I Wouldn't Last a Day on the Creek

Fine, for reasons best left unsaid, I was woken from slumber at around 5 am this morning. When I finally was able to haul my tired ass back to bed, of course I couldn't fall asleep, so I perused early morning television to try to find something boring enough to knock me out. Infomercials weren't doing the trick (good god, how I want that ice facial cream), so I surfed on until I came across Dawson's Creek. I never watched it growing up, because all of the actors seemed a bit weird looking to me, and I hate Paula Cole. Anyhoo, it's common knowledge that the characters on this show do not talk like your average teen or young adult, what with the big words and all*. Never mind their incessant use of the word "wigged" (i.e. "You're not wigged out by gay people"), but the blond chick who used to date Dawson told another blond chick who had been to rehab that Dr. Drew would be coming to campus to do a live Loveline, and the rehab chick's reaction was "Wha...wha...what?". Not "Wwwwhat?" Literally "Wha...wha...what?". Like a cartoon. I know I wasn't "hip" or "with it" when I was a teenager, but I know for a fact that none of my peers would ever be caught saying something like that.

Watching the rest of the program with a critical eye, I came to the conclusion that Dawson's Creek was not actually meant to be a teen drama, but a satire. A tongue-in-cheek interpretation of what the youngen's were doing around the aging writing staff that had them scratching their heads, making the characters as sophisticated as teenagers think they are. Watching the Creek with this in mind, that the entire script is actually a jab at 1990's pop culture and teen mentality, gave a whole new meaning to what I had originally seen as an unrealistic, contrived affectation, of grown men trying to relate to '90's youth.


* On a side note, a great drinking game is to watch Dawson's Creek with your friends, and each of you pick a character. Every time your character says something completely uncharacteristic for young adults, you take a shot. Guaranteed drunken hilarity.