Degrassi

Last year, I happened to watch a marathon of Degrassi, a teenage series on the theN channel. I think I came across Degrassi because the children's programming in one channel that I was watching with my baby was over and the teenage programming came next.

Degrassi was relatively unknown to me but it was interesting. With a plot that went to unpredictable direction. Imagine a high school student who was president of the student council getting pregnant and didn't know, for the life of her, how to buy a pregnancy test without risking curiosity and judgment from the sales clerk. Imagine seeing that in Hannah Montana or Zoey 101? Of course not. Hannah Montana and Zoey are in wholesome teenage shows. Nope, pregnancy not allowed in the plot.

This weekened, I watched a bit of Degrassi again and came to know that "Degrassi" is a name of a fictitious high school and the setting and production is in Canada. No wonder. That's why it is on a not-so-popular channel.

Now, the student council president is not a girl but a gay. And in own his bloodletting campaign, he was told that he could not donate his blood because he had a sexual intercourse with a male, who happened to be his boyfriend. He was outraged.

In another situation, a male teacher is having a relationship with his student.

All in all, I would say that Degrassi is a one of a kind teenage show not the cutie-cutie ones where all the good morals are in place. It is not the kind of show geared at commercialism, to create a brand for clothing and accessories. Degrassi is a radical show, a very brave one at that, showing societal issues at its uncloaked state with teenagers acting out the cliche -- what the world has come to.