It almost feels like a universally known truth among Generation Z that there is nothing cringier than a show trying to pander to us and be relatable. But why is that? What makes our generation so hard to write about?
Often shows with Gen Z characters will try and give them dialogue featuring popular or trendy words and memes. However, this will almost never work out well and is one of the main reasons these characters seem so unrelatable.
In our exceedingly online age, especially after the addition of TikTok, trends and jokes come and go so fast it is basically impossible for older generations, companies and writers to keep up. Something will be incredibly popular for two weeks then disgustingly cringy soon after.
With the several-month gap between the writing and airing of an episode, whatever references they plan on making will have crossed deep into cringey territory. There is nothing harder to watch than a young character in a show saying “lit” 20 times an episode in 2022.
But even if the writing is good, it’s important that the actor playing the young character is able to truly believe in and relate to their words, as is with any acting role. In most cases, that means the actor should be at least close to the age they are meant to be portraying.
There’s always an uncomfortable feeling when a parent or older person tries relating to someone younger by using trending or meme words. I think that feeling from real life can transfer to the media you watch. That’s why certain casting choices can feel awkward or uncomfortable when there’s clearly a huge age gap between the actors’ real age and the age they are meant to portray.
For example, the 2021 movie “Dear Evan Hansen” received a lot of negative attention when 27-year-old Ben Platt was cast to play the 17-year-old main character. Now 10 years is arguably not a huge age gap between older people, but when that difference goes across a generation like this does, the gap is far more noticeable and creates that awkward feeling.
So, what shows do Gen Z justice? I think in a weird way, “Euphoria” is one of the most relatable shows our generation has. It’s insanely popular and I think one of the main reasons is that while it portrays Gen Z characters, it doesn’t try to be overly relatable through cheap references and buzz words.
Rather, “Euphoria” is relatable through character experiences and struggles like finding themselves and navigating high school friendship. Of course, these situations are extreme and unrelatable for the average high school student, but the characters remain relatable not because of what they say or what they do. It’s how they behave and navigate their life.
Television should represent all age groups. However, this representation is demeaned and ruined for younger people when it is clearly designed by someone who doesn’t understand who they’re talking about. Between bad writing and poor casting, it can be hard to create Gen Z characters that can be genuinely enjoyed and related to without pandering, but it’s not impossible.
Tracy Mullinax can be reached at [email protected]