The show has been praised for how accurately it depicts the lives of 21st-century teens, and how the show is unafraid to tackles issues that have previously been seen as taboo, such as drug use, mental illness, sexual relationships, and struggles with gender and sexuality. However, it has also been criticized by older viewers for presenting extremely graphic content to a potentially young audience, and perhaps even glorifying it. The aesthetics of the show certainly come into play here; the cinematography and use of color are visually delightful, and the teenage characters are all beautiful, well-dressed, and uniquely styled, oftentimes outfitted in eye-catching makeup looks that have inspired a great deal of YouTube and TikTok “Euphoria Makeup Turorial” videos. Although this show does not shy away from showing the dark side of these lifestyles, it could certainly be said that presenting problematic behaviors being done by cool, attractive, likable characters, with visually pleasing cinematography is essentially romanticizing harmful and unsafe behaviors.
The question of
In some ways, the show does appear to be geared towards older audiences. It is on HBO, which typically does feature a lot of explicit content, and it is rated TV-MA. However, children and teens certainly do watch the show as well, and their interpretations are bound to be different than a more mature audience. Television theorist Misha Kavka stated that television viewers are aware of the fact that there are differences between the world of television and the real world, but that it is important to observe the value judgments people make when they go about differentiating them. When looking at Euphoria, the ability to differentiate between tv and reality is certainly different amongst older and younger audiences. Older viewers might easily be able to tell that this world being portrayed is not the same as the real world; using drugs is not usually accompanied by copious amounts of glitter and pretty lights. However, younger viewers might not be able to differentiate between the world of television and the real world as well, and might have a much different, more naive interpretation of the events of the show. Although it can be said that the show is intended for a more mature audience given the network and rating, it seems that younger audiences are more drawn to the show due to the closer proximity to the ages of the
All of that being said, Euphoria does portray experiences that resonate with a large number of teens and brings attention to issues that high schoolers face that are not often discussed in mainstream television. The skillful crafting of the shows aesthetic makes it a real artistic standout, while at the same time, perhaps complicating methods of decoding and making it difficult to discern the difference between the world of television and the world of reality. In the end, it leaves behind a plethora of questions about intent, craft, intended audience versus actual audience, and romanticization
2 replies on “The ethics of aesthetics in the teen drama Euphoria”
Hey Scout!
I loved your post and Euphoria was one of the first shows that came to mind when I was thinking about the intersection between ethics and aesthetics. I definitely agree with your points on how the audience plays an essential role in whether the topics are interpreted as either romanticized or realistic depictions of the challenges teens face growing up. Despite the show’s content being plenty controversial, I agree that the visuals have gained a significant amount of attention on social media. Aside from the incredible cinematography and lighting, I was drawn to the fashion within the show and think that it portrays certain messages about Generation Z. The show features fashion that flips innocence into a form of avant-garde erotica that is intentionally discomforting. The sexualization of youthful clothing, ranging from preschool overalls to animal backpacks, contributes to Euphoria’s exploration of how teen girls can be hyper-sexualized by both their peers and themselves. At the same time, the show’s female characters use clothing to take on their own expressions of sexual identity, serving as a way to display who they are or, in some cases, who they want to be. An example of this is Kat, who embraces her dominatrix identity through leather harnesses and latex skirts. Overall, Euphoria uses fashion as a way to showcase both taking control over sexual expression and the ways that Gen Z has been robbed of previous generations’ idealism.
Well done on such a great, well-researched analysis of audience perception regarding Euphoria. I think it’s interesting to see the difference in reception based on age groups and how their differing values could influence their readings of the text. Although I haven’t seen the show yet, I’ve seen a generally positive response from younger audiences and how they can identify moments that occur in the show that occur in their personal lives, which speaks to how honest the show’s depiction of teens in a modern era is. I liked your point about separating the fictional world of TV from the audience’s personal reality and how the viewer’s ability to make this distinction could depend on their age. I feel as though critics with a negative reading of this text underestimate the degree to which younger audiences can make this distinction with these aesthetic choices that appear to “romanticizing” serious issues. Also, I feel like despite a younger viewer’s potential to interpret what occurs in this show and others as truth should be given the benefit of the doubt to do their own research and come to their own conclusions to separate their immersion from their own reality as well. In recent years, viewers can challenge or strengthen their own perspectives on the show by looking at reviews that are more long-winded from articles, or a short-hand response from social media, or different Youtube reviewers. I hope that more critical viewers that do not believe that younger audiences will understand how aesthetics does not represent reality can develop greater confidence that not all younger viewers fit into the expectation of naïvety and that they can dissociate from the fictional worlds like Euphoria in the future.