Week 12 - Portrayal of Teenagers on Television

As a person interested in Young Adult fiction, I've always been happy to see the crossover from book to television series. The Gossip Girl books were the first series I read which eventually became a television program. For me it was an easy switch to go from book to television series simply because I wanted to see the characters I read about suddenly come to life on screen. As with most cases, the plot of the television show starts to diverge from the plot of the book, but the general premise remained the same -Gossip Girl was a show about the lives of rich teenagers in New York City. Below are some of the initial advertisements used to engage young people with Gossip Girl.

These advertisements were used to draw people into the show who hadn't necessarily read the books. For more perspectives on the advertisements, check out these blog posts here and here. The images are provocative and sexual but it's arguably the text that makes the show more appealing. Phrases like “mindblowingly inappropriate” and “every parents worst nightmare” are sure to get the attention of young people because it is mysterious and slightly rebellious. The world of Gossip Girl is decadent and exciting for your average teenager, the characters drink at cool bars, have the latest fashions, and do a good job of looking constantly beautiful. Are these the types of role models that young people should be looking up to?

When I was in high school, The OC was the show that everyone watched. It was about a bunch of teenagers living the good life in a part of California called Orange County. I watched the show because it was cool and because the girls wore pretty clothes and the guys looked 'hot'. The actors employed to play these characters on the show were not sixteen, they were in their middle and late twenties. Why do television producers feel like it is necessary to cast such older actors to play teenagers? I guess there are legal and monetary reasons that the general public aren't privy to, but if the target demographic of the studio is teenagers, wouldn't it be more relatable to have 'real' looking kids on there?

This leads me to television shows like Homeland and Mad Men. These television programs have teenagers in their cast who look like REAL teenagers, not the prettied up models that seem to be on all the shows targeted at teens these days. Is this because the target audience of Homeland and Mad Men are more or less adults who don't care about whether or not the teenager is portrayed 'beautifully'?

As an avid television consumer I find it refreshing to see 'normal' teenagers playing teenagers on TV, I just find it difficult to comprehend why they need to be on shows aimed at adults. Why do the shows aimed at young people need to have good-looking, unattainable model-types, giving young people false ideas about what they should look like or how they should act? I'm frustrated but I will still (un)ashamedly watch the shows.

Images courtesy of CW.