Now I know that few read my blog or at least I assume that only a few do. Those few being: Chez Lyons (alexlyons.blospot.com), Jimmy Delicious (jimmydelicous.blospot.com), and Restless Panda (restlesspanda.blogspot.com). I mainly state this because the following might not matter to these people since I’ve probably talked to them in person about what I’ll be blogging. Sorry guys but I need to blog this…it’s all I can think of.
Recently I’ve acquired a satellite dish with thousands upon thousands of channels to satisfy my love for TV. When I say this TV I mean movies and interesting discovery shows. While doing my daily browsing I stumbled upon a channel called ‘Noggin’. So I thought to myself: “Hmm, with a name like that the channel must have some insights into the history of the world.” To my surprise, Noggin happens to be a children’s channel with shows such as SpongeBob (which is funny as hell) and Degrassi: The Next Generation. Other shows are on during the weekends but there are too many to name. The channel airs Degrassi constantly…and I mean like 20 hours a day. Now I’m not sure what compelled me to watch an episode of Degrassi. It could have been that I was bored, maybe I wanted to make fun of it, or just plain morbid curiosity.
Nevertheless, I watched a few episodes in a row and I was taken away. The show is unlike anything I expected. It’s smart, in-depth, touching, and at times funny. Keep in mind that it is a kid’s show so the jokes aren’t as funny to me as they would be to a younger audience. But the beautiful part is that the writers don’t try to force jokes in just to break the silence because the show is in fact a teen drama. The acting itself is surprisingly good apart from a couple of characters who just don’t seem to know what they’re doing. But once you start to get into the little world of Degrassi you tend to forget about the tiny flaws and start looking at the beauty of the writing and the real world situations these kids are put in. I’m not one to like typical teenage shows but this one seems way too real for me to avoid.
Historically, Degrassi has always been breaking boundaries with strong teen issues that most inner city kids tend to deal with. Issues such as: homosexuality, rape, violence, drug abuse and even in some cases murder. Now I know that’s a pretty prominent theme in a lot of current shit shows like the O.C, One Tree Hill, or Seventh Heaven. I don’t think I know of anymore but those are the ones I’ve seen glimpses of and they fucking blow. Meanwhile, Degrassi has been doing this for over 25 years and they seem to have a bit more of a handle on these issues than these other shows.
I’m not going to analyze the show’s direction or use of lighting and things of that sort because I don’t know enough about it to criticize it but the writing tends to just draw me away into the story rather than the images. So to me the look of it doesn’t matter too much. But the great thing is that there are so many characters in the show that it makes you feel like you’re in high school. And with that many characters, you are bound to find one that you can relate to. I know I have.
Basically all I’m saying is that you should give the show a try and maybe you’ll see, as I have, how utterly brilliant and amazing it is. Anyways, hope you watch it and if you don’t it’s not a big deal. I won’t be calling anyone an idiot anytime soon for not watching the show but just know that I’ll be tuning in everyday and if you have any questions about it you know who to come to.
Eager Iggy out.
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1 comment:
I fully agree with you. Many are eager to dismiss this next generation of Degrassi, but truth be told it tackles some very in depth issues and does it exceptionally well.
I can't specifically recall the episode title but I remember it dealing with teen pregnancy (as many of these types of shows have). What differentiates Degrassi from those other shows is how they deal with the issues at hand. Instead of taking the common and more accepted route dictated by these other shows, Degrassi challenges them with a more riske option; abortion.
Boy this is quite a long comment. One last thing, if you haven't seen the Degrassi movie School's Out, I suggest you do so.
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