This week, I’m going to take a minute to talk about a show on the CW called “Riverdale.” I’m sure everyone and their parents have heard of the comic icon Archie Andrews and his little crew of friends. Well, last year someone decided it would be a good idea to take America’s most relatable comic character and throw him into the middle of a murder mystery. You see, senior me had a lot of time and excitement over seeing my childhood crush, Cole Sprouse, playing the one and only Jughead Jones. Not only that, but the entire idea of bringing a comic book that wasn’t about superheroes to life had me praising the creators. Senior me was let down, to say the least.
“Riverdale” is an angsty high school musical at best and has you wondering why a 30-year-old is so invested in a 15-year-old boy or why a girl sounds like she’s in love every time she talks about her twin brother. The actors are all in their twenties and play high school sophomores, except half the time you’re wondering if their characters are supposed to be older considering the mature situations they find themselves in. Overall, I thought “Riverdale” was a complete bust, yet they were renewed for a second season and are looking into opening their third.
Now, what does this have to do with my column and why do I care so much? The characters are supposed to be sophomores. Fifteen-year-olds are watching these 20-year-olds thinking, “I don’t look like that” or “I haven’t done that yet.” Television is meant for entertainment; it’s meant to show people an altered reality so that they will enjoy it, but it’s making younger kids grow up faster. A 15-year-old girl looks at Camila Mendes playing Veronica and thinks about how to make herself more like Camila, a 23-year-old. People constantly complain about the outfits young girls wear or the amounts of makeup they have caked on their faces, but they fail to realize that this is just the way they think they’re supposed to act.
When I was growing up, I had “One Tree Hill.” My idea of romance was finding some guy I’d end up tutoring and marrying him at the end of junior year. I can tell you right now, I did not get married junior year. I was more focused on graduating than I was on finding someone who I’d spend the rest of my life with—besides, I never met anyone who I thought was the Nathan Scott I deserved. I guess the point I’m trying to make is, stop blaming the kids. They’re just doing their best to figure themselves out and they’re going by the best examples they’ve been given. And never forget that Fall Out Boy guest-starred in like four different “One Tree Hill” episodes. Pete Wentz dating Peyton Sawyer will always be on my mind.
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