Get Even and Blood & Water: the Netflix originals every non-elite needed when they were younger.
Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl are screaming from their graves. 2020 has brought a wave of new shows that did everything those shows should have.
Whilst Gossip Girl, The OC, One Tree Hill and Pretty Little Liars had their impact on our younger years, time really is up on high school shows that enforce the ideas that only the rich and white get to have the traditional high school experiences. Which actually isn’t so traditionally and probably shouldn’t be encouraged.
But move out of the way whitewashed high school dramas, representation has arrived and it’s better late than never.
The early 2000 shows thought having one gay character, once, in all 5 or more seasons was a hot take. And maybe it would’ve been if it wasn’t abundantly clear that they were just trying to fill a representation quota by not even giving their LGBTQ+ characters a complex, in-depth storyline or if they… wait for it… didn’t just kill off all the LGBTQ+ characters. Blood & Water’s unapologetic exploration of sexuality, more specifically pansexuality, should set the standard for shows coming out from now on.
Oh and for the kids who always felt like the teens in the shows, they watched received their parent's undying attention whilst they lived a very different reality… Bree from Get Even has got you covered.
“Not everything about you”
“Well, can some things be about me?”
When a show can perfectly combine representation without bragging and amazing storylines accompanied by profound characters, that’s when you know you’re in for a treat. Tv and Film representation matters so much when the real-world lacks representation in all spheres, from politics to fashion. The power of entertainment shouldn't be underestimated and the lack of representation it has had through history shouldn't be normalised.
Blood & Water being a Netflix original and streaming in the UK and the US is pretty monumental. Because yes, TV shows that are set in countries that aren’t America or England do exist but they’re never the ones everyone’s talking about. Blood & Water is set in South Africa and includes all the things that make South Africa unique. It’s not Americanised and it includes tender moments where the characters interact in Zulu. It’s important to let people know that the way they live is worthy of being shown to the world.
There’s going to be a new wave of kids who now get to grow up seeing themselves on the current hot tv shows that aren’t just seeing themselves as the token representation character and that’s pretty amazing.
