Pen 15

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  Pen15 is a cringe comedy series created by Maya Erks and Anna Konkle who play younger versions of themselves in the seventh grade. As they journey through their first year in middle school, they quickly realize it is not as expected. Maya struggles to fit in being called UGIS as well as having little control over her autonomy. While Maya is seen repressing some of her Japanese side, her mother encourages her to embrace it when insisting on the bowl cut. Instead, Maya actively denies this reality and pushes herself to create a new identity in return letting family and friends down. 

    I thought Pen15 did a nice job tackling the details of sexual exploration and alienation. This is the first middle school series I have witnessed that openly talks about masturbation. I feel that Maya uses masterbation as a way to take control of her autonomy. She is both trying to fit in and stand out while also choosing which parts of herself are most and least important. The only suggestion I would make is that I would prefer a deeper connection to the main character. This may be due to me only watching three episodes but I definitely would have liked to know about the parts of Maya’s identity she seemed embarrassed about like why her family came to America or where her father is. 

        

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