Introduction to Degrassi: The Next Generation
by guest contributor Jasmine
When I first started watching “Degrassi Jr. High” back in 1987 at the age of 11, I never thought I’d still be watching it 20 years later. But I am, and I most likely always will. The allure of Degrassi the first and its subsequent series’, “Degrassi High” and its current incarnation “Degrassi: The Next Generation” has, for me, been this: real kids with real problems. Certainly, I enjoyed “Beverly Hills 90210″ and “Gossip Girl” like most other people, but it’s hard even to escape into those fantasy worlds when the kids are played by actors well into their 30’s, or throw back martinis at hotel bars like so much diet coke.
And don’t even get me started on the largely silent Asian and Black girl duo of “Gossip Girl” who the clever ladies at Disgrasian have christened “The Haragossip Girls” (see explanation here). It kills me to see two lovely actresses being relegated to the background like tokens. I don’t know if it would be better or worse if they were never there at all. I should know better — I grew up on the fringes of that world. The world of Upper East Side independent schools (hardly anyone says “private school” and nobody says “prep school” except on TV) was, in my time wealthy and White, and being there was walking in a WASP-y wonderland.
But before I start working out my psychological issues, you should meet Manny. Manny is a senior at Degrassi Community School. She’s co-captain of the spirit squad, is an aspiring actress, and has been flirting with Damien, one of the many students from Lakehurst currently attending Degrassi after their own school burned down. Manny is Asian (Filipina, to be exact), and rocking some serious blonde hair. Damian is Black, totally sweet, and pretty hot. They make a cute couple. Their story is one of many stories that paint a portrait of a complex, diverse community that just happens to be made up of young people.
Degrassi’s profile in the States has been elevated recently. Now in its seventh season, the kids of Degrassi have been given a home not just on The N (the evening programming component of children’s network Noggin) but are also on MTV. Its young stars manage to turn in real performances even while they’re appearing on TRL or in a mall near you. It’s proof that you don’t have to be White or straight (three regular characters and one supporting are queer) or able-bodied (multiple characters have dealt with mental health issues, while main character Jimmy is paralyzed due to a gun shot wound) to have a legitimate story. I know this must sound like a big downer, and it probably would be, except that these are kids and they do funny kid stuff like have wet dreams, go on awful dates, get detention, steal their parents’ cars, study, eat terrible cafeteria food, and all the other things that kids do. This could be all be terribly American except that the show is based, and has always been produced, in Canada. It’s kids stuff that any adult could enjoy.
My only complaint is that The N will not always show every single episode, censoring itself for American eyes when it needen’t bother. Why keep two episodes dealing with a character’s abortion off the air but go ahead and show a three episode arc dealing with an outbreak of chlamydia? Thank goodness the show’s out on DVD. While you catch up on past seasons, check out season seven, airing Friday nights at 8ET/7CT on The N.
Carmen Van Kerckhove is co-founder and president of 
tasha wrote:
“Hara-Gossip Girls” (LOL) that’s so hilarious! Talk about tokenism. I refer to those two as “The Bookends.” It’s obvious that they were the OC creator’s weak attempt at diversity. I didn’t watch the OC because I thought it was racist, and I wanted to see, if he was going to set a show in New York and try to play it off as if minorities were non-existent there as well, the way he did with the OC.
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 8:45 am ¶
Latoya Peterson wrote:
RE: Degrassi - looking forward to the recaps! I haven’t watched the show consistently since Paige, Marco and them went off to college, but I was completely addicted before then. I am looking forward to the recaps to see what is going on with the crew.
Tasha -
Cosign. Thought, I must mention that the gossip girl series was white, white, white. My younger sister stopped reading them when she went off to college, but I stopped maybe two books from the end. If there was a repeat POC character, I didn’t pick up on it. This pattern also repeats in a lot of popular teen novels - the A-List and the It Girl both are fairly lacking in minorities. The Clique (while being geared at preteens) does have a Latina.
I guess it’s too much to hope for to see Tia Williams’ It Chicks be developed into a show…
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 10:44 am ¶
B wrote:
Love, love, love Degrassi. It has probably affected my fantasies of becoming an ex-pat and moving to Canada ;o) In all seriousness, a show like this could never exist in the US. The closest thing I can think of, also on The-N, is “South of Nowhere,” which can’t do quite as much given the smaller cast. (”Degrassi” has a *huge* cast of characters who take turns being featured in alternating episodes. This might be how they avoided the “20/30-something” actors playing high school students, as one would imagine the workload is a bit smaller.)
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 6:26 pm ¶
newbatgirl wrote:
Kudos to you for discussing Degrassi. I remember watching the original back when I was a teen and I’m buying the DVDs now because The N shows the eps in some wacky order that bears no resemblance to chronology.
But the show’s got a great cast and good understanding of modern adolescence.
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 7:10 pm ¶
Orville wrote:
I’m from Canada and I can honestly say Degrassi Junior High was the BEST Canadian show EVER. I remember growing up in Toronto and the show was made in the city of Toronto. When I look back on the original Degrassi series I can see how more advanced Canada was compared to the USA. I mean the character Spike had a kid at age 13 that would NEVER happen on American television! I remember one of the twin sisters had an abortion in the late 1980s early 1990s. Again, Canadian TV was so advanced and foward then American TV and that was over 20 years ago! And now as an adult I can I have seen the new Degrassi series but I just don’t think its as good as the original Degrassi Junior High! I will never forget that show!
Posted 06 Nov 2007 at 10:29 pm ¶
The Joy Princess wrote:
Count me as a Degrassi fan from the 80s too! I kept up with it until this season…
I fast forward through the eps I TiVo now as I think the show has gotten a little ridiculous over the last few seasons with the way they seemingly cram in every titillating plot idea possible.
I keep thinking, what ELSE can happen at this point so Degrassi doesn’t feel different or as interesting to me as it once did back when I got caught up watching the marathons on The N.
Now, it’s just another over-the-top teen show to me, but that Jimmy is still quite cute! Maybe I’ll just watch the eps he’s in!
Posted 07 Nov 2007 at 8:02 am ¶
Alexandra wrote:
Now, I’ve never really seen Degrassi. But I am totally shocked that the US would not show an episode of this because of the subject matter. Or maybe I shouldn’t be shocked? Abortion: no, chlamydia: okay. Maybe because chalmydia was shown in a finger-shaking way, punishing people who have sex, but the abortion show was not shown because it appears to let someone off the hook for sexual consequences? It’s totally wackly thinking, but the kind of thinking you see in a Catholic school…
Posted 07 Nov 2007 at 9:00 am ¶
newbatgirl wrote:
Alexandra, I think you hit the nail on the head there. It’s exactly the kind of thinking you would get from suits in a network boardroom terrified of a boycott.
Posted 07 Nov 2007 at 7:16 pm ¶