Skins

The Conservative Parents Television Council has stated “Skins” is the most dangerous program that has been foisted on your children, but the question that arises is “It dangerous or just a harmless television show?”

The show does cross a boundary when it comes to TV depictions of sex involving minors, but any kid who has been to a Judd Apatow movie has seen worse. Today’s teens have easy access to internet, pay-cable, shows and other entertainment offerings that scandalize today’s teens. Of course that does not entirely excuse the network, which is canny about its practices. MTV claims in a release that “Skins” is meant to be viewed by adults, and to prove it the channel airs the show at or after 10 p.m. Eastern time and has slapped a TV-MA rating on it, meaning it is theoretically unsuitable for those under 17.

The thought of adults actually watching this show is a little laughable. Many teens at Creekview had quite a lot to say about Skins.

“’Skins’ is a joke. The show is making teens look a whole lot worse than they actually are. None of that stuff happens to a teen in one day or even a week,” exclaimed junior Sarah S.

What Sarah is talking about can all be seen in the first episode of “Skins”. By the end of the first episode, the characters have partied themselves into a numbness, crashed a stolen Escalade into a river and owe nearly a grand to a drug dealer. Most real-world teens do not even make $1,000 drug deals, prostitute their friends, and steal cars. When asked, three out of 25 teens have never even bothered to watch “Skins” or even have no idea what it is.

“I saw the commercial on MTV, laughed really hard and turned the channel to Jeopardy,” sighed senior Chase B.

32 out of 50 teens at Creekview thought “Skins” may be the most unrealistic show on television. Is this true? On “Skins”, the characters do drugs, have sex, and have a deep core of sadness, but the sadness does not stay long due to the outrageous things they do and the drugs they abuse. The show lacks enthusiasm but has great amounts of wooden acting, lazy writing, predictable plot points and a general snarkiness that makes the show unpleasantly smug about itself.
It is always hard to find realistic characters and storylines in television shows, but in the unfortunate case of “Skins”, the creators have crossed the line of believability by focusing on what they assume will get the most attention: hypersexual teens and drugs. MTV omitted the more serious and tougher issues of teenage life and made a point of exploiting them.
Written by: Tenniea Martin