Show Me Your Skins (1st Meditation)

Have you ever wondered what life is like for British teenagers in the city of Bristol, England who aren’t afraid to live on the edge? Probably not, but you should. Skins is a television series that has been around since 2007 and started airing here in the U.S. in 2008. Skins was one of the first original programs for the e4 Network in the U.K. It follows the lives of eight teenagers who are equivalent to the age of juniors in high school here. Only they are unlike any junior I knew while I was in high school. They are strung into lives of heavy drinking, use of marijuana and prescription drugs (and less often things like cocaine, and ecstasy), and casual sex.

Skins first draws you in through your limbic brain by their theme song. There are no lyrics, but the music has a nice beat, and is a surprisingly cheery tune when most of the episodes have dark undertones. And through out the episode you are caused to think. Skins covers many deep issues, from Chris’s addiction to any pill he can get his hand on, Cassie’s suicidal tendencies and never quite gone eating disorder, Tony’s manipulation, Anwar’s struggle with faith and his best friend’s sexual orientation, and Jal’s struggle to overcome stereotypes. You use your neocortex brain to the max. Also, sex and fighting are prevalent issues throughout the series, which ties into the reptilian brain a little bit.

Through watching the show you get a strong sense of emotional transfer. You feel for the characters, and to this day it’s one of the only shows that I’ve felt so bad for the characters that I’ve cried. There’s also the unintended, hopefully, that partying like the characters is okay to do and still get by in life, which for most people doesn’t work. Also, the production techniques that are used are relatively low-key and it doesn’t seem over the top and ridiculous, but is still a well-made show. There is also the use of plain folks within the show, because the characters don’t seem elitist, and seem like people you could be friends with.