“Women struggling for money” is a popular TV and film narrative – here are some of the most impactful portrayals we’ve seen of financial issues on screen

women-money-debt-tv-film

Credit: Getty

Entertainment


“Women struggling for money” is a popular TV and film narrative – here are some of the most impactful portrayals we’ve seen of financial issues on screen

By Morgan Cormack

3 years ago

4 min read

From debt to financial literacy and just trying to make ends meet, TV and films have explored women struggling for money in a variety of ways. Here are some of the most enlightening on-screen moments that are worth watching. 

In Stylist’s new digital series In the Red, we investigate how debt is really impacting young women in 2022 – from our connection with credit cards and shopping to examining how debt informs our relationships, our beauty regimes and the way we operate in the world. 

Talking about finance, work and money can often make us feel uncomfortable, but the trusty medium of on-screen entertainment can provide vital representations of these topics. 

Very real issues – like financial abuse, job security and sex work – are the focal points of many iconic shows and films. And it’s often from seeing them play out on-screen that we can start to understand these topics better.

The plight of the young woman “struggling for money” on screen is a tired trope, but for a lot of us, it’s an everyday reality. So, when shows like BBC Three’s Mood or HBO’s Insecure nail what it’s like to be a young female creative, it’s essential to ask ourselves if these shows and movies revolutionise the way we speak about women and money. Or – like films such as Confessions Of A Shopaholic – do they merely fall back on tired stereotypes?

With that, here are some of TV and film’s key moments that explore the variety of ways women navigate, overcome and face their finances.


Maid 

Margaret Qualley in Netflix's Maid

Credit: Netflix

This hit Netflix series captivated us for its honest portrayal of young motherhood and emotional abuse. It also honed in on an aspect of coercive relationships that is rarely portrayed on the small screen – financial abuse.

Alex (Margaret Qualley) may have been in a long-term relationship with Sean (Nick Robinson) but his desire to be the provider for their small family was in reality a chance to strip her of financial independence and solely control their money.

While the series is full of reflective and harrowing moments, the scenes of Alex figuring out how to manage her own finances and regain financial control lingered with us the most. The programme didn’t shy away from the grit, hard work and determination needed to persevere, but it also showed the not-so-glamorous side of balancing (and remaining) in low-paying jobs (like being a cleaner).

Maid is available to stream on Netflix now. 

Hustlers 

Hustlers

Credit: Universal

This 2019 drama may look like a film about being a glamorous dancer in a strip club, but it’s so much more. Although we don’t condone drugging and scamming Wall Street businessmen, this electrifying portrayal had us firmly on the side of the women at the heart of this fishing scheme.

It’s Jennifer Lopez’s performance as Ramona that really stands out. She’s the maternal figure that you can’t help but be in awe of – in her fur coat and heels, she’s a presence to be feared and admired in equal measure. But it’s also her fiery determination to protect the women around her, provide financial stability for her family and afford a better life that underpins the emotional side of hustle culture (especially for exotic dancers and women of colour) that is rarely depicted.

At the heart of the film is the desire to make money in less than conventional ways, as JLo’s character says: “The game is rigged, and it doesn’t reward people who play by the rules.”

Hustlers is available to stream on Netflix now. 

Working Girl 

This popular 1988 romcom is a corporate Cinderella tale, if you will. It relies on classic tropes of female cattiness, an emotionally unavailable male lead and the kind of “will they, won’t they” that we love – and expect – of romantic comedies.

It tells the story of Staten Island receptionist Tess McGill (Melanie Griffith) who gives her boss Katharine Parker (Sigourney Weaver) an excellent business tip but Katharine steals the idea without giving Tess any credit.

After Katharine suffers a leg injury, Tess decides to exact revenge and takes over her boss’s job while negotiating a major deal with investment broker Jack (Harrison Ford). What makes this film stand out, though, is the exploration of Tess’s story. She’s ambitious, 30 years old and has a bachelor’s degree in business from undertaking evening classes. She’s a secretary and is constantly undermined by her boss and male co-workers, but when she crosses over into a role that she assumes she’d be valued in, she finds she is discredited instead.

While the movie is hilarious and heartwarming, it does also underline career goals and aspirations that many working-class girls like Tess have – which is part of the reason why this film that puts corporate women front and centre is so iconic.

Working Girl is available to stream on Disney+. 

Mood 

BBC Mood Nicole Lecky

Credit: BBC

Mood may be a music-based drama but don’t take its catchy songs and lyrics to mean that it doesn’t deliver one of the most confronting portrayals of London-based poverty. The BBC Three drama hones in on very real issues that creator Nicôle Lecky was surrounded by when she’d produced this as a one-woman play. From hidden homelessness to influencer culture, Sasha (Lecky) tries to remain confident and bubbly despite really having nowhere to turn to.

But when mysterious new girlfriend Carly introduces her to the world of social media, it seems like Nicole’s problems are just an Instagram post and brand deal away. That is, until Carly reveals that a quicker and more lucrative way to make money is to release content on DailyFans – an online platform where Sasha can send pictures and videos that are as explicit as she wants them to be.

But when Carly takes Sasha to a mansion party full of rich men – and then on a holiday to a Middle Eastern desert with upcoming rappers – Sasha enters a world of sex work that she wasn’t quite prepared for. At the heart of this drama is a tale of a young woman trying to make it in the music industry but its honest portrayal of growing up in London, being unable to afford to live there and being constantly in pursuit of money for creative projects is a plotline that will undoubtedly resonate with many.

Mood is available to watch on BBC iPlayer. 

Harlem 

Harlem Amazon Prime

Credit: Amazon Prime

This fun-loving series about female friendships and navigating life as a thirty-something woman is the perfect comedy to binge-watch. But it also provides a very realistic – and not-so-funny – look at not being financially stable.

Angie (played by Shoniqua Shandai) is our favourite character of the series, not least because she’s arguably the most relatable. She goes from having a record deal and an impressive singing career to quickly becoming a singer who’s struggling for money. She ends up sleeping on her friend Quinn’s (Grace Byers) sofa and what starts off as a well-meaning arrangement quickly descends into the two arguing over finances. 

But it’s the topic of how money management can affect friendships and cause a strain on relationships here that makes this series worth watching. After watching this hilarious series, you can’t help but think: what would you do if the vision for how your life should be doesn’t match up to the ideals of financial prosperity?

Harlem is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video. 

Confessions Of A Shopaholic 

If ever there was a movie to strike a chord during its time of release, it was Confessions Of A Shopaholic. Releasing a film about a young woman with a shopping addiction – which then leaves her in a $16,000 debt – during a global recession probably wasn’t the best idea. It became a comedy that was a little too close to reality upon its release in 2009 and has since divided viewers.

Love or hate the story of serial shopaholic Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher), one thing’s for certain and that’s the fact that a film about financial responsibility and getting yourself into banking trouble during your 20s is all too relatable.

Yes, it may miss the mark on several occasions, but Rebecca’s prowess in writing her financial column, navigating a new relationship and trying to keep a lid on a “treat brain” mentality are what make this movie so oddly important (for a comedy).

Confessions Of A Shopaholic is available to stream on Disney+. 

Insecure 

Issa Rae’s hit comedy series already does a stellar job of capturing how life is for millennial women in all aspects – love, life, friendships, career. But on top of all of those other wonderful plotlines, there’s the overarching recognition that Issa’s character is the “least stable” within their friendship group.

In season three, though, Issa attempts to get a hold on her finances and employs her friend Kelly to help her. Kelly (Natasha Rothwell) may be a friend but she’s an accountant and tells Issa of her credit score. Kelly says in episode two – entitled Familiar-Like – that: “Bad would be a step up. The basic credit tiers are excellent, good, poor, bad – this is Issa. It’s all the way at the bottom.”

The way this scene plays out – with the iconic “I’ve been savin’” dance that Issa breaks out in – may be awkward but is positive in the way it showcases the support many young women need when it comes to managing their finances.

In this episode, Issa not only needs some serious saving tips but she’s also had to move in with her ex-boyfriend to save money and has to take on extra driving shifts on ride-sharing app, Lyft. While it underlines the need for tough love in these scenarios, this episode of Insecure manages to paint an accurate picture of navigating increasing financial pressure as a millennial.

Insecure is available to stream on NOW TV. 

The Unforgiveable 

Balancing jobs and running from one to another is the kind of scene we’ve seen in films and TV for a long time. But what about when you’re a woman who’s just been released from prison and struggling to get a job, let alone keep one? Sandra Bullock excels in this 2021 Netflix movie, which tells the story of Ruth (Bullock), who’s trying to get her life back on track after serving 20 years in prison.

Her crime and prison time in the film are almost irrelevant when we think about the empowering way that she tries to regain some kind of control over her life. She works at a fish factory during the day and goes straight to a construction site to use her newfound carpentry skills in a low-paying role. She does so all in order to get enough money to show that she’s worthy of being an adult figure in her estranged younger sister’s life.

While the role did lean on the stereotype of being a reclusive ex-prisoner, the film did a great job of portraying a woman who hones a skill, forges a new career and offers us a new perspective of what drives a woman to take on multiple jobs.

The Unforgiveable is available to stream on Netflix. 


Image: courtesy of studios

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