Wednesday, January 19, 2011

"Shameless Skins"

In a recent press release, MTV described its American adaptation of Skins as "shameless" and realistic. It only took the first five minutes of the pilot to realize that this was a mimicry of shameless, a.k.a. market tested and compromised. MTV felt no need to change the opening shots, instead choosing the same angles and inflection for the opening scene from the British pilot.

But they changed Tony's bedsheets. It went from sheets showing a nude woman to sheets embroidered with flowers. I see these sheets as a symbol of this American version's bullshit. In theory, its the same scene, but they took away the reality of Tony. He would never buy hipster sheets for hipster's sake. He has sheets with woman on them, because he's a senseless perv.

Then they made Maxxie a lesbian cheerleader, instead of a masculine gay male. MTV probably calls this decisions racy and "real," but it's chauvinism. Why could they not show a positive homosexual male? Why do they have to create a hot lesbian CHEERLEADER? Because homophobes are fine with that the same way they love "I Kissed A Girl." It fulfills the fantasy of two hot girls kissing. If MTV showed a gay male, who fails to act like a purse carrying stereotype, they would offend people.

Even when intoxicated and sloppy, the characters looked hot. Effy, or whatever her American name is, looked like Mary Kate Olsen: like a well groomed hottie trying to look like a homeless slut.

There's nothing original about the concept of Skins. It's essentially a realistic, well written version of Degrassi that chronicles nine kids' lives. MTV missed this fact and believes that by carrying out the original stories, playing Robyn songs, and showing kids get fucked up they have a hit. Wrong, you have a mimicry of a hit. The kids on Skins should look thin, fat, pimply, and human, not like models. Of course, MTV thrives on controversy and shock, hence Jersey Shore's success, but they seem to forget that Snookie doesn't try. She's really that big of a mess.

If MTV wanted Skins, they should have bought the US rights, instead of remaking Gossip Girl in the fucking suburbs.

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