Degrassi

OK, have I mentioned that over the past year or so, I've watched a ridiculous number of Degrassi episodes?  It's so, so bad on so many levels, and yet, it's like I can't stop watching.  Here's a break down for those of you who may not know what Degrassi is.  There are several incarnations of Degrassi, the most recent being Degrassi: The Next Generation.  But basically, it was a series first produced in the late 1980s and early 90s in Canada.  The program apparently received subsidies from the Canadian government and ran in the States on PBS at that time.  The Kids of Degrassi Street was followed by Degrassi Junior High and finall, predictably, but Degrassi High.  The series was resurrected as Degrassi: the Next Generation, which is now on season 8, I think.  Currently, The Next Generation (which sounds Star Trek-y but isn't) runs in syncdication on the cable network The N but also elsewhere, such as my local Fox station.  Episodes are available on hulu and can be streamed from Netflix, if anyone is interested.

I guess that originally, the show was conceived of as dealing with "issues" that face the real teenager:  drugs, alcohol, sex, unwanted pregnancy, all the things that "real" teens in the "real" world apparently deal with.  It was supposed to be a realistic look at being a teen, as opposed to the more sugar-coated representations that were available.  Anyway, one result of this is that we have a limited cast, maybe 12 teens, who deal with an inordinate amount of problems.  Seriously, I hope that no one teen has to face as many problems / issues / drugs / cases of sexual assault as any one of the teens on The Next Generation faces.  There's a truly soap opera quality to the whole thing, IMO.

Anyway, I cannot at all figure out why I find this compelling.  I mean, I tend to read and watch a lot of pretty trashy media aimed at preteens and teens (I tell myself that I need to keep up, as part of professional development or something, but really I find it relaxing!)  But why am I drawn to this nonsense, which in no way reflects my own experience of junior high or high school.  What I'm trying to say is that I'm pretty sure it's not about nostalgia.  Nor are the issues dealt with in a particularly interesting way.  For all the attempt at being progressive, it strikes me as a repackaging of hetero-normative, white, middle class values and lives.  In fact, when I went to a conference a couple of weeks ago, I went to a panel dealing with Degrassi, and one of the papers I heard explored this very topic--the ways in which, although the teens have sex, the representations of promiscuous females is really NOT terribly progressive. 

One thing I do like about the earlier episodes, even of The Next Generation, is that the males do, for the most part, look very much like average, teen males, often complete with acne and a physical awkwardness that seem authentic.  The producers seem to be using more of the beautiful people in the more recent episodes.  And on the whole, the females are more attractive than the males.  Is this sending the message that it's more acceptable for males to be somewhat unattractive but that females have to be pretty all the time?  I don't know.  I'd like to see more average-looking women with leading roles.  I guess that's not going to happen. 

I am not sure where I'm going with this post.  Maybe it's just this:  long before Gossip Girl, the Canadians depicted teens partying, sleeping around, and living with little adult guidance or even interaction.