FREE ESSAY ON THE WORLD WE DON'T LIVE IN

THE WORLD WE DON'T LIVE IN

Steve Lippo
Final TV Essay
10/26/00
The World We Don't Live In
Television is not real life. It's not even close. From Friends to Frasier, people's lives
do not resemble TV show plots by any means. Television's number one goal is to portray
what viewers would want their lives to be like. Dawson's Creek is no different. The world
does not revolve around a small group of high school students, yet in this show it seems
to. Dawson's Creek chronicles the wry humor the undeniably intense period of awakening
known as teenage years. Set in the Boston suburb of Capeside, this series explores the
blooming self-awareness and growing pains that go hand-in-hand with the triumphs of
growing up. Dawson's Creek's fantasy lifestyle and unrealistic dialogue create a world
where consumerism rules over conflicting relationships and the search for true love.
Wisely intelligent and yet naively open, four teens are at the heart of this drama as
they unknowingly embark on the road less traveled, going against the norm in the paths
they choose. Together in this passage from adolescence to young adulthood, the series
stars Dawson Leary, Joey Potter, Pacey Witter, and Jen Lindley. Dawson is a 17-year-old
Steven Spielberg fanatic who is charmingly obsessive and passionate about his love of
movies. Dawson's longtime best friend Joey is the tomboy and emerging beauty who lives a
less functional home life down the creek. Pacey's gift for sarcasm is topped only by an
over-confident knack for stumbling awkwardly and unprepared into adult situations.
Rounding out the inseparable foursome, Jen may appear to be the girl next door, but she
has an air of mystery surrounding her as she harbors a dark secret from her past.
Together, they learn that growing up is never as easy as it seems in the movies. Blindly
testing the waters towards young adulthood, these four astute teens shed their childlike
innocence and endure the compromise of morality that accompanies so-called maturity.
Exploring the passions that lie beneath the surface of Dawson's Creek, they deal with
friendship, jealousy, family, school and love in their struggle to attain adulthood.
The opening of Dawson's Creek features these lyrics sung by Paula Cole: "I don't want to
wait for our lives to be over. I want to know right now what it will be. I don't want to
wait for our lives to be over. Will it be yes or will it be...sorry." Each episode begins
with this song as clips of the group sitting around and laughing with each other are
flashed by the viewer's eyes. The opening resembles one of the music videos commonly seen
on MTV. This is significant because Dawson's Creek and MTV try to obtain the same teenage
viewer demographics. By using this strategy for the opening package, the show relates to
the pop culture side of their audience. It is that MTV lifestyle, that livelihood, which
the show tries to focus on. The obvious consumeristic success of MTV is a desirable trait
to networks. Teenagers today are savvy consumers, and this is becoming more and more
evident to networks. If you tap into the consumer side of teens, you have opened up a
whole new world of ratings never seen before. 
The lyrics themselves also relate a message about the show. As in real life, the
characters in the show grow up way too fast at this stage in life. Our society, along
with our parents and authority figures, places such an emphasis on "adult-like" behavior
in teenagers that Dawson's Creek epitomizes the socially acceptable way to behave. Teens
in real life along with the characters in the show are being pressured to grow up too
fast. They're ready to go out and experience what life has to offer, and that's what this
show is all about. 
The fact that this show takes place in Capeside, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb, tells us
that we should be prepared for anything. Arthur Berger states that "Boston has an
identity due, in part, to it's being on the east coast...The fact that this takes place
in Boston prepares us for all kinds of characters" (236). There are noticeable
differences between the large urban empire of Boston and the small town of Capeside. In
comparison, Capeside is much smaller more closely knit. The fact that this show takes
place in a small town takes away the usual traits of a city. There is nowhere to hide
from problems, and conflicts always arise. This being said, the small town Dawson's Creek
takes place in is the ideal setting for this type of drama. It is a cosmopolitan script
played out in a suburban setting. Capeside is not an extension of Boston, although the
character analysis may say otherwise. Yes, there are many different types of characters
in Dawson's Creek, but the families differ even more. 
All of the main characters come from different family backgrounds, therefore making the
show appeal to a very wide range of people. Dawson's parents were divorced, but are now
back together. Joey's mom is dead and her father is in jail. Pacey lives with his dad and
brother, neither of whom he can relate to, and usually, ends up fighting with. Jen came
to Capeside to live with her grandmother not by choice, but because her parents sent her.
The group in itself could be considered a family "melting pot." Everyone in the group
brings their own unique background to each new situation, and they all help each other
through their problems. Without the support of all the other members of the group,
problems would never be resolved. It is commonly a group effort when it comes to problem
solving. This is hardly a reality with the average group of high school students although
it's about as real as Dawson's Creek gets.
The dialogue in this show is unrealistic to say the least. While watching the show, the
viewer might think that they are in a parallel universe where high school students have a
wider vocabulary than their parents. Throughout the show, all of the characters speak
like English professors at some point. High school students do not talk like Dawson does.
They don't even talk like Pacey does, and he's supposed to be flunking out of school. In
one of Dawson's famous ramblings, he says, "What you and I have may never be simple...but
that doesn't mean that we're not going to be scorching. Besides, who's to say that you
can't have some of France right here in Capeside, hum? Here we are along the river
Sende', a tour of the il de la city, the favorite spot of lovers and friends. And from
here we also have a view of the magnificent structure that we simplists here in Capeside
like to call....ze swingset. Granted, It's no Eiffel Tower, but it's all we got." This
overuse of the Webster's Dictionary is used for a purpose. One thing teenagers lack in
any normal high schools is the ability to carry on a conversation without using slang
works such as "like" and "uh." In Dawson's Creek, television puts the right words in the
characters' mouths every time they want to say something. The dialogue in this show is
what separates it from other teen dramas. Without this detail, the show becomes just like
every other teen drama on network TV. Watching Dawson and Joey, who are supposed to be 16
years old, speaking with such an extensive vocabulary makes the viewers envious. They
want to be a part of the teenage melodrama the see on TV. Dawson's Creek is selling a
"fantasy" lifestyle to their viewers. Awkward silences are expected in real life, not in
Capeside. The 800 SAT vocabulary score they all should be receiving would be nice,
though.
Love and conflict are two of the biggest themes in Dawson's Creek. As in real life, the
search for a companion can be one of the most enlightening adventures a teenager faces.
It can also cause problems that tear friendships in half. At some point in the history of
the show, all of the characters dated each other. Although finding true love can be one
of the most rewarding experiences in a person's life, it only seems to cause conflict in
the quiet town they reside in. It is the network of relationships that is crucial to the
generation of meaning. Oppositions between the main characters and their parents create
reasons for them to reach out to each other. The oppositions between Dawson, Joey, Jen,
and Pacey cause them to reach out to new places they've never thought of before; usually
a member of the opposite sex, and usually a new love interest. Everybody has conflict in
relationships, but within this show, it is more heightened and dramatic. Without a doubt,
conflict and love go hand in hand in Dawson's Creek.
If only the real world was just like Dawson's Creek. Think about it. Problems are solved,
no matter how big, on a weekly basis. Friends are always around to hang out with or to
have a discussion on 13th century culture of the Far East. The characters in this show
are far from realistic in some aspects of life, but as close as you can get in many
others. It's not the real world, but viewers can relate to the plot and the characters.
In the end, everything is just going to change in next week's episode anyway. Stay
tuned....
Bibliography
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