is an immersive experience.
The exceptional writing of this show was the foundation upon which everything else is built. Biggirl,SmallWorldis classified as a drama and a rom com. Kenyan dramas are notorious for the most asinine plots. This show came to the rescue with a sensible plot, in terms of pacing and cause and effect. With the use of non-linear timeline, taking us back to better times when everything was in shambles in the present, they allowed us to recover from the blows. A creative choice that mimics how we turn to nostalgia’s comfort when our present is heading hell-ward.
Then there was the comedy- organically delivered and unforced. It leans into specifically Kenyan humor. Like when TK (Basil Mungai) says to his big sister, “You’re the apple of my eye, the pilipilito my mutura.”. It is a nod to Kenyan’s street food culture. Hence, the statement is even funnier because it feels like being in on an inside joke.
The witty show doesn’t just deliver on the laughs and the drama, it has something to say. It tackles the overlapping factors such as cultural beliefs, religion that shame sexuality in women while rewarding it in men. When Ciku’s sex tape goes viral she loses her job, her dignity and her family’s trust. On the other hand, Cassim, her co-star gains fame and influence from the same Aside from acknowledging the hypocrisy, they suggest solutions like leaning on chosen family and ways to reclaim autonomy. The film also examines the rigid expectations of manhood. Under the scrutiny of Ciku’s circle of friends, Cassim is reduced into nothing but all the things he cannot do for her. This challenges the transactional nature of romantic relationships and how they intertwine with traditional gender roles that we so tightly grip onto even when they get so evidently toxic.
It seems, Big Girl Small World set out to prove that quality and culturally resonant films are not exclusive to Hollywood. It is informative without being preachy, bold without being cringey and gloriously Kenyan while appealing to an international audience. If this is where we’re headed in terms of film making, we are approaching the promised land.
Big Girl, Small World is available for streaming on Showmax
