There are a lot of TV series with teenagers and young adults as their intended audience. This choice leads to different kinds of protagonists and narrative arcs: they consider what teenagers would like to see on television and, most of the time, create characters who represent them and help them understand the world a bit better.
These types of shows are not new; the first teen-orientated drama was Never Too Young and was released in 1965. Since then, there has been a huge change in the subjects discussed, and how they are approached. Nowadays, there are shows like Sex Education and Never Have I Ever that try to implement a different view of teenagers and their struggles, including the difficulties of being accepted, sexuality, substance use disorder (SUD), and mental health. One show that has become extremely popular in recent years is HBO’s acclaimed series Euphoria.
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D.A.R.E. to Watch Euphoria
Euphoria shows the viewers a raw representation of what it is like to be a teenager today for many people, and also the problems with drugs and sex that can possibly come with it. It has, however, received a lot of backlash due to the amount of explicit substance use shown in the series. D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) recently said that the show glorified teenagers’ substance abuse:
However, Zendaya, the lead actress of the show, has responded to the organization’s comments, saying that she thinks the show can give viewers “a little bit more understanding and [be] empathetic over the experience of addiction.” She continues:
What’s Euphoria about? The Emmy Award-winning HBO show tells the story of teenage life with an ensemble cast. The protagonist, Rue, is a recovering drug user who comes home after attending rehab. Every character in the show, though, has deep and complex problems involving drugs, mental health, sexuality, and abusive relationships, and Euphoria season two can get even more triggering with its difficult subjects. The audience gets to see the everyday life of these troubled teenagers, while still rooting for them to find their place in the world. But does Euphoria show its content appropriately and respectfully?
Over-Showing for Euphoria’s Audience
HBO
Yes, HBO’s Euphoria exaggerates the amount of explicit content, especially the characters almost daily drug use. However, it is essential to understand why the creators decided to make these choices.
It is necessary to think about the intended audience of the show. Sam Levison, the creator of the show, said that Euphoria is intended for teenagers of 17 years old or older. A 17-year-old has had very different experiences than a 14-year-old, and because of that you can show more explicit content and still be effective while communicating your message. The writers can give in to a more raw way of telling the story than it would have if it was intended for pre-teens or anyone younger than the cusp of legal age. There is no need to sugarcoat what happens when someone overdoses and how that affects the person’s family and friends.
Another reason for this is that often, to get a point across with visual media such as TV, a common tactic has to be utilized: showing a specific scenario or problem, over and over again. This kind of repetition is often used as a means of character development and thematic content because it works really well. Once Euphoria shows that not only one type of character, such as Rue, has a drug problem or issue with sex, but also Elliot (Dominic Fike), it helps make the broader statement of the show about drugs and how everyone can develop substance use disorder, or fall into the trap of sexual abuse. This can be applied to all the other issues the series brings up as well: mental health, abusive relationships, body image problems, etc. But does Euphoria romanticize its content, be it drug use or sexuality?
Shows that do Romanticize Destructive Teenagers
There are a lot of shows that do over-sexualize teenagers, and also view substance abuse through rose-colored glasses. Teen over-sexualization is very common, like when 16-year-old Betty stripped to her underwear in a bikers’ club in Riverdale. Addiction is also often portrayed as something sexy or even easy to deal with, as in Saved By The Bell, when a character with a substance use disorder with pills was cured within a week.
One of the first shows that showed a darker side to teenagers was the British show Skins. Skins showed more than characters smoking marijuana or drinking: most of them used pills and a few snorted cocain at a party bathroom. The show also depicted various difficult situations, like parents abandoning their children or mental health conditions, so the drugs seemed like a relief for the characters and were psychologically motivated. Sometimes things got incredibly excessive, though, as in a particular episode when a ten-year-old used heroin at a party.
Euphoria, however, treats the subject very differently. Rue is the main character and is a drug user. From the get-go, the audience understands how hard this is to not only live with but also how difficult it is to live with someone who has a SUD. Rue continues to deceive her family that she is not using, but the audience sees from the first episode that this is patently not true, and that Rue has been using it since she got out of rehab. Like most of the characters in the show, she is not deeply likable. That’s the point: you are not supposed to want to be like them; this isn’t glorification. The viewer is supposed to try to understand how difficult someone’s life can be, even if the outside doesn’t match the struggle.
Aesthetics can be Deceiving
Having all this in mind (the intended audience, and why the series repeatedly shows these issues) is key to understanding how appealing the show can be to a lot of people. The beautifully crafted aesthetic, the innovative makeup, and Euphoria’s edgy wardrobe can be alluring, especially to audiences who are young. However, it needs to be highlighted that, even though Euphoria portrays various issues from everyday life, it is still a work of fiction. The cinematography, amazing writers and actors, and incredible soundtrack can sugarcoat a few elements in the show due to their immensely appealing nature.
It must be said, though, that the show usually has a descriptive warning to what to expect before each episode starts because of the heavy subject matter of the characters and their story arcs. Even with such alluring visuals, music, and overall aesthetic, Euphoria is careful not to glorify any of its painful content, and its warnings are indicative of the care and level of respect that the show has for its audience and for people suffering with similar issues. Unlike most shows with drugs or sex, Euphoria cares about people and fights not to glorify or romanticize its darker content. In this way, it can delve into these important and necessary topics without succumbing to Hollywood romanticism and hurting anyone in the process.
If you are not feeling great and want to talk to someone or know someone who might be going through a hard time, please don’t hesitate to contact the Mental Health Hotline and Substance Abuse Hotline.
