A film starring Mila Kunis has just started on Netflix under the title “I. Am. So. Happy” and can look forward to high viewing numbers. But there is also substantive criticism. Viewers are demanding a trigger warning from the streaming service.
“I. Am. So. Happy.” has been on Netflix since October 7th. starring Mila Kunis available. In Germany, the thriller drama immediately went to the top of the streaming service’s film charts – and is also number one globally with 43 million minutes streamed.
Although “I. Am. So. Happy.” thus becoming a huge success for Netflix, there has also been criticism of the streaming service from many quarters. On social networks, a number of viewers are demanding that “I. Am. So. Happy.” a so-called “trigger warning” is placed in front. What happened?
The past of Tiffani “Ani” Fanelli (Kunis), the main character of “I’m. So. Happy.”, holds several disturbing secrets and traumas. As a teenager, Ani was abused by three of her classmates in one evening. The horrific gang rape is shown in the Netflix film in great detail and relatively abruptly.
Later in the film, a shooting spree takes place at Ani’s private school, in which two of her rapists die at gunpoint. Ani’s friends practice vigilantism here. This realistically shown scene also obviously surprises many viewers of “I. Am. So. Happy.”. After watching the film, some users on Twitter express their wish that the Netflix streaming service should precede the work with a “trigger warning”. If it were clear in advance what content the viewer would expect, a traumatic viewing experience could possibly be prevented.
“Please don’t look ‘I. Am. So. Happy.’ on Netflix if you’re traumatized by a sexual assault. This movie needs a big, big, big, big, huge trigger warning,” one user wrote.
In a sarcastic tone, another user agrees, “Wow, well done Netflix for not providing a trigger warning on your ‘I. Am. So. Happy.’ movie.” The same tweet warns of “highly visually intense scenes of sexual assault.”
In fact, “I. Am. So. Happy.” in Germany only released from the age of 18. Viewers must enter a four-digit PIN for age verification before they can watch the film. Bruna Papandrea, one of the flick’s producers, told EW that the Netflix film’s themes “may be difficult for some to watch.” But the producer of previous hit films and series such as Gone Girl (2014) and Big Little Lies (2017-2019) expresses hope that the film could also “start difficult, necessary discussions”.