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Growing Up Degrassi: Television, Identity and Youth Cultures
With a Preface by Geoff Pevere and an Introduction by Mary Jane Miller. This is the first collection of its kind to explore this widely recognized television series. Sixteen essays bring together scholars and fans of "Degrassi Junior High", "Degrassi High" and " The Next Generation" to examine the pivotal role the series has had in shaping Canadian youth identity over the past twenty-five years. In the first two sections, Degrassi and Youth Cultures and Building Identity on Degrassi, contributors look into topics ranging from how technology and media have shaped character identity and viewer devotion, to the critical contemporary issues of the AIDS crisis among young adults. The third section, Web Sites, Fan Clubs & Reminiscences, is a celebration of Degrassi fandom. In her afterword, Linda Schuyler comments on the twenty-five years it has taken to build the remarkable phenomenon called Degrassi and why it deserves to be both celebrated and critiqued for its unique place in television and youth cultures. Michele Byers, Rebecca Haines, Kylo-Patrick Hart, Mark Janson, Sherrie Jean Katz, Jennifer MacLennan, Ryan Robert Mitchell, Ravindra Mohabeer, Tom Panarese, Mark Aaron Polger, Bettina Spencer, Laura Tropp, Brian Jones & Michael Strangelove
- GenresNonfictionCanada
320 pages, Paperback
First published September 27, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
July 2, 2017
Let's start this review off by saying, I wholeheartedly, unabashedly love Degrassi — to a fault. The only series/franchise to match this love is Harry Potter, which is perhaps the direct opposite of Degrassi.
Growing Up Degrassi is a collection of sixteen essays analyzing the effect Degrassi has had on "television, identity and youth cultures." All the essays are fairly interesting, though I felt some were a bit long winded. Much of the book focuses on Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, since Degrassi: The Next Generation had just wrapped its fourth season at the time of this publication. The latest storyline mentioned was Paige's court case against Dean from "Ghost in the Machine."
My two favorite essays in the collection were: "'That White from That Show': Race and Ethnicity within Canadian Youth Cultures" and "Have Times Changed? Girl Power and Third-Wave Feminism on Degrassi". Both of these are reoccurring topics that Degrassi still continues to handle even now that it's in its eighteenth season. I would particularly love to read an updated version of these essays.
Many of the other essays compared Degrassi to Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210. I didn't really like the comparison since the shows are light years apart from Degrassi. "'Everybody Wants Something': Drugs, Sex and Money in Canadian and American Teen Programming" made the comparison interesting atleast and I wouldn't have minded if I were a bit longer. I also enjoyed reading about the differences between the AIDs story lines in Degrassi and 90210 in "Getting It Wrong and Right".
In "Changing Faces: What Happened When Degrassi Switched to CTV" and touched upon in other essays, the authors discuss the differences between Degrassi Classic to Degrassi:
TNG. At times, I felt the comparison was unfair. The original Degrassi was made with low production values and actor with little to no experience, while TNG has a "polished" look with more experienced actors. Despite their differences, both series have a sort of magic to them, especially to those who saw them when they first aired.
TNG fans could probably skip this book, but old school fans of DJH and DH will definitely enjoy this. I also recommend reading Degrassi Generations, which is a guide book to the series from The Kids of Degrassi Street to season 4 of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
For those interested, you can read a couple of the essays by Michelle Byers here just scroll towards the bottom.
Growing Up Degrassi is a collection of sixteen essays analyzing the effect Degrassi has had on "television, identity and youth cultures." All the essays are fairly interesting, though I felt some were a bit long winded. Much of the book focuses on Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, since Degrassi: The Next Generation had just wrapped its fourth season at the time of this publication. The latest storyline mentioned was Paige's court case against Dean from "Ghost in the Machine."
My two favorite essays in the collection were: "'That White from That Show': Race and Ethnicity within Canadian Youth Cultures" and "Have Times Changed? Girl Power and Third-Wave Feminism on Degrassi". Both of these are reoccurring topics that Degrassi still continues to handle even now that it's in its eighteenth season. I would particularly love to read an updated version of these essays.
Many of the other essays compared Degrassi to Saved by the Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210. I didn't really like the comparison since the shows are light years apart from Degrassi. "'Everybody Wants Something': Drugs, Sex and Money in Canadian and American Teen Programming" made the comparison interesting atleast and I wouldn't have minded if I were a bit longer. I also enjoyed reading about the differences between the AIDs story lines in Degrassi and 90210 in "Getting It Wrong and Right".
In "Changing Faces: What Happened When Degrassi Switched to CTV" and touched upon in other essays, the authors discuss the differences between Degrassi Classic to Degrassi:
TNG. At times, I felt the comparison was unfair. The original Degrassi was made with low production values and actor with little to no experience, while TNG has a "polished" look with more experienced actors. Despite their differences, both series have a sort of magic to them, especially to those who saw them when they first aired.
TNG fans could probably skip this book, but old school fans of DJH and DH will definitely enjoy this. I also recommend reading Degrassi Generations, which is a guide book to the series from The Kids of Degrassi Street to season 4 of Degrassi: The Next Generation.
For those interested, you can read a couple of the essays by Michelle Byers here just scroll towards the bottom.
December 7, 2013
I've always been fascinated by the Degrassi franchise, which has morphed and molded through several different incarnations - including a series of children's telemovies, three series, a primetime film and various spinoff media - over the years.
Growing Up Degrassi is like a giant bucket of chum for Degrassi fans, and explores various facets of the franchise through different perspectives and lenses. In fact, it's one of the few books that I have from my time in college that I proudly keep on my bookshelf.
The book itself explores the main issues of youth culture, identity and how Degrassi played into Canadian culture in the 80's and 90's, but also explores many avenues that haven't really been covered by other books or fansites, such as the time period between "School's Out" and the launch of "The Next Generation", comparisons between Degrassi and other franchises like "Beverly Hills 90210", and an explotation of the fanclubs and sites that have persisted over the years.
All in all, it's a great primer for anyone getting into the franchise for the first time, and remains a unique and vital resource for understanding the various issues and concepts Degrassi deals with.
Growing Up Degrassi is like a giant bucket of chum for Degrassi fans, and explores various facets of the franchise through different perspectives and lenses. In fact, it's one of the few books that I have from my time in college that I proudly keep on my bookshelf.
The book itself explores the main issues of youth culture, identity and how Degrassi played into Canadian culture in the 80's and 90's, but also explores many avenues that haven't really been covered by other books or fansites, such as the time period between "School's Out" and the launch of "The Next Generation", comparisons between Degrassi and other franchises like "Beverly Hills 90210", and an explotation of the fanclubs and sites that have persisted over the years.
All in all, it's a great primer for anyone getting into the franchise for the first time, and remains a unique and vital resource for understanding the various issues and concepts Degrassi deals with.
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April 26, 2012This is the first collection of its kind to explore one of the most widely recognized series in Canadian television history. Sixteen essays bring together scholars and fans of Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High and Degrassi: The Next Generation to examine the pivotal role the series has had in shaping Canadian youth identity over the past twenty-five years. In the first two sections, "Egrassi and Youth Cultures" and "Building Identity on Degrassi," contributors look into topics ranging from how technology and media have shaped character identity and viewer devotion, to the critical contemporary issues of the AIDS crisis among young adults. The third section "Web Sites, Fan Clubs Reminiscences," is a celebration of Degrassi fandom. In her Afterword, Linda Schuyler comments on the twenty-five years it has taken to build the remarkable phenomenon called Degrassi and why it deserves to be both celebrated and critiqued for its unique place in television and youth cultures.
October 7, 2016
Some of it went on for too long, but it was interesting seeing the fandom issues of OG Degrassi. Like for The Next Generation, all of the TeenNick/ The N stuff or when Degrassi went to MTV Canada replaced OG Degrassi's switch to a private broadcaster. Some of the essays could have been summarized as 'My childhood was better than yours'. Also, with The Next Generation's varying quality (and dropping the suffix) and escape from reality, I wonder what a revised version of this book would look like.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews