26 Comments

I don't care about its lauded conceptual 'honesty' and 'innovation'; I don't care about its remarkably effective marketing campaigns. Skins is properly fucking up enough 15-year old minds (aka younger sisters) to scare me. I've talked to kids in schools who think this is what "everyone else's" life is like, and who feel like they're missing out. Does that not freak anyone else out?
Nathan David Smith
2009-01-07 03:02:17

scary...
Francisco
2009-01-07 11:40:30

I'm by no means a liberal, but this really is fucked up. Someone is hugely taking the piss on this one and deserve to get a proper spanking from the regulators.
Simon Coxon
2009-01-07 12:02:40

Absolutely agree Nathan. It's one thing to document that things like this do happen, another thing to magnify it and condense it into a programme, let alone an ad and another thing altogether to glamourise and celebrity-ise it.

E4 is one of the best youth brands in the UK, it is indeed worrying that either they do not know how much influence they have or not taking responsibility for the effect of programming like skins.
Huw Tyler
2009-01-07 12:16:43

(btw - teenagers always feel like they are missing out) I'm glad i did not see a show like Skins around 7 years ago when I was 17: Exploration is vital to growing up and this rasies a bar in expectations of people who will watch this as something to live up to.

Teenagers already have a great deal of pressure from every area of their life, its not a part of my life I would wish to do again and i didnt do half of what they were up to in this promo. Partying a fraction of this at any age would inprision the best of us and kill the rest.
chris
2009-01-07 13:09:08

I wish there were more quality programmes such as skins when i was a teenager!

Drink, drugs and sex in public toilets is all part of society, from teenagers to 30+ marrieds with children.

If the programme is as influential as it is made out to be, no teenager will get to see it as they'll all be out starting riots in pubs!
Ian C
2009-01-07 14:07:52

And there was me thinking neil gorringe was a promo director employed by e4.

Looks nice etc but it is somewhat irresposible. But we all know thats the idea – court a bit of controversy, eh?
aardvark
2009-01-07 17:22:43

i'm assuming as this is the directors cut some of the more controversial elements will be cut out for airing post the simpsons etc. Also for those worried that Britains youth are going to take pills down their local pub, get hammered and then trash the place - keep your hair on.

Looks like a brilliant series, I for one can't wait.

It reminds me a little of Larry Clarks depiction of New York youth in Kids. I watched that when I was younger and fear not I didn't follow the path of the lead character Telly (An amoral, HIV-positive skateboarder intent on deflowering as many virgins as possible)
the egg man
2009-01-07 18:49:55

i do agree with the general flow that this promo in particular is charged with cynicsm, selfishness and negativity. of course most teens have been taught life values and won't go 'i wanna be like them on skins' but the promotion does get under your, uh, skin. I am seriously worried about young teenagers watching, because it's brilliantly shot, editied and sound-crafted - therefore very emotionally connecting. There will always be a minority that will be negativly affected - but maybe i'm over sensitive as i'm a secondary school teacher.
i guess bottom line is everyone makes a choice for themsleves, and my line is i wouldn't let my teens watch it.
mrswardster
2009-01-07 20:04:32

Bloody marvelous. Im 17, avid skins watcher and I will watch the newer, slightly more 'hardcore' series.. and i think, drugs are up to you to decide and so is rioting in down your local. Give us 'kids' a break, its tv. We're not all that irresponsible and stupid to get swayed by it.
Becka
2009-01-08 10:39:32

Ah, brings back happy memories of my teenage years...NOT!
Wooly Walnut
2009-01-08 12:39:16

@ Becka: Speak for yourself... wish I could have said the same about myself and my friends a few years ago!
Nathan David Smith
2009-01-08 13:01:26

Jesus, who let the old folk out.
Brilliant promo... just a bit of a pity the shows never live up to their marketing.
damien smith
2009-01-08 16:19:51

Sadly, the truth is that your average teenager who worries about global warming, about employment and getting a future for themseleves, who gives money to the poor, who does'nt do drugs, won't spit at teachers or use invective every second word, who has a good relationship with their parents and possibly even believes in God apparently just don't make exciting enough TV. Stability, reality and good nature are just not damn sexy enough for the program makers who instead glamourise the extremes because they assume it will get the viewing figures up and a good bit of PR.
Stuart Boreham
2009-01-08 16:44:58

Funny, how if you don't agree with this sort of thing, YOU are considered old or boring.

I just wish they'd all jumped to their deaths at the end and we could have been rid.

This assault on the senses, the legitimising of their behaviour is subliminal fodder to an already stressed out youth. Not getting any of this action? Tough. You are losers. Lets add to the disaffection big time and blast it out into the bedrooms throughout the land. Foul.
Grumpy YOUNG man
2009-01-08 17:21:04

tries.so.very.hard.
there was me thinking that getting teenagers excited by smashing things up, swearing and shagging became passe some days after the pistols went on the bill grundy show
westwayvista
2009-01-08 17:52:14

This is a masterful piece of filmmaking, granted.

But there is something wrong with it.

Why do we celebrate an ugly small society? I was involved in the punk/underground story in 1977 - 1980, and that was at least "about" something. This is random stupidity raised on a shopping mall escalator to the level of art.

Art in filmmaking, yet.

But the deep content is of no value, so the work of art is as well.

The content is as shallow as the beer in an upturned pint glass.

After numerous viewings, I feel that any sense of responsibility or cause or stance was jettisoned. This jadedness is the antithesis of revolution.

I would say, "Apathy is passé. If you have nothing to say, say nothing, don't make an artistic film that abrogates totally any responsibility for redemption."

I'm just saying . . .

Cheers,

Susi
Susi Johnston
2009-01-08 18:38:53

Funny how as soon as someone makes a film that reflects the brutal side to society, admittedly explicit in this promo, people wave their arms about bad influence and unnecessary violence. this kind of thing actually happens in real life. kids are like this, this promo merely pushes it into the extreme.

The reference to Larry Clarke was spot on - are we happy about this kind of violence that goes on every night in Britain? no we are not. but that doesn't mean it can't be portrayed in the artistic world.

Besides, this is clearly adult material, as is Skins. don't be fooled by the teenage subject matter. There is a reason why it is on after the watershed. Anyone who allows their younger children/teens to watch this is part of a bigger problem. But that's a whole other censorship argument.

No there is no 'message' or 'inner meaning'. but this itself is the message - these kids are screwed up, their behaviour makes no sense. 'Smack My Bitch Up' video, 'Stress' video, 'Man Bites Dog' movie - these films take senseless violence and throw it on the screen for the world to see.

We cannot censor ourselves because people are stupid enough to be influenced by fantasies they see on the television. Most of us know the difference between fiction and non-fiction, between sensationalised advertising and the real world. To demand art to accurately portray real life would be to negate the very purpose of art itself.

Now, where's my pint?
Brucie Bonus
2009-01-08 22:10:22

Grumpy Young Man... I would say the suggestion was old in mind if not in body.. Reading the majority of the posts here is like a particularly dull copy of the Daily Mail.

Its a TV Show.. a fictional show about a bunch of kids who are a bit mental.. there seems to be far too much tutting at the 'irresponsibility' of broadcasters..

It doesn't matter if you don't like it, its probably not aimed at you, thankfully there is still a minor shred of quality and variety in UK viewing output which allows for there to be shows that some people feel go too far.. we're not far off a state of complete sanitisation.. look at the listings for any day this week.. dull as dishwater from start to finish.

Shows like I'm A Celebrity, X factor and the current brain dead exercise - Big Brother (and every other identikit pointless Z-list trash wagon) are probably doing much more damage to young minds.. filling them with a mindless churn of crap until they all end up so bloated they're unable to peel themselves from the sofa to go and order a McDonalds, let alone score some pills and trash the local...

I think this Skins promo rocks.. Its well shot, entertaining, and (although I agree with a comment above that the shows rarely live up to the hype) it actually made me think about watching the show.. I think thats a pretty rare thing in this day and age.. something you might want to watch on the telly.. mental.
Noka
2009-01-09 14:49:05

I've never bought the tossy, narcissistic notion that artistic freedom should be sacrosanct and a greater priority than responsibility for wider effect. Hold on.. no, I did when I was about 15.

Artists love to bang-on about how powerful their work is; its potential to influence; affect us emotionally; how it can Change The World. But when asked to apply the flip side of this logic and account for its potential to do the reverse, they insist ' oh no, you're over-reacting, its just art... art can't make anyone do anything..'. Funny how it miraculously loses its potency.

I'm fairly liberal, and broadly, don't like censorship. But I was DEFINITELY influenced by what I saw, heard, and read as a teenager. I wanted to appear cool and hard, even.. no, ESPECIALLY at the expense of others. I still AM influenced, the difference is at 48 I'm experienced and hard-bitten enough to identify when I am.

'We cannot censor ourselves because people are stupid enough to be influenced by fantasies they see on the television'.

That sounds deceptively noble, but if someone makes a piece of film depicting violence as an act of vital essential self-expression, laced with culturally legitimising choreography and accompanying sound-track, then they should at least admit their indifference and not try to deny its potential effect. Personally, I wouldn't want to take a chance on anything I created becoming the subliminal catalyst for someone else getting glassed. Art isn't that important.

And anyone who claims who claims that the desperate, selfish, riotously developing mind of any teenager isn't influenced, makes an egotistical and self-serving over-estimation of human psychology. I'm reminded of fundamentalist Guardian readers insisting we refer to kids as 'young people', and that 14 year olds are socially responsible enough to vote, but when the same age group commit a crime reduce their status to 'kids' again.
douglas montgomery
2009-01-09 15:11:33

Douglas - you make a good argument.

But nobody is claiming this promo is anything more than it is - a bit of pop entertainment to promote a tv show. Media is God these days. So the fact that teenagers may be influenced by what they see on the television is more the fault of their parents and family and friends than television itself. Why do the rest of us have to suffer watered down, politically correct, safe, sterile entertainment simply because there are a few people out there who cannot tell the difference between fiction and reality, who cannot decide for themselves what is morally right or wrong?

I am not denying the effect of this piece of work, kids (who shouldn't be watching it in the first place) will undoubtedly watch it and think 'yeah, that was cool', but a vast majority won't take it any further. And those that do aren't the responsibility of television. We need to stop treating the majority like the minority, and sort the minority out.

Censorship only takes us so far, we have to do the rest ourselves.
Brucie Bonus
2009-01-09 22:45:55

Beautifully shot, excellent sound track, unsavoury subject matter. I was an avid lover of the first and second series of Skins, but the arrival of this new one (based on the promo) fills me with dread.

I don't think that many viewers will try to copy Skins, as teenagers were doing these kind of things even when I was a student. However, as visual communicators I don't think we should be promoting or glamorising this kind of behaviour in the media either.

Let's reserve judgement until the new series pans out. Hopefully, Skins will redeem itself.
Anthony Browne
2009-01-10 14:53:56

I thought the ad a was a message from the government - I was very surprised to find out it was a promo for Skins.

Maybe it was just a way to get attention? You what those teenagers can be like...
Martin Delin
2009-01-12 10:25:31

Personally im not a massive fan of the program skins as from my experience, it is a little over exaggerated that everyday of there lives is that exciting, but this advert is a cracker! I doubt very much that anyone, who doesn't want to be influenced by the program will be, but theres nothing better than experience life first hand..
ben
2009-01-13 15:42:07

Well,
I'm old and deeply shallow, but I think it was great.
That's it.... no discourse on society's ills, no religious concerns,
(it's telly silly)
x
Mark Fricker
2009-01-15 12:35:36

Interesting,

i love skinds, and although in most teenagers this stereotype is far fetched, but every teenager willl have at least one thing in common with the characters that is why its so popular

Thanks for bringing this up
Web developer
2009-10-15 13:55:20

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