Repetitive guitar chords and a clanging drum beat, Scantily clad teenagers embracing each other in drunken fumbles, alcohol is flowing, drugs are in abundance, girls are being sick up walls, boys are kissing each other. E4's teaser trailer for the new TV show Skins has everyone talking. The "coming soon" at the end of the 2 minute advertisement lodges an uncontrollable need and appetite for more. This is every parents worst nightmare. This is teenage rebellion. This is Skins.
We live in a world where little girls dream of being the WAGS to the footballers the little boys’ aspire to be. The number one single talks about “everything being alright as long as I am getting thinner”. And the most popular TV programme amongst teenagers shows blatant underage sex and illegal drug taking, to name but a few. When skins aired in 2007, it was a momentous occasion for British teenagers. Finally a TV programme that didn’t pussy foot around real hard hitting issues, finally a TV programme that teenagers could relate and learn from, finally something that represented British teenagers in a way that no other TV show had done before. Finally something real.
There are, however many concerns with the adult content in the TV show Skins and the percentage of underage viewers. Is the show being a little bit too shocking? Is the real and hard hitting content glamorising sex and illegal drug use amongst the youth of today? And by youth of today, we are talking as young as 13. In an independent survey 5 simple questions were posed to 100 Skins fans between the age of 13 and 16 through popular social networking; all the kids seem to do it these days. Social networking that is. The results were worrying. 46% of the teens were attracted to the show because of the sex with 43% being drawn to the drug content. 74% of the teens said that watching the sexual scenes in the show encourages them to want to have sex, with only 26% agreeing the show doesn’t influence them in this way. 76% of the teens confessed that watching the scenes of parties and seeing the cast engage in heavy drinking encourages them to want to follow suit. All pretty staggering figures to say the least. Finally the teens were asked if they thought Skins glamorises sex, illegal drug use and underage drinking; a staggering 83% agreed that it did with only a minority of 17% disagreeing. But what are the real consequences of these confessions. Is Skins just 60 minutes for teenagers to loose themselves and walk in the shoes of another’s life? Or is it glamorising and advertising illegal and dangerous activities to young and naïve teenagers that have the possibility of causing catastrophic results.
One of the teens in the survey, Sam Wood 16, declared “Unless you are tall or have good fake ID your life is over, but you can pay a man in Camden £50 to get the date changed in your passport. A mate of mine recently went to a 14 year old’s party and he said they are worse than us. They were all sitting around taking pills and drinking. Pretty much everyone I know takes pills and drinks, there’s nothing else to do. Our generation is quite hedonistic but I don’t know that we have anything to say. We have Topshop and Peaches Geldoff- they’re terrible things to have representing us.” Another teen in the statistics agreed that Skins may be exaggerated slightly, “Although I can’t relate to the show, it is a realistic if exaggerated portrayal of teenage life in Britain. The characters are sexy, the show focuses mainly on the drinking and the drugs and the party scenes are made to look glamorous. I liked the show but I can see other naive and younger teens being influenced by the sex and this is anything but good.”
The show came about when then 20 year old Jamie Brittian was giving his Dad, Bryan Estley a hard time for showing him a bland diluted TV pitch. He told his father he should be writing something real and ballsy and thus skins was born. A teenager can sit down and watch the show engaging with the characters through their TV set in a way that has never happened before. The genuine interaction is possible due to the fact that the show about teens and their life issues is written by teens! Simple as that. However the interactive website, competitions and nightclubs hosting underage Skins parties all add a layer of excitement which draws bored and confused teenagers to the show and what the show has to say. The question arises then, is it really Skins that is encouraging teens to be naughty in the noughties?
It’s not only teenagers watching the clothes being ripped off, some “cool and hip” parents who are “down with the kids” choose not to turn a blind eye. Elaine Rodgers from Essex left a message on our social networking group named “Skins makes sex, drugs and drinking look sexy” voicing her concerns with the show and the sexual content, “I am 40 year old mother of 3, my oldest is 21 and my youngest is 13. I have come to know of Skins through my kids and various media outlets and was pretty shocked at what I saw. Yes, the show does make sex look sexy I am so glad someone else agrees! I know the good looking cast and the amazing music make it so appealing to teenagers, as this is the argument my youngest has fought with me, but I am afraid of the affect it has on my younger two and the influences it can pose on them!”
“The main point in my objection to the show is the fact that it promotes teenager rebellion
and it promotes unhealthy lifestyle choices. The drugs, the excessive drinking to the point of vomiting; and not down the toilet I would like to add. I understand the excitement surrounding the show and I am extremely open with my children. We have always asked them to speak to us about anything in their lives including their relationships with the opposite sex and things that as parents we might not necessarily agree on. The glamour of the programme does nothing to promote and celebrate teen culture, I could even go as far as calling the show a danger to teen culture!”
Skins glamorises teenage promiscuity. No matter how one tries to excuse this fact, the youth of today are far beyond their years in terms of sexual beings compared to 30 years ago and the influential content of the show only further proves this. One of the many appealing characteristics of the show SKINS is the beauty and charisma of the characters in the show. The British teen actors real life age reflects that of the characters on the show, as does their perfectly formed frames and pearly whites.
When the TV bosses announced a brand new cast for series three, the gust of horror amongst series 1 and 2 heart throb Tony Stonem’s fans was overwhelming. A strong desire burned amongst the female fans for a equally as fit replacement and on first glance of broody Freddie played by Luke Pasqualino in episode 1 of the new series, it seemed that all their dreams had come true.
In the quest to undress the sex from Skins and de-glitter the blood shot eyes to reveal a slightly less glam reality to what we have on our screens the broody, moody, sexy 19 year old Luke Pasqualino answered questions regarding this “glamorisation” and shared his opinion on the affect the shows has on the dominant underage audience.
"I was a huge Skins fan, I watched the first series religiously and I originally auditioned for the part of Tony but was unlucky and didn’t get the part. I think there was a massive void for a show like Skins and the popularity with the show only proves this. “
“The partying and the drugs doesn't reflect my teenage years so much as I am not a big drinker but it definitely resembles the stories from other kids on a Monday morning at my school! I don't think Skins glorifies sex and drugs. I think it does make it look glamorous which makes for easy on the eye viewing, but I believe that it's an accurate picture of teenager’s lives and shows it how it is. There’s no bull shit. Teenagers do have sex, they do drink and they do take drugs."
“At the end of the day we all make our own choices and even the internet in bedrooms makes adult content so readily available to teenagers. What I do think is, Skins tackles real hard hitting issues in a way that can only help the viewers who are going through the same things, are feeling the same way and at the end of the day a party’s a party! We're not rapping about killing each other! (Laughs)"
"I have been to a few house parties where things get smashed but teenagers were having wild and out of control parties well before Skins came about, they just theme them around Skins now that's the only difference.”
“My Mum was a bit concerned about the sex and drugs on the show and had a few “chats” with me but my Dad just thought it was a really cool show and looked amazing. And it does. It’s a great show for our country to be proud of and an amazing thing for our generation.”
“My character Freddie does like a joint now and again, I haven’t had any run ins with drugs. I stayed clear. For me, I wanted to keep a clear head and get through school with the best grades I could and then make my informed choices as a young adult! Sounds very sensible don’t it!?”
Sensible or just normal? Perhaps the majority of teens out there don’t want to drink their school days away, or touch any illegal substances. The problem is, watching attractive adolescents getting off and puking up is hardly role model material. The interactive online Skins website is interestingly wearing a sexy lipstick mark over the warning that the content is not suitable for under 18’s. So where do the responsibilities lie?
Yvonne Taylor, Deputy Head of Press & Publicity at Channel 4 wasn’t up for taking the responsibility, “We have been very aware of the reaction Skins has provoked over the years, like anything of it’s nature it is going to be heavily criticised. The major criticism of Skins has been the adult content and the affects this content will have on the viewers, however the influences for the show have come from real people. Skins is representing teen culture, OK a glamorised version.”
Teenage pregnancies are on the rise and STD’s are steadily growing, shows like Skins do not help the situation. A pretty negative picture of British teens exists, however there are groups that add a spanner in the works. Cool and intelligent, the Generation No-Sex is a splinter group of youngsters who reckon sex and marriage go hand in hand. In the last four years, 25,000 young Brits have joined a growing abstinence movement for reasons not just related to religion. This purified movement is surely proof that a TV show about rebellious teens isn’t the one solid factor for rebellious teens. We should perhaps not be so arrogant to think that teens won’t make their own minds up on what they wish to do with their lives and who they wish to idolise. Their inspiration can come from places other than the world of Skins.
The sex obsessed, drug addicted, out of control cast of skins is what most parents would consider a grotesque parody of modern British youth. Is this what their children's lives are really like: rampant sexuality, incessant swearing, scoring drugs, waking up to walls covered in sick? You would be surprised. A simple portrayal may not be what this is. A fantastic glorified drama with some amazing talent on the other hand is. But not for the eyes of under 18’s.
