Melissa Mongi delights in Degrassi

By Melissa Mongi
Collegian Staff
April 12, 2006

I’ve always thought of myself as fairly cultured. I’m a decent student; I’m involved in the theater; and I like literature, poetry and museums; all things that make me feel as if I have at least some understanding of the arts. That being said, I have recently lowered my standards.

Melissa enjoys watching Degrassi on a weekly basis. Courtesy of Melissa Mongi.

I’ve become addicted to one of the most poorly written and acted television shows today. I’m guilty—-I love Degrassi.

However, I didn’t know I was heartless until I started watching this show. Every episode, with its main cast of characters, brings me countless reasons to laugh at what are supposed to be serious issues. Is it the poor acting? Is it the funny Canadian accents? Is it the terrible writing? I can’t decide what makes issues that should be horrible seem so hilarious.

During my four years of high school I never casually threw into a conversation a recap of the time I totaled my boyfriend’s car trying to get away from a potential rapist. Albeit, I don’t have any stories that come close to that situation, but at Degrassi High, this type of conversation flows freely. The result is my laughter. Then, I check myself. Am I evil, with no compassion? Do I like their pain? The answer, of course, is yes—Degrassi brings out the worst in me.

The issues on the show are honest ones. I understand that things, in life, do go wrong, but it seems at Degrassi High, nothing ever goes right. Even love isn’t happy for very long. Everyone has dated everyone at Degrassi High, so there is never any real hope when a cute couple comes around, because inevitably early in the relationship, the guy will start selling prescription drugs so he can raise money for the apartment they need to move to when the girl tells her parents she’s pregnant and they kick her out. Soon after, the relationship will probably end. Worse yet, the girl will struggle with the bigger issue because, to quote Degrassi directly, “No one wants a student council president who is in her third trimester.”

No one has fun at Degrassi High and I love it, the ridiculousness of it all: the drama, bad timing, lack of compassion and awkward situations in which the characters embroil themselves.

I could talk forever about Degrassi, but it’s nearing that special time of night where it comes on Nogin and I remember how great my life is. Thank you, Degrassi, for making me happy, heartless and less cultured.

mongim1@lasalle.edu