Danni Sanders (Zoey Deutch), the protagonist of “Not Okay,” isn’t meant to be liked. In fact, the viewer is explicitly warned to this effect: “This film contains flashing lights, themes of trauma, and an unlikable female protagonist.”
“Not Okay,” written and directed by Quinn Shephard and premiering Friday on Hulu, follows through on its promise. After failing at work, feeling lonely and craving respect as a writer, Danni uses her social media to pretend to be on a writer’s retreat in Paris — and then, when a terrorist attack at the Arc de Triomphe complicates her lie, she turns it to her personal advantage by using her new identity as a survivor to become a popular activist.
Danni turns out to be the perfect example of a performative activist, especially in the social media era. She echoes the flurry of social media posts during the summer of 2020, in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd, by people who were quick to show support for the Black Lives Matter movement in theory, but not so much in practice. Take #BlackoutTuesday, which encouraged people to post black squares to their social media profiles — which many used to signal opposition to police brutality while taking no further action against it. (Instead, they were eager to get “back to normal.” On a corporate level, companies are quick to tout themselves as supporters of marginalized communities — such as the LGBTQ community during Pride — but by the time the calendar turns to the first of the next month, the rainbow advertising and queer slogans are gone.
