Degrassi: Next Class is Everything We Need Today and a Lot More
Anyone who knows me personally must be well versed with the fact that I am obsessed with TV series. I am what the masses would refer to as a ‘bingewatcher’. And I’m proud of it too. My latest obsession is with a show that’s both enlightening and entertaining. It’s part of a hugely popular franchise too so chances are, you’ve heard of it. It’s Netflix’s Degrassi: Next Class.
The series is a continuation of the Degrassi series that’s been going on for decades. Netflix renewed it or ‘rebooted’ it as people like to say in a totally new avatar and it premiered in January, 2016 and has had 4 seasons since, with 2 seasons a year on Netflix.
The reason why Next Class ought to be talked about, is because it’s extremely progressive. In a nutshell, that’s my favorite part of the show. The way it addresses so many important issues that are relevant today and manages to do so in a brilliant manner. The series obviously has countless visible flaws and mistakes that it’s made in the past and continues to make. But then again, what doesn’t? I’m simply here to get you acquainted with how amazing the series is and how it could be your next binge watch session.
Fair warning though, there will be spoilers in this article so if you’re not a fan of those- good-bye it is?
To begin with, the new Degrassi is colorful and technological at it’s best. The characters could also be fit into the same two categories. It’s also refreshing to see the same characters returning with new additions. While all four seasons deal with the usual run-off-the-mill teenage drama themes like social issues, relationship jealousy, sex anxiety, drug addiction, family issues, academic pressure, etc. It’s the way Degrassi handles these and bigger, underrated themes that really stands out for me. It’s bold yet careful and very well intentioned.
There is LGBTQ+ representation in the series. It could do with more but it has representation and it’s good representation. Especially the way they show how an openly gay character (Tristan) can be biphobic. They’ve shown Miles’ struggles with being bisexual and labeling his sexuality and Zoe’s struggles with accepting herself to be gay, going to the extent of forcing herself to have a boyfriend to negate the fact that she’s gay. It also effectively deals with homophobic parents as Zoe’s Catholic mother is shown to absolutely disown Zoe all because she’s gay. The intrinsic relationship of religion and LGBTQ+ also comes into play here when Goldie’s understanding of homosexuality is that it’s a sin (as the Quran states) and that offends her gay classmates. Rasha (a new character) is an immigrant from Syria who is also gay. Her struggle with contemplating about coming out to her own best friend is also a very relatable and real experience for those in similar situations. While the series could definitely do with more LGBTQ+ characters, it has done justice to the already existing ones.
Technology is a colossal component of Next Class. Almost everything in every episode deals with it in some way. From girls using applications to modify their appearance out of insecurity or body image issues to cat-fishing to cyber bullying. It even shows YouTube channels being used for monetization by the students, to make rants, gamer clubs being introduced in school instead of P.E. and the most relatable of all- indirecting friends on microblogging websites like Twitter. It has even shown a basic issue like relationship insecurity with hacking into the significant other’s messages just to check what they’re saying to their best friends and what a big deal that can be.
Next Class also deals with something very few series or literally anything in mainstream media does. It has a chronic illness storyline, which is of the character Grace who suffers from cystic fibrosis. Her struggles with her health, whether or not she should tell her friends and how it prevents her from having a ‘normal’ life is something very interesting and important. It needed more work and effort though as I wasn’t entirely happy with how they handled her story. Now that Grace has graduated we won’t be seeing more of her but I hope there’s something along these lines lined up for the future of NC.
Since we’re on the topic of health, mental health is quite an immense facet of Degrassi. It always has been. NC does not fail to address it just the same. Even better, in some ways I would say. It is quite the focus throughout all four seasons with at least one character majorly struggling with their mental health. I must warn you though, the struggles are quite graphic and can be triggering to some viewers.
Hunter’s struggles with his anger and depression are alarming as he cyber-bullies Maya simply because she stood up against the misogyny of the gamer club. As his state gets worse, things around him get worse and when he finally gets the treatment he requires- a psychiatric facility, he resists it. But his acceptance and eventual recovery is also an admirable portrayal. Miles’ mental health is also exhibited appropriately. How he falls into bad habits with a fellow classmate and OD’s on anti-anxiety pills because he has been abused by his father in the past and now that the man is back in his life (against his will), he is bound to react.
At the end of season 2, there is a bus crash. Following which, season 3 is all about the aftermath of said bus crash. Here, mental health has played a crucial role. Miles, who is now with Tristan deals with his boyfriend being in a coma and is in a constant dilemma about whether it is appropriate that he can move on with his life or not. It deals with how schools and other institutions often don’t let students express extreme emotions in the fear of triggering other students and this can be dangerous to the students experiencing those emotions themselves.
Maya’s character is shown to be the one worst affected by the bus crash as she suffers from PTSD and depression where she repeatedly says she feels “numb” and that everyone around her keeps dying (refer to old Degrassi seasons). She only finds solace in watching triggering content about disasters and death and even engages in getting graphic photoshoots depicting death with a fellow classmate. She constantly thinks of death and contemplates suicide throughout the season with extreme anger, sad, and nervous episodes. At the end of the season, she even jumps off the school building and attempts suicide as she says she’ll finally be “free”. It is quite a haunting experience to watch Maya struggle with her depression but it’s also very real and moving.
Finally, the last and one of the most substantial mental health storylines is that of Esme. She’s a new character and initially seems nothing but eccentric and arrogant. But it is later revealed that she has a dark history. Esme caught her mother dead at age 10 and her mother had killed herself. Her father blames her for her mother’s death and Esme lives with that trauma. The interesting and heartbreaking thing about Esme is that she clearly suffers from a major psychological disorder as she displays extreme emotions, she repeatedly gets triggered, acts in an irrational manner (most of the time) and does disturbing things, repeatedly. But hers is unaddressed and untreated. It gets out of control at the end of season 4. Even though Esme was a senior, she isn’t shown to be graduating with the batch of 2016 so I’m guessing they will be showing more of her in the seasons to come. And I am hoping they focus on her mental health storyline as it is greatly relevant and necessary too.
Race was such an integral part of Next Class and I am so glad it was because it is one of the most significant issues right now and needs to be addressed in the correct manner. Frankie’s racist prank which included her avoiding a proper apology, making herself out to be a victim, Shay understanding racism being black herself and Frankie’s white privilege were fundamentally fluid storylines that were handled very well, in my opinion. Another race component were the protests for Tiny which also included the ‘freedom of speech’ angle. I want to see more of such arcs in the future seasons of NC.
The introduction of the Syrian immigrants at Degrassi has been quite an interesting and elemental part of the series. It’s also been shown very appropriately. Saad’s struggles with making his peers understand him and how he fits in at Degrassi, Rasha struggling to fit in as gay, are all really important storylines that I hope will be furthered more. In the same context, Goldi’s experiences as being Muslim are also pertinent to be mentioned here. She struggles with fitting in because of her hijab, is the victim of a hate crime due to terrorist attacks abroad and gets asked Islamophobic questions repeatedly. I feel these were very well handled by NC and I hope they continue to do so.
Feminism has also been addressed in NC. Though not so much after the first season, and that frankly disappointed me a bit. The element was constantly there but I hope to see more of the feminist club that is shown in the beginning in seasons to come. The feminist club talks about some imperative issues and consent is a dialogue for the first season which I really appreciated. Maya stands up to the gamer club’s misogyny and declares herself a feminist, for which she gets hate, which is so relatable as a feminist on the internet today.
Period stigma is also shown which was quite a surprise since that is a topic that is barely ever, if addressed in the media especially in TV series and movies. And the slut shaming of Esme is also critical as it is done by her own classmates. “Girl on girl crime” as Grace points out. It is an example of how girls still shame other girls out of sheer insecurity.
Even though it’s not a huge deal and wasn’t one on the series either, the masturbation storyline involving the ambiguity around masturbation for girls and how Lola deals with it in the context of her friends is vital. It’s paramount to mention here that Lola’s abortion storyline was handled so smoothly and so well depicting her nervous emotions and how she has to deal with it alone. It was brave, beautiful and did wonders to Lola’s character development.
Yael’s gender fluidity was probably one of my favorite parts of the fourth season as Yael was so fearless in her pursuit of realizing they don’t fit into the dichotomous category of being a boy or a girl and embraces who they truly are. And deals with the backlash that comes with it, unfortunately, including her now ex-boyfriend Hunter who acts ignorantly. It was raw yet splendid.
Degrassi: Next Class is holistic, intelligible, provocative, and impressive. Honestly speaking, I’m a massive fan of the series (if you can’t already tell) and I can’t wait to watch more of it. I highly recommend it to everyone. It’s a great watch.
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