I must have picked up a bug or eaten something that had gone bad during my recent trip to Austin, Texas, for our first regional training and conference on sexuality research because I've been sick as a dog for the past two days. To top it off, the cable is out, and there is no worse time for the cable to be out than when you're taking a sick day and you're actually sick! Sitting around with my diet of malt-o-meal and ginger ale, I was trying to think of things to watch on dvd or to download and started thinking about that fairly recent drama about teen pregnancy, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, on ABC Family and sponsored by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (check out www.stayteen.org). So, I downloaded episode one, season one, and curled up on the couch to watch it.
First, why didn't anyone tell me Molly Ringwald was on this show?!? As a teen of the 1980s, Ms. Ringwald was a bit of an icon in all of those John Hughes movies (more on these later). It kind of made me sad to see her playing the middle-aged mother of two teenage girls (yes, I know it's because it made me feel old); still, isn't she pretty in pink?
The show centers around a group of students at fictional Grant High School and instead of representing a diverse high school population we get a cast of completely tokenized and stereotypical characters. There's the aptly named Grace who is the head cheerleader, blonde, and a Christian who has taken a vow of abstinence (her parents are played by Duke Luke and Jane from Melrose Place who also have a son with Down's syndrome to complete the selfless, wonderful, snow white Christian family). There's the slutty and exotic seductress, Adrian, so of course she's played by a Latina (they even have her bite into an apple as she seduces the Christian quarterback who is of course dating Grace). Then there's the sexless Asian kids - the boy is desperate and nerdy; the girl is super smart and kind of sexy and quotes stats all the time (I do love that they have cast her as future sexuality researcher - obsessed with sex since third grade as a "hobby" meaning the statistical and scientific side of sex). Then there's the boy who is basically a sexual compulsive who was of course molested by his father. Finally, there's Amy. Sweet Amy. She's smart, cute, innocent, and plays the French horn. Oh, and she's pregnant because she had sex with the sexual compulsive at band camp ("this one time, at band camp...").
Okay, okay. I've only watched one episode, so I can't be that hard on the writers and producers. I guess it's possible that they did this on purpose to prove a point as they develop the characters and allow them to grow. I will admit that it doesn't necessarily demonize teen sex, and it does talk about condoms. Of course, the overwhelming message here is that the worst thing that can happen to you is to get pregnant (or get someone pregnant) while in high school. I'll be curious to see how the writers handle the decisions that lie ahead. Dark psychosis following an abortion? Deception about who the father is to ensure a cushy life with a baby (there is actual foreshadowing of this)? Maybe they'll send Amy off to stay with an aunt for awhile, and nine months later her mom (played by Molly Ringwald) will "give birth" to bouncing baby boy then Amy can finish her education, get a job, and not have to worry about a pesky abortion.
Speaking of Molly again, I know I'm probably highly biased, but those movies from the eighties were sooooo much better. Hmmmm.....the cable is still out. Will it be Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, or The Breakfast Club?
