Gossip Girl

This week I watched Gossip Girl with my 10th grade daughter. I had a lot of difficulty following the story line. It is very confusing. There is Nate. There is Serena. There is Nate's mom. They are all so complicated. All of my queries were hushed. In Gossip Girl everyone seems so mean. I reflected on this point. I recalled the shows of my youth. "Dallas" was a popular show during those years. The characters were also extraordinarily mean to each other. What is the difference? Then it occured to me. In Gossip Girl the mean characters are young. In Dallas it was older characters and in particular JR. I don't intend to sound like a prude but it upsets me to see people, especially teenagers, behave so terribly toward each other. I know it is just a show and that back-stabbing, intrigue and of course sex have been the stuff of great literature for centuries. I know it is just entertainment. But when it is played out on TV it has a different affect than when reading it in Shakespeare. Seeing it is different than reading it. My daughter reassured me that she and her friends do not behave this way to each other. They watch the show because it is fun. They watch the show because the actors are "hot." They watch the show because it is engaging. "Promise me you don't treat others this way!" "Yes, Abba. I promise." When did I start sounding like my parents? Until the next episode...