Just started rewatching South Of Nowhere, and wow it is a show ahead of its time. Aside from being a show made FOR teens that focused on two queer girls and their relationship, in episode one alone they are unpacking numerous racial issues! Where talking 2005 here, and they are talking about racial violence in the policing of black people, dismantling stereo types about black men/boys being dangerous, about the difficulty of a kid moving through life being black but having white adoptive parents that don't know what it's like to be discriminated against. Even by the time I watched the show at maybe age 14 in 2011 this was my first exposure to these topics, in real life or fiction. Even big mouth took until season 4 (2020) to start digging into Missy's racial identity and talking about what it means to grow up black in America.
(Clay coming home after being stopped and harassed by police with his two also black friends)
Like ngl some of the writing so far is.. Eh, and not everything aged well. Ie. Asking "Are your on meds?" as implication they're crazy in a dialogue that's supposed to read as playful, super uncomfortable though not surprising for the time. But with all the issues they've opened up in episode one I'm excited to see where it goes.
This was the singular tv show available to me as a a teenager depicting queer young women, except maybe Glee, but that's a whole other thing to unpack. I had this and The L Word, yep my 14 year old ass was watching The L Word. On Netflix. No one tried to stop me, but they surely weren't surprised when I came out. Anyway it's really interesting to rewatch and see the show now that I'm older.
jacobvanloon
areudirty
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