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"Degrassi: The Next Generation" introduces transgender teen character
By James Brady RyanAugust 10th, 2010, 12:55 pmComments (7)
Canadian Scanner readers, are all Canadian shows made for teens this cool, or is Degrassi just a really spectacular exception? Degrassi: The Next Generation like its forerunner Degrassi High, has never shied away from topics that teen shows in the US would be hesitant to touch on for more than one Very Special Episode, if that. (Of course, it could be argued that Degrassi is one long Very Special Episode.) Pregnancy, anorexia, getting shot in the back because someone framed you for a prank they pulled on that one weird kid who turns out is not just weird but also crazy, etc. And while it can get a bit hokey at times, it's probably better than not having these stories anywhere at all.
Which brings me to this video, which features an interview with show writer Michael Grassi and actress Jordan Todosey, who plays the shows first trans character, Adam. While gay teens are sort of having a moment in the US right now (meaning there were, like, five in the past year), it seems like Canada's jumped ahead of us again:
Of course, the video brings up a point I have heard some grumbling about — why not get an actual trans person to play the trans character? I do agree that that would have been great, but I wonder if it was simply a logistical issue: would it have been possible to find a young FTM trans person who's also an actor up there in the snowy north? (I seriously do not know. Maybe it would have been easy.)
In the end, though, I think it's better they have the story than not. Readers, I know that some of you must watch shows made for teens when you're sick on your couch and your only other option is The View. (It's okay, we all do.) Are there any shows out there that can compete with Degrassi's one-two punch of inclusiveness and soap-operatic watchability?
Commentarium (7 Comments)
Nope. Degrassi is the orginal.
Yeah, Canada is awesome.
Why is this so wonderful? Why is the inclusion of a tiny minority something to celebrate more than anything else? If there were a character with elephantiasis or irritable bowel syndrome would you be as excited?
@ipot: It's because transgendered people have historically been marginalized. For example, I don't think anybody has been murdered for having IBS.
Degrassi these days is pure schlock ( it seems like it has been on for almost as long as As The World Turns) compared to the original and even TNG's early days. It switched last year from CTV to MuchMusic (like going from CBS to MTV) and fired a bunch of the cast without notice. On the upside, it's Canada's farm team for Hollywood - Drake was known for many years up here as Jimmy the basketball-player-who-got-shot-and-became-a-parapalegic-songwriter until lately. And we're so happy that he learned to walk again, eh?
All Canadian shows made for teens are this cool, but only because we have no other shows made for teens.
When I was in high school episodes of the original Degrassi were shown as a part of sex-ed class.