Diary of a clumsy teenager

MTV’s “Awkward” is not just another run-of-the-mill sitcom about high school.

If you’re dreading watching another show about vampires or about the incredible lives of spoilt and uptight elite New Yorkers, then buckle up your seatbelts for a refreshing television sitcom: ““Awkward””

The show, which is aired on MTV and is centred on the life of teenager Jenna Hamilton, could not have had a more apt title. Everything that young Jenna does fits that sitcom’s name perfectly and makes the viewer strongly emphathise with the high school student’s ineptness.

While watching the show, one get a clear sense that the social situation in high school hasn’t changed much over the decades — cliques comprising popular kids, the jocks, the cheerleaders, the nerds and the outcasts still prevail. In fact, these cliques become like castes; it becomes difficult to break or transcend them for the duration of high school. And like most caste systems, it’s a lot easier to slide down than move up the ranks.

Most high school students find themselves outside the purview of the popular cliques and Jenna Hamilton is no exception. Jenna, played by Ashley Rickards, is wrapping up summer camp and is headed for sophomore year of high school at the start of the series. She has a huge crush on popular jockey Matty McKibben (Beau Mirchoff) and shares a fumbling few minutes of intimacy with him in a broom closet. Being the courteous gentleman, Matty politely tells Jenna that she’s great, but she should not tell anyone that he likes her because of their stark ‘caste differential’. This is of course not something a girl wants to hear moments after sharing a special moment with the guy she likes. So lovelorn Jenna decides to vent her frustration in anonymous blog — the modern equivalent to a locked diary.

Her anonymous blogging stirs a controversy, when she receives a ‘care-frontation’ letter which divulges the excruciating truth about her introvert character. Her reply to this email leads to a misunderstanding of epic proportions as it is misconstrued by the entire student body as a suicide attempt.

So, Jenna tries to revive from this false tittle-tattle that had managed to reverberate through the halls of her school. However, instead of wallowing in self-pity, Jenna tries to cope with the situation and uses this unfortunate event as a launching pad for attaining higher visibility at her high school.

The best part about this show is that it doesn’t have the stereotype skinny and pretty ‘it’ girl. The most popular girl in school, Sadie Saxton (Molly Tarlov), is a normal girl, slightly towards the heftier side. The manipulative overweight cheerleader has the entire school jumping at her whim. Sadie along with her best friend Lissa (Greer Grammer), are the gruesome-twosome who are out to make Jenna’s life absolute hell.

You might think “oh no, not another high school sitcom” but ““Awkward”” is not a boring run-of-the-mill series. It’s a show capturing the essence of being a teenagers; it highlights the stigmas and pressures that haunt lives of many youngsters at high school. Unlike others shows currently on air, it’s actually pretty relatable.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 15^th, 2011.