Season 1, Episode 3: "College Bored"
Nov 26, 2013 14:42:33 GMT -5
Douay-Rheims-Challoner and Roy Batty's Pet Dove like this
Post by drunkneildiamond on Nov 26, 2013 14:42:33 GMT -5
First of all, sorry it's late! Life stuff got in the way over the weekend and Monday.
It seems like such a cliché to say “growing up sucks,” but it does. Jake and Helen have to come to terms with the fact that their daughters are growing up and will leave them. Daria and Quinn have to come to terms with the fact that they can’t stay in high school forever. “College Bored” takes the Morgendorffers out of their element (home/school) and shows them what’s beyond it.
The students have their own ideas of what life beyond high school will be like. The fantasies of Kevin, Brittney, and Quinn aren’t that much different from their high school lives—just with (relatively) more glamour. But while Kevin and Brittney do see themselves aspiring to something (football star and model, respectively), Quinn sees herself as doing the same thing (getting men to fight over her), just in a different location. Jane wants to get the hell out of Lawndale and have her art recognized. Daria wants to skip both her undergraduate and graduate experience…only to find that, instead of being recognized for her brilliance, is getting screwed over. She asks herself, “How come even in my fantasies everyone’s a jerk?”
When the episode gets to Middleton, we see Jake and Helen struggling to come to terms with their lost youth. Jake wants to be cool and Helen wants to be sexy. Both try to let their hair down, but they realize that they’ve grown up and matured (more or less). Daria and Quinn, on the other hand, see more of the same. Daria sees college students (even doctoral students!) as not much smarter (if that) than high school students. Quinn realizes that she can get college men to do what she wants, even if they’re slightly more resistant.
By the time the students get back in the classroom, the student with the most positive experience was Britney. She was amazed that she could read her poetry and that people were interested in it. Once again, we see that Britney is more than a ditsy cheerleader—she has ambitions of her own and she maybe just needs someone to recognize her particular talents.
Notes
• This episode’s song list: web.archive.org/web/20120512035707/http://www.outpost-daria.com/song_list_1.html#ep103
• Jake’s pride at Daria making the college students pay for their papers in cash always makes me laugh.
• “The book title Sons and Lovers doesn’t have an apostrophe in it. Anywhere.”
It seems like such a cliché to say “growing up sucks,” but it does. Jake and Helen have to come to terms with the fact that their daughters are growing up and will leave them. Daria and Quinn have to come to terms with the fact that they can’t stay in high school forever. “College Bored” takes the Morgendorffers out of their element (home/school) and shows them what’s beyond it.
The students have their own ideas of what life beyond high school will be like. The fantasies of Kevin, Brittney, and Quinn aren’t that much different from their high school lives—just with (relatively) more glamour. But while Kevin and Brittney do see themselves aspiring to something (football star and model, respectively), Quinn sees herself as doing the same thing (getting men to fight over her), just in a different location. Jane wants to get the hell out of Lawndale and have her art recognized. Daria wants to skip both her undergraduate and graduate experience…only to find that, instead of being recognized for her brilliance, is getting screwed over. She asks herself, “How come even in my fantasies everyone’s a jerk?”
When the episode gets to Middleton, we see Jake and Helen struggling to come to terms with their lost youth. Jake wants to be cool and Helen wants to be sexy. Both try to let their hair down, but they realize that they’ve grown up and matured (more or less). Daria and Quinn, on the other hand, see more of the same. Daria sees college students (even doctoral students!) as not much smarter (if that) than high school students. Quinn realizes that she can get college men to do what she wants, even if they’re slightly more resistant.
By the time the students get back in the classroom, the student with the most positive experience was Britney. She was amazed that she could read her poetry and that people were interested in it. Once again, we see that Britney is more than a ditsy cheerleader—she has ambitions of her own and she maybe just needs someone to recognize her particular talents.
Notes
• This episode’s song list: web.archive.org/web/20120512035707/http://www.outpost-daria.com/song_list_1.html#ep103
• Jake’s pride at Daria making the college students pay for their papers in cash always makes me laugh.
• “The book title Sons and Lovers doesn’t have an apostrophe in it. Anywhere.”
