30 Year Old Highschoolers: Weird, But Maybe Necessary?
Graphic by Téa Sklar
Another Netflix original, another high schooler who’s pushing thirty. Especially recently, so many young adult shows and movies set in high school have a cast full of wrinkles. Why is someone’s dad going to algebra? Although it’s completely bizarre and inaccurate, I can’t help but somewhat understand why they choose to cast these people who are so obviously not near high school age. As many recent teen shows focus more on heavy topics and issues, it makes sense as to why they’re having older actors portray them. Even though it’s describing things that actual teens go through, wouldn’t it be weird to see a minor have sex?
A stark example of this that I’ve seen would have to be between two shows, Euphoria and Heartstopper. Although encompassing the lives of teenagers, they could not be more different from one another. For one, Euphoria is a melodramatic display of what high schoolers could truly face. From drugs to sex to lies, Euphoria has always been criticized for how dramatic and unrealistic it is. Yet, the majority of the cries of the show being “unrealistic” comes from how old the cast is. But, when you really think about it, it’d be a little odd if they were all 16 or 17, no? Of course, teenagers do happen to experience these things, and it’d be nice to have it feel more accurate, but having it on screen with minors would be extremely problematic. I feel that by having adults play these characters, it allows for the show to be more of an outlet for these stories to be told.
But then there’s Heartstopper, a pure show about teen LGBTQ+ love and experience. Although Euphoria does dive into those topics, the way Heartstopper builds the world to be is one of innocence rather than drama. As LGBTQ+ media is typically extremely depressing and never has a happy ending, this show was a way to transform that narrative and highlight happy LGBTQ+ experience. This is further exemplified by the actors who are within this show, actual teenagers, giving a sense of relatability. But, this shows true innocent nature is what makes the show without delving into sex or drugs. By keeping this show free of those things, it somewhat allows for actual teens to portray these topics. It creates a space where teen experience can be portrayed by teens while other spaces can show teen experience in a different light.
Of course, having older people portray these young characters comes with its own set of problems. Yet, at the end of the day, I understand. Sex and drugs and other intimate behaviors are things that minors just shouldn’t be publicly seen doing. While, in life, such events occur, there’s no reason to see them do so on a public streaming service. If it’s a mild and heartwarming show like Hearstopper, why not let teens play these characters, but if it’s something like Euphoria, maybe adults should handle the hard stuff.