Problematic caused by Drama: Skins

The UK Television programme I am going to discuss is the Drama Series Skins broadcasted on e4. I will be critical and focus on the formalist and thematic approaches when exploring the narrative and Mice en Scene when engaging with a particular problematic posed by the Drama

The programme Skins is a British television series which consists of 7 series and 61 episodes in the Genre of Drama. It was first broadcasted on the 25^th of January 2007 and became an on-going series due to great success and high viewings and ratings. The programme runs for several weeks making it an on-going series. Skins was written by Bryan Elsley and Jamie Brittain for Company Pictures and was categorised as a popular drama. “Popular genres are ways of structuring audiences, meaning and identity’ (Thornham & Purvis, 2005 pg.x) It is also in the category of teen drama. The programme focuses on meanings and identity and its audience’s. Furthermore, it was then broadcasted for the public to see with its own unique allocated slot on the channel E4. This channel was known as an “Entertainment” channel which the programme Skins falls directly into this category “Notions of ‘television itself’ have, then, posed quite specific problems for any discussion of television Drama” (Thornham & Purvis 2005 pg. 16) This quote expresses that there are many problems in television and this essay will aim to demonstrate the problems posed by the drama its self when focusing closely at the formalist and thematic approaches when analysing one specific episode of the British television drama Skins.  I will do this by discussing the narrative, plot, mice en scene and visual style the drama tries to portray through the ideologies of social, culture, society and realism. The target audience the programme aimed for was young adults/teenagers as the cast members were of this age. “Graeme Turner summarises genres as the product of a text- and audience-based negotiation activated by the viewer’s expectations” (Thornham & Purvis, 2005 pg. 44) this explains what skins is as a genre and how the spectators are the most important part of creating a great genre. The target audience for Skins would expect and want this specific genre.

“Narrative concerns the ways in which the stories of our culture are put together” (Thornham & Purvis 2005 pg.29) the narrative is built around a teenage group of friends around the ages of 17. Each episode is different from the rest as it follows the lives of typical teenagers. Each new episode focuses directly at one characters story and brings it together with the rest of the characters. A programme very similar to this one is the E4 Drama Misfits. This allows the audience to follow the programme in a much easy manner as the structure is clear and interesting. The storyline and plots of the drama skins is very controversial and explains many different issues and themes. Examples are adolescent, sexuality, mental illness, family issues, drug abuse, violence, friendships and relationships. The particular episode I have chosen expresses these themes stronger than any other episode. This programme has a very high effect on its spectators and creates positive and negative meanings.  The drama is a problematic piece for the media; however it does express realism and self-awareness towards teenagers and may teach them the meanings of right and wrong. This is a popular argument in the Television industry with many different critical approaches and points of view.  Skin’s uses the “Hermeneutic code” which is discusses by Roland Barthes to aim a certain question to the audience.

       To begin with, narrative is an extremely important part of any programme and any episode. We see that Skins uses reader-narrative relations. The overall idea of skins could be seen in many different perspectives. Some may believe it is not problematic and helps teenagers to understand the ways of life and others may see that it encourages teenagers to have sex and take drugs as it can come across as “fun,” A form of social extension is shown as it represents the wider world and society and expresses the realistic nature of the programme especially in the chosen episode.  It uses the idea of the different genres such as realism and naturalism throughout the episode. Showing the spectator the “Real world” and what goes on in it. “Ideology, in this definition is the shared set of meanings and values through which a society makes sense of its own structures and processes and their relationship to the material world”(Thornham  & Purvis 2005 pg. 74) This quote explains exactly what Skins is trying to perceive to its audience, Expressing the real life of teenagers with real life issues.  However, does this really show a teenagers life? Not every teenager in Britain chooses a life style such as the characters’ lives in this particular episode.  In the script a character dies in every series. This is not a realistic representation as some characters are even murdered in the programme. Fiske argues that it is “a basic way of making sense of our experience of the real” Which I believe skins for fills. He also adds: “It is a means by which we confirm or question our sense of social or individual identity” (Thornham & Purvis 2005 pg. 27) this can be expressed by the spectators as they relate to the story being told and the characters.

     The overall interpretation we see from the episodes narrative is the themes and ideas of revenge and karma.  We see this through the character Tony. Tony is a 17 year old college boy who does what he wants no matter how it affects the other characters. The key theme revenge is shown from the beginning of the episode when Tony and Michelle split up. Michelle begins to date a new boy. Tony becomes jealous and sets the boy up by stealing his phone and sending Michelle sexual photos of the boys own sister. The boy then gets revenge by kid napping Effy, Tony’s sister and takes the revenge on to a much stronger level by relating it to sex and drugs. This could be argued that the programme is trying to express to teenagers that if you do something bad, worse can come of it. On the other hand it could be teaching the viewers the wrong ways of going about conflict, jealousy and revenge as the scene shown is very shocking for the viewers and this episode in particular stood out from the rest due to the shocking nature shown on screen. “The claim to accurately represent the real world is also a claim about how we should understand that world “(Thornham & Purvis, 2005 pg.62) this explains the idea of the realism the programme is trying to show and perceive and letting teenagers know the world is not all good and not all bad at the same time. What happens to Tony also represents the term Karma. “The Pali term Karma literally means action or doing. Any kind of intentional action whether mental, verbal, or physical, is regarded as Karma.”(Sayadaw Buddhist studies) This quote expresses the term and idea of the word Karma which is shown throughout out the narrative and though out the fictive forms shown and also in the character Tony’s actions in the episode

  ‘Television drama… constructs, mediates and frames our social and individual identities’ (Thornham & Purvis, 2005 pg. ix) This quote can strongly relate to this episode of Skins  as it is expressing those who view a programme can relate to their own identity through the characters. The quote also helps to define what a narrative is and help to pick out and position an audience.  As well as that the target audience is aimed at young adults but not a specific age gap.  Even with a lot of complaints about what is shown on screen for young adults an article explains the reasons of why it is acceptable for this type of audience. 'Seventeen-year-olds have deep and complex lives. They have just as much right to a complicated structure to their emotions as Dame Judi Dench does," says writer/producer Bryan Elsley. "But so often you don't see that represented in TV drama."(The Independent 2006) This quote discusses what the writer intended the programme to do. Skins was something new which had never been seen before and no other programme showed the life of teenagers like this one. This particular episode expresses this idea throughout.

     Throughout the episode we see the mise en scene clearly representing the characters personalities. Effy is a very young girl dressed in small alternative and revealing clothes. This can interpretate a bad representation for young teenagers as Effy is shown as a quiet yet sweet innocent girl, however, we see the other characters dressed in typical plain clothes. Tony is even represented in a smart “posh boy” manner which is showing the difference between good and bad teenagers and picking out stereotypes. Leading on from that, Effy is shown to go behind her parents back to live her crazy and extreme social life. This could teach young teenagers to act in this manner as it shows her getting away with madness.” Skins” may well be the most dangerous television show for children that we have ever seen” (Walsh, Giarrusso 2011) On the other hand we see Effy at her worst getting into drugs and hanging with the “wrong” crowd. The episode allows the spectators to follow the fun but then flips to show the distressing outcomes it causes. This would allow young people to learn and understand her choices were wrong by seeing the effects it can cause.  

      We also see connotations of negativity and the idea of “Symbolic code” through the character’s props: drinking, taking drugs and smoking throughout the episode. This may lead to under age teenagers breaking the law as any young viewers may find it “cool” to do so. This could explain the social groups and social pressure which occurs in a teenager’s life.  We see Effy smoking and taking drugs without anybody pushing her into it. On the other hand we see Effy’s young, naive friend who does not understand the outcome of what the drugs can do. The programme is allowing the spectators to see that teenagers do however do it on their own accord as well as under pressure.  “Realism has also been seen as televisions defining aesthetic and social project” (Thornam & Purvis 2005 pg. 66) the visual style the programme is trying to show is realism and the problems every teenager goes through.  This shows that the social side of the programme is trying to represent realism. The programme could just be teaching the viewers in a strong and upsetting manner to help them learn psychologically and to get them to understand the world quickly instead of hiding if from them, A way of preparing them for their own life and future.

     Furthermore, we see strong sexual content of sex and nudity which is portrayed through this particular episode.  In dramas like this one normally the actors playing the teenagers are older than the characters on camera. This is to make it more realistic and believable by using actors as young as 17. The actors throughout the episode are shown having sex and being in the nude.  Critics have discussed that the programme may be on the edge of breaking the laws of child pornography.  However, many other critics and spokes people argued that Skins complies with the community standards and it is in fact not breaking any of the rules or laws.  There for the argument also states that there is nothing wrong with showing that as the age for sexual encounters are in by law 16. “Everyone is keen to avoid the clichés of teen programming. This will not be a show full of beautiful people firing off smart one-liners.”(The Independent 2006) This connotes that the programme will use a sense of normality and not be like all the other “typical” teen programmes. It would be simple but clever. 
  
     Another key theme the storyline picks up on is the story of dysfunctional families in this episode.  We see this immediately through Effy, Tony and his Mother and Father.  The mother discus’s the topic sex throughout the episode. This is abnormal for a mother to do in front of her own children. The father is very angry and aggressive and uses strong language even when talking to Tony. We see the parents arguing a lot. This could express bad parenting and how teenagers can change because of this. On the other hand it could help teenagers to understand the idea that not every family is perfect and that the parents are just being honest about life.  However, Effy never speaks to her parents and her mother notices it in this particular episode but does not speak a word. As tony is the older sibling he gets blamed for most things. At the end of the episode we see Tony who saves his sister Effy his parents blame him for her being in hospital because of an overdose on drugs. This is allowing teenagers to understand that when you are bad you are seen as bad even when you have done the right thing. It is teaching them to behave in a certain way.  Also at the end of the episode Tony’s dad says to Sid (Tonys best friend) “Who the hell are you?” This line in the script expresses the idea that parents do not even know who their children are hanging with and do not know much about them.  This episode is representing the realism of families and does this by showing the negativity of families with some small aspects of positives 

    
  To conclude this essay, the programme represents and constructs many different meanings: Positive representations of teenagers and negative representations. This is shown in many different forms; through the overall interpretations of the chosen episode and through the narrative, plot and storyline by its genre of drama and key themes. It is also shown through the mise en scene in this particular episode and the dialogue and scripts used. I discussed the problems in a formalist and thematic way.  Each character represents different meanings and portrayals. I discussed the ideologies of realism, naturalism, socialism and many more.  Over all I believe the strongest argument was that the programme skins causes many problems for the media and the spectators as it is showing content which is not suitable for the target audience of young teenagers who seem to watch the programme more than any other age group. The reason for this is due to the sexual content, the drug taking and the use of violence throughout the episode and the rest of the series. As a spectator when watching this programme I believe it does in fact influence teenagers to be like this which then allows the drama to be a problematic piece.

Bibliography

Thornham, S. and T. Purvis (2004). Television drama: theories and identities.
Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan.

Anonymous (2006) Teen dramas: Down with the kids theindependent.co.uk November 16 2006 [online] Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/teen-dramas-down-with-the-kids-424525.html [Accessed: 20 May 2013

 Hilton. P (2011) Skins causes’ child pornography controversy [Online] Available at: http://perezhilton.com/2011-01-20-skins-causes-child-pornography-controversy Accessed: [19 May 2013]

Ven. Mahasi Sayadaw Buddhist studies The definition of Karma [Online] Available at: http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm#1 Accessed [19 May 2013]

Walsh Giarrusso. T (2011) A parents guide to mtvs skins how bad is it? [Online] Available at: http://blogs.ajc.com/momania/2011/01/27/a-parents-guide-to-mtvs-skins-how-bad-is-it/ [Accessed on 20 may 2013]