It’s 9 p.m. on a Sunday, and it seems as though everyone at Syracuse University is tuning into the same show: Euphoria. Every week, a new groundbreaking episode is released with its signature graphic and artistically aesthetic content. It’s a striking purple, glitter fantasy world that makes it hard to distinguish between reality and exaggeration, attracting audiences to come back every week.

Popularized by its controversial portrayal, Euphoria touches upon contemporary topics affecting teenagers, such as drug abuse, sexuality and relationship violence. While bringing awareness to these topics is important, it seems as though the message is not always received in the right ways by the audience it primarily targets, young adults.

SU students watching the show should keep in mind the reality of the situations Euphoria portrays while also remembering the sensitivity of the topics before adopting them into popular culture.

The show provides an important outlet for many different audiences, including those seeking to see their realities represented, those looking to understand a new generation and those who have felt silenced and judged. However, it is really easy for some viewers to fall into the glamorized side of the show and consume only the “pretty” aspects of it, such as its trend-setting fashion, makeup and soundtrack choices.

SU director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture Robert Thompson said that it is easy to be captivated by the attractiveness of the artform and forget the complexities of the concept “we are what we watch.”

“It’s not exactly like ‘Oh, I would really like to have all of that happen to me.’ Nevertheless, these characters are pretty, compelling and striking. So, there is a sense that you get drawn into this world,” Thompson said. “For all the bad lifestyle choices that we see on Euphoria, they sure look cool while they’re doing them.”

It is precisely the beauty of the show that sometimes leads to the misinterpretation of the message. Recent trends surrounding the show on various platforms are related to the makeup and clothes the actors are wearing other than the message it is trying to convey. SU freshmen Kabilayan Rudrakumaran and Avery Lieberman described how their experience as viewers has been in comparison to how the general audience is receiving it.

“I have not seen anything on TikTok talking about the deep issues on the show,” Rudrakumaran said. “The general theme is about what they were wearing, and that’s not what the show is talking about.”

The social commentary surrounding the show amongst these platforms, especially TikTok, demonstrates desensitization to the show’s sincerity. It is as though viewers disregard the show’s recognition of the casualness of drug use or relationship violence nowadays. Young audiences should be mindful of how they receive and transform this media.

“When people put glitter on their eyes and say ‘I’m doing Euphoria,’ it’s just taking an inch off the top of what the whole show should be about and is trying to be about,” Lieberman said. “It is romanticizing trauma and pain.”

The same applies to the idea of using the show’s party settings as themes for events. It has become a recent trend to host Euphoria-themed parties, which just sounds counterintuitive. One almost wonders if one of the “tips” to recreate these dazzling parties will be to provide everyone with an ounce.

Within a college setting, how students are widely popularizing these themes can become complex. There is the side that suggests that the show’s creation of awareness could help some students leave their abusive relationships or seek help about their drug use. But there is also the side that the show could introduce students to toxic behaviors that will make them want to experiment with these dangerous things.

Sometimes the show’s inconsistency contributes to this complexity. In one episode, the main character, Rue, might be dealing with the pains of withdrawal in a very realistic, anxiety-inducing way, leaving viewers distressed. But in another episode, Rue might be giving a presentation on how to get away with being a drug addict.

“Euphoria does a really good job at showing how complicated the issues are. I don’t know if it shows how to best manage the situations,” Lieberman said.

The message’s inconsistency is also prevalent in other issues the show portrays that seem to have been forgotten, possibly communicating that they are not as important. SU freshman Morgan Meddings said that she was confused when she saw certain storylines just disappear from the show.

“I feel like they’re cherry-picking certain storylines, giving them more weight. But because of that, they’re glossing over other serious topics, like Kat’s body image and Cassie’s abortion,” Meddings said.

It is the inconsistency, the aesthetic and the reality of Euphoria that make it a multi-layered show that prompts very individualistic interpretations. Not every viewer reacts in the same way, and not every viewer handles the density of the topics in the same way. That is why adopting the show’s fashionable culture remains contradictory to the message it is trying to transmit, which is something not just SU students, but all viewers should be wary of.

Karla Perez is a freshman magazine, news and digital journalism major. Her column appears biweekly. She can be reached at ksperezd@syr.edu.

Published on February 14, 2022 at 9:01 pm