West Springfield High School Newspaper

The Oracle

West Springfield High School Newspaper

The Oracle

West Springfield High School Newspaper

The Oracle

Baby bumps overwhelm daytime TV

When I flip on the TV and see “Teen Mom” or “Sixteen and Pregnant,” I can barely help my eyes from glazing over. MTV, I expected just a little more from you.

Juno was great. You can’t resist the quirky mommy-to-be with her hamburger phone and quick comebacks. But the teen pregnancy act had its run. Now it’s just banal and clichéd.

Not that “The Secret Life of the American Teenager” did not give a good hard try. The acting was superb and I totally believe that the awkward, stuttering prone Ben knocked up Adrian, the school’s hottest color guard. Now there are upwards of three characters with positive pregnancy tests from the relatively small cast list, two of which are in the same family. It is on ABC Family, so I suppose they were just trying to create a big one.

But “The Secret Life” is not the only to join the trend. Even “Glee” has used pregnancy at least twice in one season to create plot twist, which is disappointing because “Glee” is otherwise original.

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I cannot blame today’s TV for using it as a plot-device. It creates drama easily, making screenwriter’s jobs fairly easy.

But I can only watch that course of event so many times. The obstacles are basically all the same. Our protagonist deals with let down parents, the baby’s daddy, money and balancing school/work/baby. These movies and programs rarely offer inspiration.

Sometimes parents claim love conquers all their hardships, but mostly they just complain. Every time that I have tuned in, everyone spends the entire time whining. I would not be surprised if their baby’s first words were a complaint.

I am not trying to be unsympathetic. I understand the hardships that come with being a young parent are stressful and no walk in the park. It is hard to raise children when you are still a child yourself. But that does not mean I want to witness it all the time.

What really bothers me is that there will be aspiring young girls who think, “If I get pregnant, I might get my own T.V. show” which is not a message we should be sending.

Also, doesn’t it kind of bother you that there are all these cameramen and directors just watching a sixteen-year-old struggle with a crying infant? I get that they signed a contract, but wouldn’t they feel guilty? Maybe a little dirty, making money of the pains of an ill equipped teenager.

If you want to watch another teenager get pregnant, be my guest. As for me, I am going to keep my eyes open for a new, fresh show. Preferably one without child.

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