South of Nowhere Rocks!
If you've spent any time watching television or movie portrayals of teenagers questioning their sexuality, you've no doubt noticed how cheesy some of them can be. And those of you who went through the process, in high school especially, you know how painful that process can be.
Some portrayals of course can be better than others. Degrassi, Then Next Generation (D-TNG) has done a very good job of telling the story of Marco, the gay teen, as he came to grips with the fact that he was gay, the homophobia and bigotry he experienced, and how those around him came to accept him for the person he is, rather than who he is attracted to.
D-TNG also had a story line about the attraction between Alex and Paige. They flirted with a relationship for a while, but it never really went anywhere. I was disappointed with it, but the reality is that many girls (especially) go through brief periods of attraction and experimentation with other girls as they go through high school and decide that they arent gay or bisexual. Many fans of the show thought they made a great couple, but I knew that, given the nature of story lines on the show, they would'nt last.
Enter South of Nowhere. One of its primary story lines involves the developing relationship between Spencer Carlin (Gabrielle Christian) and Ashley Davies (Mandy Musgrave). Spencer and her family have just moved to Los Angeles from Ohio, and on her first day at school, she meets Ashley. Ashley is one of those "wrong side of the tracks" kinds of girls who is both tough on the outside and vulnerable on the inside. Their friendship starts out tenuously as you might expect on a television show about teens. Oh, and one other thing, Ashley is at least bisexual; she had a relationship with a boy (another character on the show, Aiden) and girls, a fact that she does not attempt to hide from Spencer.
Spencer on the other hand is a typical upper middle-class girl who doesn't know what to think of Ashley and her "I don't give a shit what others think" ways. Over time, she develops a trust with Ashley, though, and begins to come out of her shell. Her new environment has led her to question everything about her life, including her own sexuality. She confides to Ashley that she thinks she likes girls. And thus, a new relationship is born.
There are several really neat things about this story line.
First, Spencer's coming to terms with her own sexuality without Ashley's direct intervention. Ashley didn't seduce or pursue Spencer. They just hung out as friends, and the relationship progressed. It has been played just like the development of any usual boy-girl relationship, which is unlike most lesbian relationships that are done on TV for ratings or dramatic effect.
Second, Spencer seems to be legitimately troubled by her sexuality, and I know that this is one thing that a great many teens go through on a daily basis. She's said on many occasions that she just wants to be normal. The way she talks about it and addresses it is remarkably real in its presentation on the screen. She even goes out with a guy and tries to be sexual with him, but it just doesn't do anything for her. Though Mandy's portrayal of Ashley is somewhat cardboardish at times, what she tells Spencer about what constitutes "normal" is right on the money.
The third thing that I love about this is that this relationship is not one of those that was put on screen just to generate ratings like almost every other lesbian relationship I've seen. It is an integral and interesting part of the storyline.
Spencer's mother, Paula, is a Catholic woman who dislikes Ashley vehemently, and does everything she can to find other things for Spencer to do rather than hang out with Ashley. She hooks her up with a blind date; she brings in a close friend of Spencer's from back home, and makes no secret of her dislike for Ashley. Ashley is the "wrong kind of girl." Interestingly enough, Paula is having a quasi-affair with a coworker, so she's being disingenuous at best, hypocritical at worst. Spencer's father seems to understand and accept that there's more going on here than just your average friendship between his daughter and her friend.
Over the course of season one, Spencer and Ashley's (Spashley) relationship develops and they become closer and closer. On more than one occasion, they almost kiss, but something always gets in the way or interrupts them. Finally, in the season closer, they get to consummate their relationship.
As season two starts (this fall), Spencer wrestles with coming out, and how her parents and others might react. Her brother knows and pretty much treats her like shit, and even threatens to out her to her parents on a couple of occasions. Spencer reminds him that he's having a drug problem, and mom and dad won't be too happy to hear that, and manages to keep him in check.
At the beginning of the show (207) last Friday night, Spencer tells Ashley that she is tired of having to hide their relationship and is going to come out to her parents. Having been through this exact same thought process, I know how it feels to be there. Before she can out herself, though, the worst thing happens. Paula and her husband had returned from a business trip to bail Spencer's brother out of jail (his drug problem is catching up with him). They bring him home and Paula goes upstairs to check on everyone else. She walks into Spencer's room as she and Ashley are making out on the bed and freaks out. She grabs Ashley by the hair and pulls her out of the room and down the stairs and orders her out of the house. Over this is an audio track of Ashley reading from the closing scene of Romeo and Juliet. The presentation of the entire scene was very dramatic and very real and is perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching moments I have ever seen on TV. I literally felt numb when it was over.
When I first became aware of Spashley's relationship, I started searching out forums where the show is talked about. What I found truly amazed me. The show has thousands of fans, and the vast majority of them are other girls who are wrestling with their own feeling of being attracted to someone of the same gender. There is comment after comment after comment about how this show has helped them deal with their own confusion, helped them understand it, and/or help them decide to come out. Just about every one of them can empathize with what Spashley is going through, and the show, with its realistic presentation of the subject matter has made a difference in their lives on an individual basis. That is remarkable. Take for example the scene at the end of show 207 - tons of girls in the forums were discussing the fact that they cried and cried when they saw what happened, and many related stories about things similar to this happening to them.
I don't know where the Spashley story line will end up. I have been very impressed with the writing of the story line up to this point, and I know in talking with others that it has helped people in a very real way. TV doesn't get much better than that. I can only hope that Gabrielle and Mandy realize and understand the positive impact they are having on a great many teenagers in this country. This is desperately needed in this country today, where being gay or bisexual or even just questioning causes people to have to hide one of the most critical part of themselves and has such a negative effect on their personal esteem. What a sad commentary on so many levels.
If you get the chance, check out South of Nowhere on The-N Network (Noggin's nighttime counterpart). Or, if you get the chance, spend some time watching the episodes on YouTube (be sure and start at the very beginning, with episode 1, or you can get a Season 1 summary of Spashley HERE)
Technorati Tags: sexuality coming out bisexuality Spashley South of Nowhere
Some portrayals of course can be better than others. Degrassi, Then Next Generation (D-TNG) has done a very good job of telling the story of Marco, the gay teen, as he came to grips with the fact that he was gay, the homophobia and bigotry he experienced, and how those around him came to accept him for the person he is, rather than who he is attracted to.
D-TNG also had a story line about the attraction between Alex and Paige. They flirted with a relationship for a while, but it never really went anywhere. I was disappointed with it, but the reality is that many girls (especially) go through brief periods of attraction and experimentation with other girls as they go through high school and decide that they arent gay or bisexual. Many fans of the show thought they made a great couple, but I knew that, given the nature of story lines on the show, they would'nt last.
Enter South of Nowhere. One of its primary story lines involves the developing relationship between Spencer Carlin (Gabrielle Christian) and Ashley Davies (Mandy Musgrave). Spencer and her family have just moved to Los Angeles from Ohio, and on her first day at school, she meets Ashley. Ashley is one of those "wrong side of the tracks" kinds of girls who is both tough on the outside and vulnerable on the inside. Their friendship starts out tenuously as you might expect on a television show about teens. Oh, and one other thing, Ashley is at least bisexual; she had a relationship with a boy (another character on the show, Aiden) and girls, a fact that she does not attempt to hide from Spencer.
Spencer on the other hand is a typical upper middle-class girl who doesn't know what to think of Ashley and her "I don't give a shit what others think" ways. Over time, she develops a trust with Ashley, though, and begins to come out of her shell. Her new environment has led her to question everything about her life, including her own sexuality. She confides to Ashley that she thinks she likes girls. And thus, a new relationship is born.
There are several really neat things about this story line.
First, Spencer's coming to terms with her own sexuality without Ashley's direct intervention. Ashley didn't seduce or pursue Spencer. They just hung out as friends, and the relationship progressed. It has been played just like the development of any usual boy-girl relationship, which is unlike most lesbian relationships that are done on TV for ratings or dramatic effect.
Second, Spencer seems to be legitimately troubled by her sexuality, and I know that this is one thing that a great many teens go through on a daily basis. She's said on many occasions that she just wants to be normal. The way she talks about it and addresses it is remarkably real in its presentation on the screen. She even goes out with a guy and tries to be sexual with him, but it just doesn't do anything for her. Though Mandy's portrayal of Ashley is somewhat cardboardish at times, what she tells Spencer about what constitutes "normal" is right on the money.
The third thing that I love about this is that this relationship is not one of those that was put on screen just to generate ratings like almost every other lesbian relationship I've seen. It is an integral and interesting part of the storyline.
Spencer's mother, Paula, is a Catholic woman who dislikes Ashley vehemently, and does everything she can to find other things for Spencer to do rather than hang out with Ashley. She hooks her up with a blind date; she brings in a close friend of Spencer's from back home, and makes no secret of her dislike for Ashley. Ashley is the "wrong kind of girl." Interestingly enough, Paula is having a quasi-affair with a coworker, so she's being disingenuous at best, hypocritical at worst. Spencer's father seems to understand and accept that there's more going on here than just your average friendship between his daughter and her friend.
Over the course of season one, Spencer and Ashley's (Spashley) relationship develops and they become closer and closer. On more than one occasion, they almost kiss, but something always gets in the way or interrupts them. Finally, in the season closer, they get to consummate their relationship.
As season two starts (this fall), Spencer wrestles with coming out, and how her parents and others might react. Her brother knows and pretty much treats her like shit, and even threatens to out her to her parents on a couple of occasions. Spencer reminds him that he's having a drug problem, and mom and dad won't be too happy to hear that, and manages to keep him in check.
At the beginning of the show (207) last Friday night, Spencer tells Ashley that she is tired of having to hide their relationship and is going to come out to her parents. Having been through this exact same thought process, I know how it feels to be there. Before she can out herself, though, the worst thing happens. Paula and her husband had returned from a business trip to bail Spencer's brother out of jail (his drug problem is catching up with him). They bring him home and Paula goes upstairs to check on everyone else. She walks into Spencer's room as she and Ashley are making out on the bed and freaks out. She grabs Ashley by the hair and pulls her out of the room and down the stairs and orders her out of the house. Over this is an audio track of Ashley reading from the closing scene of Romeo and Juliet. The presentation of the entire scene was very dramatic and very real and is perhaps one of the most heart-wrenching moments I have ever seen on TV. I literally felt numb when it was over.
When I first became aware of Spashley's relationship, I started searching out forums where the show is talked about. What I found truly amazed me. The show has thousands of fans, and the vast majority of them are other girls who are wrestling with their own feeling of being attracted to someone of the same gender. There is comment after comment after comment about how this show has helped them deal with their own confusion, helped them understand it, and/or help them decide to come out. Just about every one of them can empathize with what Spashley is going through, and the show, with its realistic presentation of the subject matter has made a difference in their lives on an individual basis. That is remarkable. Take for example the scene at the end of show 207 - tons of girls in the forums were discussing the fact that they cried and cried when they saw what happened, and many related stories about things similar to this happening to them.
I don't know where the Spashley story line will end up. I have been very impressed with the writing of the story line up to this point, and I know in talking with others that it has helped people in a very real way. TV doesn't get much better than that. I can only hope that Gabrielle and Mandy realize and understand the positive impact they are having on a great many teenagers in this country. This is desperately needed in this country today, where being gay or bisexual or even just questioning causes people to have to hide one of the most critical part of themselves and has such a negative effect on their personal esteem. What a sad commentary on so many levels.
If you get the chance, check out South of Nowhere on The-N Network (Noggin's nighttime counterpart). Or, if you get the chance, spend some time watching the episodes on YouTube (be sure and start at the very beginning, with episode 1, or you can get a Season 1 summary of Spashley HERE)
Technorati Tags: sexuality coming out bisexuality Spashley South of Nowhere
posted by StripGoddess at 1:16 PM
1 Comments:
Very interesting piece of writing. What were your own experiences like in school?
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