Last week brought the season finale of MTV’s latest teen show, Awkward. It wrapped up smoothly, and predictably at the winter formal dance, after a series of ups and downs for protagonist and blogger, Jenna Hamilton. Social networking (on and off-line) are of central concern to this 2011 comedy, which seems to me to be quite apropos for the time and place.
The dialogue, idioms, character tropes, and even clichés are so completely American, and American teen television. (An observation I make in comparison to the failed MTV remake of the very British Skins, which I will likely soon write about.)
In fact, although Awkward is effectively a mash-up of reused teen television clichés,
- Young mom (got pregnant at 16)
- East Asian best friend with a strict mom
- Gossipy best friend who likes to talk about sex
- Partying with drugs and alcohol
- Dippy guidance counselor
- Bitchy cheerleader
- Disappointing loss of virginity
- Outdoor area (under the bleachers) for burnouts and weirdos
- Girl choosing between two guys who both like her
- School dance that’s meaningful to relationships
it shoves that mash-up into necessarily blunt 20 minute episodes. As a result each episode is short and snappy, getting to the heart of the comedy, and crashing klutzily, but delightfully, through the serial narrative (who sent that letter?).
Awkward is enjoyable because of how it rests upon the tropes of the teen drama, while producing comedy, allowing audiences to laugh at the buffoonery of melodramatic teen moments, while nonetheless providing just that.
I see a certain truth in the lighthearted approach to teen life, where the ups and downs feel dramatic, but are usually far less serious than made out to be. In any case they’re not as melodramatic or life-threatening as are some typical story lines on teen TV.
Because most of growing up isn’t Painful, Inspiring, or Traumatic… it’s Awkward.
