THIS HIT TV SHOW IS AN INSULT TO GEN Z VIEWERS LIKE ME

Douglas is Cancelled is the latest show to fall foul to one-note ‘woke’ Gen Z kids who speak in political cliches and give off an insufferable ‘holier-than-thou’ presence.

Like when 19-year-old Claudia (Madeleine Power) labelled her mother Sheila’s (Alex Kingston) toilet flush mid-argument a ‘microaggression’ I couldn’t help but groan in despair.

The character assassination of socially-forward Gen Zers had infiltrated yet another show.

What followed in the rest of the four-episode ITV series, written by 62-year-old Steven Moffat was a textbook example of exactly how not to write a Gen Z student.

At another point Claudia tells her dad, Douglas (Hugh Bonneville) she ‘really, really’ doesn’t want to have to ‘cancel’ him after he is accused of telling a sexist joke (the premise for the entire cancel culture-themed show).

She then spends the rest of the show criticising every exasperated adult in sight for their progressive failures. It seems the phrase ‘pick your battles’ never entered Claudia’s lexicon and her righteous rage leads Douglas to even accuse her of joining a ‘cult’.

The overwrought character means that you can’t take any of her valid concerns seriously.

As a socially progressive, forward-thinking member of Gen Z, all I saw was yet another underdeveloped character who has become a caricature for the dreaded ‘social justice warrior’.

In other words, it is a manifestation of every bigot’s worst nightmare for the next generation – that we are becoming volatile ‘snowflakes’ looking to catch everyone out. 

I am no stranger to arguing with my own family, older relatives, and even strangers from time-to-time. I call people out on their behaviour where I can and am steadfast in my political views. 

I’ve explained why I believe JK Rowling’s views are harmful while defending trans rights to relatives, slammed Boris Johnson’s comments about Muslim women to wilfully ignorant peers and snapped back just as hard after being patronised by men while at university.

But I am not a walking-talking machine primed with jarring and clunky political quips. Nor do I over-simplify complex debates to the point of self-mockery. Neither does anyone I know. 

For the past few years, screenwriters have attempted to cater to a Gen Z audience and incorporate our ethos into TV shows and films to varying levels of success. 

Russell T Davies, 61 – although well-intentioned – met similar pitfalls in the Doctor Who 60th anniversary specials, such as the strange discussion about ‘male-presenting’ Time Lords.

It also plagued the Gossip Girl reboot with lines such as ‘don’t straight-shame me’ and shaky dialogue about accountability culture.

Netflix’s Wednesday tackled conversations around ‘mansplaining’ and the ‘male gaze’ in a pointed way and the film Prom Pact included the phrase ‘the only thing I hate more than slow dancing is the gender wage gap’.

Infamously, the Netflix series Ginny and Georgia came under fire from young people after one heated argument between Ginny and her boyfriend Hunter whipped out the horrifying phrase: ‘Oppression Olympics! Let’s go!’ The show is littered with similarly mortifying, on-the-nose, lines that make you want to laugh.

Instead, most people I know are having thought-provoking conversations about intersectionality and how our identity changes how we navigate the world.

Even The White Lotus season one – which generally does a better job of representation – includes the classic ‘woke’ child, ‘concerned’ parent trope.

To be clear, this isn’t to say that cringe should be removed entirely. It is, unfortunately, a rite of passage for everyone to look back at their younger years and shudder at some of the nonsense that came out of our mouths.

But to make it the defining trait of almost every single character aged 16 to 25 is, perhaps, taking it too far. 

Maybe more screenwriters should take a leaf out of Inside Out 2’s book where they actively hired teen advisors to accurately capture the horrors of puberty. 

The film’s huge success (now over $1billion at the global box-office) must be in part owed to the endearing authenticity with which it approaches the subject. 

Surely it’s worth trying to recreate this magic by hiring Gen Z proofreaders fro relevant TV shows and films to help tackle the stereotype.

That stereotype has become so cemented in TV canon that several TikToks have been made making fun of the poor writing. These fake scenes see influencers re-enacting the cringy, misused slang and over-exaggerated statements so reminiscent of the current crop of Gen Z characters. 

Don’t get me wrong, I am all for more progressive language and ideology on our screens. In fact, I encourage it. But just having an actual Gen Z in the writers room could do wonders to making the language more seamless and realistic. 

If Claudia was purposefully written this way then it feels like a lazy approach to prescribe her to the ‘irrational’ young person who has a crusade against everything. 

At this point it’s almost predictable and would have been a breath of fresh air to offer a more nuanced take on the daughter in a drama about a topic that has already occupied mainstream discourse for years.

If anything, these kinds of portrayals of Gen Z characters like Douglas is Cancelled’s Claudia saying ‘OK Boomer’ are harmful to the good work people of my age are doing to raise social awareness. It also undervalues the importance of having a strong voice who stands up for what’s right. 

Of course, there are shows out there that do a better (although not perfect) job of portraying the realistic Gen Z experience – from Sex Education to Heartbreak High to Sex Lives of College Girls.

These shows explore the trials and tribulations faced by the new generation – from exploring their sexuality to confronting their identities – with ensemble casts that reflect the breadth of the teen experience. 

The slightly awkward moments are either few and far between or playoff as well-earned humour that feels natural to these worlds. None of these characters are just their ideology.

In an ideal world, Gen Z characters are more than just the ‘woke’ stereotype. Their views, (and strong-headedness about it) are a part of their wider personality – which is something Claudia certainly doesn’t have.

Crucially, they only occasionally whip out a clunky one-liner about social progress. 

In other words – they are human. 

And that’s all I want. 

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2024-07-04T06:09:53Z dg43tfdfdgfd