Credit where credit is due.
While giving viewers an acidic insight into the high school ecosystem,included subtle wink to the camera moments that routinely broke the fourth wall and flipped the genre on its head. In one episode the cast are stalked by a pantomime murderer claiming it knew what they did last spring break. In another episode the character of Mary Cherry played by Leslie Grossman finds out that her estranged father is RuPaul. Much to its credit,never shied away from being camp, it fully leaned into it.
But beyond creating a witty and self-aware teen drama that captured the late 90s/early 00s zeitgeist beautifully -- chunky Apple Mac computers, frosted lip gloss, tattoo choker necklaces and FUBU aplenty -- Murphy used the cartoonish and sometimes slapstick feel ofas a glossy veneer to subtly weave in the stories of queer people at a time when most other teen dramas were more concerned solely on prom and pregnancy scares.
"While Dawson’s Creek focused on the will-they-won’t-they romance between Joey and Dawson, Popular shed light on challenges queer people genuinely faced from society in the late 90s." Interspersed between cliché storylines about dating drama and cheerleading tryouts, Murphy told the story of a lesbian mother who was fired from her job immediately after she came out to her coworkers and the design technology teacher who, after telling her class she was transgender, battled pushback from confused students and narrow-minded parents who threatened to get her fired from her job and in an episode titledMurphy highlighted the grotesque level of homophobic language and abuse...
It’s a stark contrast from the teen dramas that would later come to dominate TV in the mid-noughties that would include the classic one-off gay storyline as if it were a box-ticking exercise. InMarissa Cooper explored her sexuality and engaged in a same-sex relationship, only for it to be used to reunite her with her ex-boyfriend Ryan Atwood .
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
The '90s Beauty Trend Julia Stiles Thinks Still Holds UpThe '10 Things I Hate About You' actress revisits '90s beauty trends — but this is one she's leaving behind.
Read more »
Blast From the Past: Iconic Fashion Moments of the '90sKate Moss! Princess Diana! The Olsen twins!
Read more »
29 Pictures That Will Give You Severe Flashbacks To The Late '90s And Early '00sIf you can still smell those Disney VHS tapes, then this is for you!
Read more »
Chic Anklets That Will Make You Reconsider The '90s TrendThe jewelry you loved in the '90s and '00s is officially back in style and we're kind of obsessed. Designers are making beautifully restrained styles that you'll want to wear for the rest of your hot girl summer and beyond.
Read more »
Chic Anklets That Will Make You Reconsider The '90s TrendThe jewelry you loved in the '90s and '00s is officially back in style and we're kind of obsessed. Designers are making beautifully restrained styles that you'll want to wear for the rest of your hot girl summer and beyond.
Read more »
'90s Icon Julia Stiles Returns in 'Hustlers'The actress on playing journalist Jessica Pressler alongside Constance Wu and J. Lo.
Read more »