AmericanKestrel

I've watched a few episodes of this series, to see what the fuss is about. On the surface, I can admire a series that tries to show us something of the authentic inner and outer lives of teens in today's USA. This series does involve us in the many anxieties, preoccupations, and challenges faced by teens today - at least teens as imagined by Sam Levinson. The cinematography and sets are amazing - at times right up there with the best of major movies. The acting is also impressive, especially by the series leads Zendaya and in particular Hunter Shafer. Zendaya plays a teen with a serious drug addiction problem, and Shafer plays her trans best friend and love interest. Hunter Shafer allegedly had never acted before she auditioned for this series - which makes her performance all the more impressive. She is capable of digging deep down into her psyche to show us every emotion imaginable, all in one episode.

The problem I have with the series is a problem many viewers share with me - the non-stop, in-your-face abuse all of the major characters of every age seem to engage in throughout every episode. Watching the series is like being assaulted yourself, as you watch the characters, most of whom are supposed to be teens, abuse themselves and each other physically and emotionally. The graphic violence and intense use of drugs and alcohol are significant and common problems encountered by youth today throughout the USA, and it is laudable to bring up those subjects. Even so, the level of sustained violence, drug abuse, and nudity shown throughout the series will be difficult for most teens to identify with and see as a representation of the world they live in. I think the series would be more interesting if it addressed a wider variety of problems and concerns faced by high schoolers today, rather than going over the same problems as repetitively as does this series.

I can't help but get the feeling, in watching the episodes, that series creator and producer Sam Levinson thinks so little of the audience that he feels we need to be pummeled continuously by violence, nudity, and drug abuse on screen for the series to hold our attention. It is kind of insulting, and a disservice to the fine young actors and artists creating the drama and often beautiful images in the series. I mean, what's next, "The Public Execution Channel?"

There is an episode that centers on Hunter Shafer in a therapists office, going over her past and present life and being guided to new observations and realizations by the therapist as we see flashbacks of events that have occurred, that is actually interesting and insightful. I would hope more episodes like that are in the offing, rather than more scenes of beatings, vomiting, and verbal and drug abuse, but I will probably pass on the rest of the series.