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Growing up as a 90’s child, our generation has been introduced to many favorable teen dramas and quality after-school specials that have made a huge impact on us today. Whether it’s the cringe-worthy first kisses, the awkward “birds and the bees” lectures, or even just the funny quotes we hold dear to our hearts, teen dramas have a way of sneaking up behind us and catching our attention. Degrassi: The Next Generation was one of the most influential among teen dramas. It was the longest-running series on the network, Nogin’s popular teen-targeted network The N, later known as TeenNick.
Degrassi: The Next Generation was a reboot that followed years after the end of the series Degrassi High. It’s previous other installments of the franchise that started in the late seventies. Degrassi: The Next Generation ran from 2001 to 2015, only to be replaced by Degrassi: Next Class. The series follows at least a dozen students from different grades that attend the school Degrassi.
Degrassi is known for its relationships, drama, excitement, and overall entertainment. We watch as our favorite characters get older and either graduate, drop out, get expelled, or, my personal least favorite, completely phase out the series altogether. But most importantly, we watch them go through serious and relevant situations that apply to teens in real life. Sometimes, our show may take those situations a little too literal and may not have provided us with the real-life lessons we actually needed.
An After School Special Gone Wrong
It’s no surprise Degrassi: The Next Generation, being a teen drama, would incorporate dating struggles, peer pressure, difficulty with fitting in, insecurities, bullying, and much more to create relatable storylines with issues that most teenagers have battled with. But the thing that stands out about this series is how much more it digs into real-life topics. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, to say the least. Some of our characters endure substance abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, STDs, suicide, and even homicide.
There’s almost no subject Degrassi hasn’t covered in it’s few generations of running. Most of Degrassi’s fans over the years have felt the weight of the show’s heavy topics on our shoulders and have even cried along with the characters. And although these topics are relevant and important to discuss, Degrassi put its own spin on how these scenarios would play out in real life, potentially scarring some of us along the way.
The Plot Of Terri MacGregor & Rick
One of our characters, Terri MacGregor, deals with a handful of issues, including being fat-shamed, being stuck in the middle of her friends fighting, being told she’s not good enough, and having to dress a certain way to please her friend Paige Michalchuk. Terri is a straightforward, gentle soul with a love for acting and hanging out with her closest friends. But unfortunately, one of the most difficult and triggering topics falls to her character: physical abuse.
Rick Murray is known for a few tragic events in the series. One being Terri’s ex-boyfriend and physical abuser. Rick entered the show as Terri’s secret admirer and is initially portrayed as a nice, shy fellow with an innocent crush. He sends Terri anonymous roses, taping them to her locker until he eventually gets caught in-process and proceeds to ask Terri out. Flash forward to their next featured episode, both Terri and Rick take part in an English assignment to do an acting scene. Jimmy Brooks, one of the most popular characters on Degrassi, is given the responsibility as director for their short play. Terri receives the main role in the play, given her experience and love for acting. However, Rick becomes controlling over her performance and even jealous of Jimmy praising Terri’s acting.
During the episode, Rick and Terri get into a small argument that takes a turn when Rick hits Terri. Terri is taken back at first and even forgives Rick. But by the end, Rick’s jealousy and anger towards her friends becomes too much when Terri takes Jimmy’s side for why the play didn’t end well and said she needs space from Rick. As a result, Terri and Rick get into yet another argument, and Rick slams Terri into a wall. This time Terri refuses to give Rick another chance and vows never to allow him to touch her again.
As much as we wanted to believe Terri would stick to her word, Rick finds a way to creep back into her life. After forgiving Rick for the second time, Terri brings Rick along on a road trip with her friends Spinner, Hazel, Jimmy, and Paige. After expressing her concern for Terri, Paige and Rick get into a verbal fight and start calling each other names. In an effort to warn Terri of his harmful behavior, Paige calls Rick out for his previous actions.
A Conclusion? Or A Redemption?
Rick storms off in the heat of the moment, and Terri takes Rick’s side, causing her and Paige to argue. Terri goes after Rick, only to find him pacing around and kicking cement blocks out of frustration. Terri pleads with Rick to go back, telling him it wasn’t a big deal, but Rick sees that as Terri taking Paige’s side. He retaliates by trying to force her to stay with him and pushes her to the ground. But Terri’s headlands on a cement block, which knocks her out cold.
Paige starts to worry when Terri doesn’t return after going after Rick. Spinner and Paige decide to see where they are, only to find Rick hovering over Terri on the ground with her blood on his hands. Rick runs away, leaving Paige and Spinner to call for help. The blow to Terry’s head was so hard she went into a comma. Unfortunately, the last scene we ever see her character in is lying in a hospital bed, bruised and unconscious. Rick is expelled from Degrassi, but to our surprise, his expulsion was only temporary.
Most Degrassi fans question why the writers gave us no conclusion to this story or a redeeming ending for Terri. She was the victim of assault, yet her character is removed from the show entirely, and her abuser is still allowed back into Degrassi the following year. Allowing Terri’s story to slip through the cracks felt sloppy to most but also very triggering. With such a serious storyline, fans expected some closure for what happened to Terri. Instead, we painfully watch as the series continues as if her character seldom existed when she played such an inspirational and honest friend to everyone. Was this the lesson Degrassi wanted teens to learn the hard way?
The Degrassi Shooting
After season four of Degrassi: The Next Generation premiered, you couldn’t talk about the series without mentioning the devastating shooting that occurred in the school’s own halls. Back up to the beginning of the season, Rick Murray is welcomed back to Degrassi despite having put Terri MacGregor into a comma. Because of Rick’s abusive past, he endures a lot of casual bullying from several students on a daily basis. Spinner, in particular, wants revenge for Terri and goes out of his way to make sure Rick’s life is a living hell.
This season got a lot of attention when Rick is pushed too far and brings a gun to school. Rick befriends Toby Issacs, a fellow Degrassi character who also finds himself being bullied, especially after becoming Rick’s ally.
Because of Toby’s friendship, Rick is able to join the school’s quiz show where he becomes friends with Emma Nelson and acquainted with Jimmy Brooks, who previously joined in on bullying him. Toby, Emma, Jimmy, and Rick compete against another school in the quiz show, which is broadcasted to every classroom and takes place in front of an audience of some Degrassi students and faculty members. When Rick is put in the lightning round, he stands at the front of the stage and pulls out a win for his team. After his victory, Rick wasn’t expecting to be covered in yellow paint and feathers as he stood there facing the crowd. Spinner and a few friends had conspired to humiliate Rick during his shining moment.
The Escalation
After being mortified in front of his classmates and rejected by his crush Emma, Rick goes home to retrieve his family’s gun. When Rick returns, he has a short internal list of potential victims. But after Paige confronts Rick and apologizes for what happened, Rick finally apologizes to her for what he did to Terri. At that moment, Rick runs off to the bathroom and tries to compose himself. Viewers were unclear if that meant he wasn’t going through with the shooting until Spinner and one of his accomplices, Jay walk into the bathroom.
Rick quietly runs into a stall to hide, but Jay recognizes his paint-covered shoes. Jay intentionally plants false information for Rick to overhear, blaming the paint and feathers prank on Jimmy. Shortly after, Jimmy is confronted by Rick. Jimmy tries to comfort Rick and apologizing for what his bullies did, but Rick tells Jimmy he was the one who stabbed him in the back. Rick pulls out his gun and closes his eyes before shooting. Jimmy tries to escape but ends up getting shot in the back, paralyzing him from the waist down.
Students in the halls start to flee for their lives as Rick strolls down the halls, gun in hand. Emma, Toby, and their friend Sean freeze in place as Rick comes towards them. He demands they stay put, making it known Emma is his next target. He informs them he already shot another student and proceeds to pull his trigger but is stopped just in time by Sean. They wrestle for the gun for a moment before the trigger is accidentally set off, killing Rick in the process.
This was one of the most memorable and disturbing stories in Degrassi. Although school shootings are relevant in today’s society, we never expected to see so much chaos on our beloved show. To watch as the shooter’s life was tragically taken makes it even that more powerful and scary. Although Sean successfully saved Emma, it cost Rick to lose his life instead of being apprehended and was deemed a heroic move on Sean’s part. But some fans feel as though the real justice would be taking Rick into custody so he may receive some rehabilitation.
Fans were also confused as to why the school didn’t take Rick’s bullying more seriously in the first place. Ultimately, the school does share some of the blame for what happened. The story might’ve gone too far from a realistic point of view. The entire episode escalated very quickly, and the story made some viewers feel as though we might not always receive it when we reach out for help.
Representation In Degrassi
Degrassi provided us with several serious and relatable issues that positively impacted our way of thinking. But one thing lacking at the beginning of the series was its diversity. And with few characters of color, you would think Degrassi would give them equal attention to the other characters, but that wasn’t always the case. We typically watched as the white characters relied on their black friends or friends of color for support but often didn’t give them the same respect back.
For example, Hazel Aden is one character, being a woman of color, who got almost no attention despite being an important “supporting” character and always being around for other characters’ stories. In fact, in Hazel’s one-story, we actually see her bully another student for being Muslim and wearing a hijab in school. What’s strange is that Hazel’s only storyline was about her own ethnical identity as a Muslim woman herself and learning how to be open and accepting about that part of her life. It felt as if they reduced her character’s identity down to her race, and besides being apart of other character’s episodes, she was never given her own positive redemption. She was just known for her past relationship with Jimmy and seen as the mean girl sidekick and not given a chance to be more than that. Not to mention, once her class graduates, it’s as if her character’s existence was no longer relevant to her so-called best friends.
Jimmy Brooks was another character robbed after being put in his wheelchair by Rick Murray. Being the only black male character at the time, it seemed strange he was the one picked to play a disabled student. It felt to fans like they didn’t mind hindering some of Jimmy’s opportunities in the show. Although his character did receive many of his own episodes, he still spent most of his airtime sharing it with his white friends and fixing their problems instead of his own. And in return, Jimmy didn’t always receive the same support, especially from his best friend Spinner.
Fatphobia In Degrassi
One crucial point brought to us by Degrassi: fat-shaming and it’s harm. There was quite a bit of controversy when it came to fat-shaming in the show because the characters who typically played the ones being shamed weren’t considered fat by societal standards. In fact, people found it insulting because not only were the characters on the smaller side, they themselves weren’t very tolerant of fat people either.
Terri MacGregor was one of the characters portrayed as plus size. In the early seasons, Terri came out as a plus-size model to reject her friend’s compliments because it felt insulting to her. There was even a student who called her names and taunted her for being “bigger.” In the end, Terri accepted herself and found beauty in her own skin. But fans still felt uneased by this because Terri would never be considered big in today’s society. It was a confusing episode with a strange message that really didn’t stick well with many fans. As much as fans liked Terri, most would’ve preferred real representation from an actual plus-size woman.
Another character who was ridiculed for her size was Manny Santos. Manny is a student at Degrassi whose dream is to become a famous actress one day. In her efforts to achieve that goal, Manny finds herself an agent and lands an audition with her to see if she’s the right fit. Manny decides to splurge on some tight, revealing clothing that makes her appear more mature for her age before her appointment. When she arrives for her audition, the agent is immediately put off by Manny’s appearance. After the audition, her agent applauds her performance but didn’t seem to think Manny was special enough to be an actress just yet.
Manny Santos In Degrassi
Before leaving, she gave Manny a piece of advice to essentially lose weight before coming back. Manny is heartbroken and feels insecure and defeated. This drives her to want to alter her body and even receive a boob job to become what agencies are looking for. Manny is another example of a girl who’s clearly on the slimmer side being depicted as big and curvy. What confused most fans was how many times Manny is referred to as big and even refers to herself as curvy.
There was even an episode in the same season where Manny and Emma try to lose weight in an extremely unhealthy manner and Emma becomes anorexic in the process. It was alarming to watch them succeed in losing weight by essentially starving themselves but what felt even stranger was how no one cared when Manny did it because she stopped before getting sick. She was no longer a focus despite how dangerous her actions were.
During season five, Manny is both fat-shamed and starves herself to lose weight, but during that same season she even casually fat shames other women’s weight. During a school carnival, Manny is asked if she wants to have her weight guessed. When she complies, the student guesses one hundred and forty pounds. Instead of telling him, he’s wrong, she gets offended and replies by saying, “maybe if she was carrying an entire eight-year-old.” Nothing came from her response, however watching that episode and seeing how upset she became felt very offensive and made viewers feel as if it wasn’t normal to be that weight or even larger. It felt as if her character was projecting and the message was more harmful than intended.
How Realistic Is This?
One thing Degrassi struggled with from time to time was how realistic it’s content was. Although Degrassi is set in its own drama-filled world, it still is supposed to be relatable for teens who struggle with similar issues. But then again, it’s stories tend to sweep certain situations under the rug, never to be explained again. These occurrences are hard to follow if they’re not probably explained to their audience.
An example of this would be Rick Murray being allowed back into Degrassi after physically abusing another student and putting her in a life-threatening coma. Most of us would agree that situation would be doubtful. Or how Spinner was also allowed back at Degrassi after being expelled when he came clean about the shooting being his and Jay’s fault. Apparently, Degrassi is a very forgiving school. But how many negative scenarios can they spin and call realistic?
The Degrassi Hit & Run
During season six, characters Sean Cameron and Peter Stone become determined to beat each other in a street race after Emma cheats on Peter with Sean, and Peter gets Sean expelled by planting weed in his locker. They meet up for a race at night to see whose the fasted, but it didn’t end well for our characters as you may have predicted. Sean accidentally hits a man with his car going pretty fast. Instead of helping Peter and Jay, who were there routing Sean on, Jay tells Sean to flee the scene, so he doesn’t go to jail.
Sean decides to hide out in Emma’s house before coming clean to the authorities and going to jail. However, Sean only spends maybe a few months there before being released with almost no repercussions. Despite the fact that the man survived, Sean most likely wouldn’t have gotten a slap on the wrist after a hit and run. This felt sloppy for Degrassi to not explain how that was possible and give teens the impression that committing a serious crime won’t always have serious consequences.
J.T. Yorke At “The Degrassi Party”
A very well known episode of Degrassi takes place in season six. Emma and Manny decide to throw a birthday party for their friend Liberty. During the course of the party, Degrassi’s rival school, the Lakers, crash and decide to pull a few annoying pranks on some of the Degrassi students. After they’re kicked out, a few of the Lakers students linger around the house. While that occurs, one of Degrassi’s fan favorites, J.T. Yorke, is talking with Liberty about her special day.
Liberty and J.T. dated for a while throughout the series and even had a baby together that was later given up for adoption. Liberty decides to tell J.T. she still loves him, but her feelings aren’t reciprocated at that moment, causing her to storm off. After deciding to go after Liberty, J.T. goes to his car and is greeted by a couple of Lakers students peeing on it. He tells them that’s really funny and proceeds to unlock his car, but one of the boys didn’t like his mocking tone and stabbed J.T. in the back. Liberty walks up as the Laker students flee away and scream for help. Sadly, J.T.’s life ended from the puncture.
What seemed unrealistic is the sudden provocation the Laker’s student felt at that moment. J.T. didn’t say much after they peed on his car. He barely paid them any mind. Yet the student felt enticed enough to stab J.T., ending his life in the process. The episode felt real, and everything else was executed almost perfectly, except for that student’s motivation for wanting to hurt J.T. Drinking, being involved or not, that didn’t seem like something that would happen so suddenly.
What Can We Actually Take From Degrassi: The Next Generation?
Being such an inspiring and captivating show, Degrassi sure doesn’t hold back when it comes to hard topics, whether we like it or not. The students not only dive into their drama at school but even their baggage at home as well. They face mental illness, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, racism, and overall intolerance. Degrassi really has pretty much covered it all. The question is, did these instances have a positive effect on us or teach us to accept ignorance in our society?
Overall, Degrassi: The Next Generation does its best to reach out to teens and try to help them by telling us that things can work out for the best if we stay positive and accept help when needed. Degrassi may have its flaws and controversies, but we see some growth in development and inclusion over the years. It’s important to remember that despite how relatable any television show may seem, it’s just a show. At the end of the day, after school specials should only have so much effect on us and how we think.
