As a young and aspiring TV writer and filmmaker, I need to look at what I say online and how I say it because this affects my future in the industry. However, if I am to have any future creating film and TV, I need to be honest about the culture this industry has fostered. During a conversation with a Facebook friend, we discovered that we share the opinion that how young people are portrayed on TV and in films is not how they are in real life. They had all the right to feel that way because, having recently graduated from high school, they constantly felt like they did not exist in the shows they watched. This saddened me because this has always been the norm, and we never questioned it. Why did we sit back and watch as this happened?
How often have we sat down to watch a film or TV show, only to find an adult playing the role of a young person, expecting us to accept it? There are numerous reasons why the creators of our beloved shows make this choice, but we need to acknowledge the problems it causes to find solutions. It feels like someone in the writers’ room once asked, “How do teenagers behave?” and everyone gleefully rattled off a list of stereotypes and misconceptions, mistaking them for accurate representations.
Take a look at shows like Netflix’s “Blood and Water,” Mzansi Magic’s “Gomora,” or SABC 1’s “Skeem Saam.” You might be forgiven for thinking that the discrepancy lies in the production level and target audience. However, these shows predominantly feature young casts whose personal and high school lives are at the forefront. So why do some approach these experiences differently, relying on actors who haven’t seen the inside of a high school in ages?
We often see a slim, flawless-skinned young girl with impeccably styled hair on TV. Or a muscular boy who instils fear in everyone around him yet manages to be adored, towering over his classmates. These are our lead characters, spending more time away from home than they do in it, engaging in trivial high school activities. This is the story we’re expected to follow. We watch and believe it, despite how far removed it is from real life, because we understand it’s entertainment. But the impact of how TV portrays teenage lives goes beyond mere content because young people consume these images and stick with us. It leads us to question how we’re perceived and how we should look, shaping our entire experiences around these fictional characters. We forget that what we’re witnessing isn’t just exaggerated for views—it’s simply inaccurate.
This discussion on believability is a double-edged sword. The reality that teenagers are people and may even engage in the things we see on TV, like alcohol and drugs, and even sex, is one we cannot run away from. The problem, as the conversation with my friend continued, begins when these storylines become dangerous to real-life teenagers. Adults watch these adult bodies playing with teenagers doing adult things and feel vindicated in their predatory behaviour towards young people. They see them as adults capable of making these big decisions, which is dangerous.
Before writers even begin writing these stories, they must sit down with teenagers and ask them what they are going through. This is called the research process. And most importantly should allow them to look how they look and act these roles themselves, not simply because of authentic representation but because of another thing we are not looking at: casting one adult in a teenage role means one young actor has been snubbed out of possible employment, which is an entirely different conversation on its own.
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How can we, as young creatives and consumers of media, advocate for more authentic and diverse portrayals of teenage life on screen, and what steps can the industry take to ensure that young people’s experiences are accurately represented?
Read more here on how one person became a TV show host.