It is rare that in a youth series the protagonist does not forget to put on his shirt for at least half an episode, or that sexual relations are not part of most of the plots, or that drug use is not affected. These are characteristics that are repeated in the works of this genre that surprise no one. What no one had done until now is relate this kind of fiction to the films starring Ozores, Esteso, Pajares. Go for it.
This report arises during the viewing of ‘Pajares & CIA’, the documentary series produced by Producciones del Barrio, the company of Jordi Évole and Ramón Lara, for Atresplayer and which is responsible for vindicating the work and legacy of the comedian and the one who It was her artistic partner for years, Fernando Esteso. There is talk of the figures they achieved at the box office, of the ability of their films to connect with the present, of being uncovered.
It is at this last point where the complaints arise -because of the way in which women were turned into objects destined to crudely display their bodies-, the criticism -because of the different yardstick between the roles of actors and actresses and the physical ones and others- and the contextualizations -Spain had just come out of a dictatorship and wanted to party and boobs-.
It is then that the writer and filmmaker David Trueba makes a controversial and interesting observation: «The series now exploit young people, which is the youthful pseudo-nude plus the life of drugs. Those series, which are now very successful, are the same as the Ozores cinema, it is shamelessly exploiting what the industry asks for. They are girls in panties, boys in underpants with their drugs, their ecstasy… As in Ozores, they were the girls who showed their boobs », he affirms. It is a comment within the explanation of a past phenomenon, not a thesis on the current audiovisual.
However, it is not the first time -nor will it be the last- that fictions with adolescents are criticized for the abuse of unjustified nudity, the idealization of perfect bodies and fantasies about sex. One of the most commented details of the start of the second season of ‘Euphoria’ was the accumulation of penises that were seen in the first episode. ‘Elite’ has made this her flag. In each batch of chapters it seems to insist on surpassing itself when it comes to showing more types of sexual and affective relationships and showing the performers naked. «I claim the joy of desire», affirmed its creator a few days ago in an interview in ‘Fotogramas’, questioned by the way in which he tried to justify that only Apollonian bodies fit in his cast: «Are there sexy fat guys? I already tell you that I do have my audience. But why put viewers through the pain of seeing me in the shower? He refuses to comment, for this report, on the comparison that Trueba makes between the Ozores movies and the kind of works that he signs.
A simplistic reduction
Are youth series the current uncover cinema? I ask. “Comparing the current series with the uncovered movies of the 70s and 80s seems simplistic to me,” says the writer and screenwriter Manuel Ríos San Martín, who signed the quintessential Spanish youth series of the 90s, ‘Compañeros’. “We are in another era. That was another historic moment, “says Carlos García Miranda, screenwriter of, among others, ‘Physics and Chemistry: the reunion’ and ‘The protected ones’. «Youth fiction talks face to face with teenagers about a topic as important as sex. They have access to it through porn, where everything is more explicit. These series explain and bet on discovery, they are different points of view », he clarifies.
«Comparing the current series with the uncovering films of the 70-80s seems simplistic to me»
Manuel Rios San Martin
Responsible for ‘Companions’
«I think it is an unfortunate generalization, because it falls into the paternalism and condescension with which many approach the stories -literary, television and cinematographic- aimed at young audiences, without distinguishing between them and looking at them from prejudice and as if they were a whole indistinguishable”, argues Nando López, author of ‘The age of anger’, whose adaptation opens this Sunday, February 27, in Atresplayer. «Current juvenile audiovisual fiction tries to tell sex from a narrative point of view -as is the case with the nudes in ‘Euphoria’, which are not just «girls in panties and boys in underpants», but rather speak of a subject as important as the relationship complex that we maintain with our body and identity- and in which, in the case of the adolescent world, it is key to understanding its characters, “he adds.
«The point of view is now also feminine, the object of desire has changed. You just have to remember Mario Casas in ‘Three meters above the sky’, the one who is sexualized is the boy”, points out García Miranda, who defends these stories because “they try to solve the big question, who am I? with friends, in love and sex». «In my case, of course, I would have given anything to see a scene like the one starring Marcos, Sandra and Raúl in the pilot of ‘The Age of Wrath’. Surely seeing something like that would have helped me not to shut up and not demonize myself for my way of being and feeling. If there is an age where the search, assimilation and visibility of our sexuality is important, it is adolescence. And fiction can help offer references so that those who still feel fear or fear because they experience violence such as sexist or LGBTI-phobic violence in their family and personal environments, can make themselves visible and raise their voice. Treating the body and sex naturally is part of that necessary path towards a diverse, inclusive and respectful society that we are not yet”, adds Nando López.
«It can be related to the uncovering cinema because at that time being an adult in a Spain that came from treating its citizens with paternalism in more than one aspect was equivalent to being a sexual adolescent, with little practice, many doubts and many taboos », ditch Paloma Rando, screenwriter and television critic.
«There is a prudish look on the part of adults, who are then the main consumers. ‘Elite’ has been seen by all”, assumes García Miranda. “We live in an adult-centric society that looks down on everything that has to do with the adolescent world, including adolescence itself. That is why their problems are still not taken seriously, or the serious state of the mental health of a generation that has experienced two consecutive economic crises in its childhood and is now facing a pandemic. Unfortunately, adolescence is treated as second-class citizenship and this results in the culture that is aimed at them not being appreciated”, protests Nando López. “Perhaps there are those who look at these series with prejudice because if he got too close to them, wounds could open up that we have not been able to manage.”
Too much nudity?
Understanding the background of these works, let’s go with the form. Do you exceed the number of free nudes in these productions? «For me the issue is not if nudity is abused, but if there is something interesting to tell. The clearest example is ‘Euphoria’, an aesthetically wonderful but somewhat empty series. I’ve started it three times already and I can’t get it to interest me despite how well shot it is and some brilliant sequences. That does not mean that there is a prudish look in some sectors and also with the “in our time we did it better”, which is not attractive to me. “Now there are also interesting youth series like ‘The End of the F***ing World’, ‘Sex education’ or ‘Hit'”, lists San Martín.
«In the case of ‘The age of anger’, great care has been taken in how the self-discovery of the characters and their different personal experiences were told, so that they did not fall into gratuitous morbidity»
Nando Lopez
Responsible for ‘The Age of Rage’
“There are both adult and youth series that do look for a claim in the nude, but there are also others that seek to break taboos or even contribute with a favorable discourse against practices as painful for adolescents as ‘body shaming’ (mocking someone for the appearance of your body). ‘Sex Education’ or ‘Euphoria’ are clear and wonderful examples of this. In the case of ‘The age of anger’, great care has been taken in how the self-discovery of the characters and their different personal experiences were told, so that they did not fall into gratuitous morbidity. On the contrary, a poetic gaze has been pursued and that plays more with evocation than with the explicit, but neither in a tricky gaze that hides the truth, ”clarifies López.
A still from ‘The Age of Rage’.
Opinions are more discordant about how drugs are shown. “A curious effect is produced; Although there is an apparent denunciation in many of these series (we see the characters worn out and with broken lives), being aesthetically so attractive I think they generate the opposite of what they criticize, “says San Martín. «Fiction does not normalize: it only narrates. It is easier to believe that a series normalizes these addictions than to assume that we live immersed in them, in a society that has turned alcohol or drugs into something not only habitual but almost desirable, for example, and try to change it, “says López.
What is clear is that there is a real demand for series with teenagers and this is demonstrated if the catalog of networks and platforms is reviewed. “It has always happened, especially if they are mixed with mystery plots,” says García Miranda. «The series with mystery and with a lot of rhythm, beauty, drugs are attractive, there is no doubt. Beauty and the nude have been present throughout the history of art. We are not going to be surprised by that now. For me, what is really important is whether there is something to tell behind that aesthetic”, according to San Martín.
The cast of ‘Physics or Chemistry’.
On the latter, David Trueba speaks again: «These are products that are tailored to what the market asks for. Before, the one who left the money was a gentleman from Carpeto Veto who wanted to see women without clothes, now it is a younger audience who want to see plots of adolescents with drugs and transgressive sex», he reasons when I call him to tell him what his commentary on the Pajares documentary. “Have the writers been upset because of what I said?” he asks. They haven’t come that far, I clarify. “It’s not about blaming anyone, I just wanted to explain what I call” young exploitation “. At all times, the mass consumption product responds to operating parameters. The uncovering was abject, but we cannot deny that today there is a pseudo-uncovering », he repeats.
«These are products that are made very tailored to what the market asks for. Before, the one who left the money was a carpetovetonic gentleman who wanted to see ladies without clothes, now it is a younger audience who want to see plots of adolescents with drugs and transgressive sex