After premiering on the British channel E4 in 2007, the highly dramatic television show “Skins” became an underground, worldwide sensation. Following nine teenagers from Bristol, South West England, it is renowned for its explicit content regarding drugs, eating disorders and casual sex. While explicit, “Skins” continues to garner good critical reception and has been nominated for numerous awards including Best Drama Series at the 2008 British Academy Television Awards.
However, when the United States version of “Skins” premiered this month on MTV, critics were unabashedly harsh in their reviews of the show – and not necessarily because of its poor writing. In a New York Times article entitled “MTV’s Naked Calculation Gone Bad,” writer David Carr expressed his disdain for the show’s controversial nature: “[It’s] mostly about explicitly teenage characters doing explicit things.”
Essentially, the controversy around the American version of “Skins” has not revolved around the fact that it’s an outright poor replica of a landmark show. Rather, it’s been geared toward its implied nudity, alcohol consumption and drug use, all of which are allegedly used to draw in a huge teenage audience. Sure, a component of “Skins” is its raciness and playing it on an easily accessible cable channel is probably manipulative of MTV executives. But such a show can have a striking impact, or at least an educational one, if it’s allowed to blossom and isn’t censored it in an attempt to preserve adolescent innocence.
Television dramas or sitcoms can serve a purpose other than to blithely entertain. They can also inform. “All in the Family,” a popular 70s show, was controversial as it addressed racism, gender roles, breast cancer and even abortion in a time when doing so was still uncommon. Although “Skins” doesn’t have quite that level of social impact, it at least dares to address the young adult community’s growing obsession with drugs and danger. Of course, the American version would probably earn more respect if it weren’t so highly publicized or mainstream.
When it comes to the media, provocation has its benefits if done correctly. The British “Skins” made breakthroughs in terms of displaying characters that were inherently damaged. They were bandits who spoke to audiences because of their brutal honesty. Removing that sincerity speaks to America’s inherent dichotomy between what our young nation actually does and what people would rather pretend they don’t do. Turning a blind eye only allows problems to flourish.
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