Llen King
Reporter
“Dickinson” is a must binge, Peabody award winning show. The Apple TV series from 2019 follows the life of Emily Dickinson, the famed 19th century poet.
In the series, Emily, played by Hailee Steinfeld, is 16 when the show begins. She just wants to write and have time to herself to think. Her mother, Emily Norcross, played by Jane Krakowski, has other plans. Norcross wants Emily to become the perfect housewife, mainly so she can marry her off and be free of her.
Emily’s father, Edward Dickinson, played by Toby Huss, disagrees and wants Emily to enjoy life and pursue her interests, at least to a point. He also makes her promise to never leave and get married.
Even Emily’s father doesn’t believe in women writing though, he wants to keep her from being published as he says that’s not right for a woman to do. What he doesn’t know is that the suitor Emily’s mom set Emily up with is also a newspaper editor, determined to convince Emily to publish her poems.
Emily’s best friend, Sue Gilbert, played by Ellen Hunt, has just had her last living sister die and is now destitute, leading her to decide to marry Emily’s brother Austin, played by Adrian Enscoe. There’s just one problem, Emily is in love with Sue. They were supposed to live out their lives together as writers and now Sue is going to be a wife and move away to another state.
In between all of this, Emily is visiting Death, played by Wiz Khalifa, and going on carriage rides with him. That’s all just in the first pilot episode! “Dickinson” is not your typical historical fiction; it breaks the mold by choosing strategically to infuse modern culture at times.
Alena Smith, the show creator, wanted to bring in modern elements to show how the characters are trapped and suffocated by their time period. She also wanted to compare the struggles and issues of the 1850s to those of today.
The soundtrack of the show sounds like something any teen might listen to today. Smith explained modern music was always central to the story and so she brought on Devoe Yates to supervise the music selection. Yates wanted to pick music that feels like what Emily Dickinson would have listened to, songs like Bury a Friend by Billie Eilish which plays when we first meet Death.
One place where Smith wanted to keep some 19th century elements was set design and costume. It’s visually striking, stuffy dresses and drab country is the perfect juxtaposition for Emily’s fantastical imaginings of herself wearing a red ball gown meeting Death in a lavish carriage.
The dialog of Dickinson goes between stilted 19th century proper English and current slang. Smith says that this is meant to symbolize when characters are feeling constricted by the standards of living in the 1800s. The dialog in the show feels fresh and witty, occasionally including tongue in cheek references to Emily’s eventual fame.
Emily Dickinson herself gets a makeover in the series from previous depictions of her as a shut-in and spinster. The reimagined Emily is adventurous and bold, not afraid to take chances and speak her mind. Smith argues that anyone who could write the way that Dickinson did, would be much more than a shy loner.
“Dickinson” is not afraid to take on serious issues. It confronts white supremacy, women’s rights and poverty through the lens of the 1800s, all without being overly heavy. Smith intended for this to be a way of analyzing these issues as they still happen in current society.
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