I just want to be "NORMAL"
This phrase (or some variation of it) can be found in almost every young adult novel or teen television show ever made. Go on, think about it, I’ll give you a minute...the statement is usually uttered by the “not normal” character, who is gifted with some amazing supernatural or just really cool ability that any one of us would die for (i.e ability to fly or do really hard math, in their head, in 10 seconds) when that ability some how hinders them from connecting with the boy/girl they are madly in love with....Are you with me?!
I have come to expect this statement to be uttered at some point in every teen show and this year’s crop of teen shows has yet to disappoint. I actually think in Teen Wolf he manages to whine it twice in one episode.
But here’s the thing “teens” NO ONE WANTS TO BE NORMAL
No one actually wants to be normal because normal is boring. When you are normal you are invisible and the last thing you really want as to be as a teenager is invisible (I know I felt invisible ALL OF the time and hated it). However, I realize now (15 years later) that this is the paradox of adolescence. As a teen you feel invisible BUT you don’t want to stand out. Having this battle with yourself 24/7 365 would make anyone crazy, moody and depressed which is what most teens are.
Recently in the news there have been celebrities who have lamented that all they wanted to was to be normal in high school but I challenge you “celebrities.” You didn’t! If you wanted to be boring or normal you could have been but instead you stood out and that took you all they way to the top. While I can understand, no one wants to be or should be bullied and harassed in school and being “normal”/invisible is a way to avoid that, celebrating your uniqueness and diversity is how to WIN in life.
In a world of celery and carrot sticks, pears and kumquats are revered.
I am reexamining all of the messages that I was fed (and we are currently feeding )as a teen and I think this one should change. So here is a thought writers, the next time a character with an AMAZING ability says “I just want to be normal” have the the best friend to say “ No you don’t, normal is invisible and I don’t have invisible friends.”
-Squirt
Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label YA. Show all posts
Monday, August 15, 2011
Monday, June 6, 2011
Buffy beats Bella
A few weeks ago, I saw a commercial advertising that they are gong to start syndicating “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” on Teennick (formerly Noggin, formerly TheN) . I cannot explain how ecstatic this information made me. I am a HUGE Buffy Fan. Not only do I have the complete series on DVD but also all 70 or so VHS tapes which contain the original recording from the WB on Tuesday nights. I was not only excited for me, I was excited for this generation of girls that would get a chance to be exposed to Buffy. In a world of Mean and Gossip girls where Scheming is valued over Strength, Buffy is a show where “staking in the heart” is valued over “stabbing in the back.”
Another reason why I was so happy about this is because Buffy ain’t no Bella. I am NOT on the Twilight bandwagon. I am also not on the “I hate Twilight” bandwagon, either. I came by my contempt honestly. I tried. I really did. But after attempting to read the books 3 times and falling into boredom-induced comas, I just gave up. And I’m not exaggerating here, I literally fell asleep, for hours at a time.
The problem I had was that I did not like Bella and unfortunately, she is the main character. She’s just so milquetoast, so completely useless that it pains me (actually causes me physical pain).
But my girl Buffy, she kicks butt and does it with style. She was beautiful, popular and semi-decent student, but she was also strong and extremely loyal to her friends. This series was just so good and well done, I am excited that this generation will have a chance to embrace it!
But all is not always well in Sunnydale.... (Grrr, Argh!) :)
The whitest people you know: There are no actors of color. Not one. There is not even a racially ambiguous Asian or Latino. It’s not until the 5th or 6th season that we see some black slayers and hunters. So for those that believe that Buffy is the pinnacle of YA TV, think again. Diversify, Whedon, diversify!
As much as I LOVE Sara Michelle Geller (now Sarah Prinze) and am impressed at how good of shape she was in for Buffy, I cannot believe that she could take down half of the vampires, demons, ghosts, ghoulies, gods, what have you that she fought. She couldn’t have weighed more than a buck 10 and she was barely 5’1”. While I have been trained from TV that martial arts is not about strength but about skill, I have to believe that at some point brute strength is going to win out. And the odds of a 100lb girl taking out a 300 monster just ain’t gonna happen.
Even with all of these detractors, Buffy is still such a freakin’ good show that I will definitely be watching the episodes as they cycle through TeenNick and through a brand-new generation of Buffy fans.
-Squirt
Another reason why I was so happy about this is because Buffy ain’t no Bella. I am NOT on the Twilight bandwagon. I am also not on the “I hate Twilight” bandwagon, either. I came by my contempt honestly. I tried. I really did. But after attempting to read the books 3 times and falling into boredom-induced comas, I just gave up. And I’m not exaggerating here, I literally fell asleep, for hours at a time.
The problem I had was that I did not like Bella and unfortunately, she is the main character. She’s just so milquetoast, so completely useless that it pains me (actually causes me physical pain).
But my girl Buffy, she kicks butt and does it with style. She was beautiful, popular and semi-decent student, but she was also strong and extremely loyal to her friends. This series was just so good and well done, I am excited that this generation will have a chance to embrace it!
But all is not always well in Sunnydale.... (Grrr, Argh!) :)
The whitest people you know: There are no actors of color. Not one. There is not even a racially ambiguous Asian or Latino. It’s not until the 5th or 6th season that we see some black slayers and hunters. So for those that believe that Buffy is the pinnacle of YA TV, think again. Diversify, Whedon, diversify!
As much as I LOVE Sara Michelle Geller (now Sarah Prinze) and am impressed at how good of shape she was in for Buffy, I cannot believe that she could take down half of the vampires, demons, ghosts, ghoulies, gods, what have you that she fought. She couldn’t have weighed more than a buck 10 and she was barely 5’1”. While I have been trained from TV that martial arts is not about strength but about skill, I have to believe that at some point brute strength is going to win out. And the odds of a 100lb girl taking out a 300 monster just ain’t gonna happen.
Even with all of these detractors, Buffy is still such a freakin’ good show that I will definitely be watching the episodes as they cycle through TeenNick and through a brand-new generation of Buffy fans.
-Squirt
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