ENTERTAINMENT
How do young people think about complex issues like mental health, and what makes Skam so successful at navigating this terrain?
By 115857H
18 September 2020
Skam is a small teenage Norwegian web show released on the broadcasting company NRK. It took the world by storm when the show started in 2015, except it wasn’t like glossy American shows like Pretty Little Liars, Gossip Girl or Riverdale. NRK couldn’t match a show with their shoe string budget to the budget and escapism of any Netflix show. They decided to make something real, in the end triumphing any other show. Skam is now at 7 European and US remakes. Even with 7 remakes of the same plot, Skam and its loyal fanbase have continued to watch over the years to fill the void that Skam left after sadly finishing in 2017. In 2018 William and Kate went to the school where Skam was set to meet the cast and learn about the effect Skam had especially with mental health. Skam was real but how did the creators target their teen audience that other shows didn’t achieve?
Part of what makes Skam so appealing, and what it has been most praised for is its accurate depiction of teenage life. Skam represents anxiety, bipolar disorder, depression and eating disorders in a way that is raw and unglamourised, the problems are never solved overnight. In a survey commissioned for this piece, young people in South Australia were asked how much of an importance mental health plays in their lives. Mental health was very important to the respondees with all participants, rating it highly, and providing context like, “Mental health is important to me and plays a big role in my life as myself and many people close to me suffer from mental health issues”, “Mental health is probably the most important aspect for me personally as it plays a role in my everyday life.” These findings are not surprising given that Mission Australia and the Black Dog Institute surveyed 28,000 young Australians aged from 15-19 in 2018 and found that, 30% of young women had psychological stress compared to 15.6% of young men. This has risen 5.5% from 2012 to 2018. Young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people had an even higher susceptibility to psychological stress.
A much loved quote in the show by the fandom is “People need people.” The message here being you don’t have to face everything on your own, an important message for young people who tend to feel more isolated and alone than ever before. Elise Buchanan a 17 year old girl from Adelaide, South Australia said, “I do tend to find it (mental health) uncomfortable to talk about, because it is so personal.” This perspective is supported by the survey data which shows that mental health is very important to adolescent life, yet some teenagers can’t talk about these topics because they aren’t comfortable. Skam, by exploring this silence and fear head on, feels compelling and prescient for young people, perhaps giving them the space to talk about these issues while framing in the context of their fandom for the show. One example of this is in season 3 where the love interest, (Evan), of the main character, Isak, has a manic episode. Evan had never told Isak about his pre-existing bipolar as he felt shame revealing his mental illness. This is clearly a common problem amongst teenagers, which is why it resonated so well. In fact, a reason why this show is so important is that mental health needs a lot of attention in Australia as the situation for young people isn’t getting any better the findings of the report Mission Australia found, if even the experts are confused then that is a telling sign much more needs to be done to help teenagers.
Staff writer for The New Yorker, D.T Max, who agreed to be interviewed for this piece, has interviewed the creators of Skam, Julie Andem and Mari Magnus, so it was interesting to get his take on why the show resonated so well. “I think they tried to show it entirely from a teen point of view without judging, which is unusual. The show was very empathetic and casual about issues. It never condescended. Everything felt urgent, as it does to a teen, especially in the era of social media.”
This urgency is something that every Skam fan feels, especially as it has bled into our daily lives through social media. This seismic shift in the teenage experience is also explored in Skam, where every character has an Instagram profile. What makes this so interesting is the boundaries are blurred between fiction and reality. Characters in Skam maintain active “real” social media profiles, in-fact as I scroll looking at posts of my friends, family and celebrities there are also images of these characters posting themselves at parties, school, the grocery store, and even posting relevant memes. These aspects in a tv show depict pop culture at its fullest. I interviewed Marcelina Borges, 23 from Toronto Canada she has watched Skam as well as all the remakes, she is part of the fandom and is an avid fanfiction writer which she entertains reader while they are waiting and hoping for new content from Skam. Marcelina said social media was, “This blurring of reality was definitely an effective device. It really added to the realistic aspect of the show.” The narrative elements spread over various mediums provided an intimate experience for the viewers that proved extremely successful, during season 2 teachers postponed exams until students could focus better, people were continuously refreshing the Skam page awaiting an update, the whole country was put on hold.
Skam is super successful at engaging young people across cultural and geographical borders. This is part of a trend with a small number of other TV shows like, Normal People and 13 Reasons Why. What is happening to make these shows relate to, and target teenagers effectively?
Julie Andem, creator of Skam, explained that a saying at NRK, the broadcasting company of Skam is, “teenagers are impossible to reach.” She went on to say that this is the reason why NRK didn’t produce anything for teenagers for twenty years. When the time came to make a show aimed at teenagers, Andem and Mari Magnus, the social media creator for Skam conducted research for the show. Their focus was, unsurprisingly on social media, so they had one of their younger staff spend hours on social media to understand teenage humour, communication form and language. This researcher, also went to youth groups, school, and school plays to get a sense of the issues young people cared about, and were discussing. This was a quest for deeper truth, not just the superficial facts and figures. This process was started by the NABC method, which was explained by Hakon Moslet, the head of NRK’s youth department as needs, approach, benefits and competition (NABC). After the development team conducted enough research they found the need and stated the approach to achieve that, “Skam aims to help sixteen-year-old girls, strengthen their self-esteem through dismounting taboos, making them aware of interpersonal mechanisms, and showing them the benefits or confronting their fears.” It is this clear mission statement, combined with a deep-dive into young peoples discussions of social media, followed by replication of that use of social media, that appears to have been integral in the ultimate international success of the show.
13 Reasons Why has been one of the most popular teenage shows in recent years, but unlike Skam, it has been very controversial. A study funded by the National Institute of Health in The United States found, “The month following the show's debut in March 2017, there was a 28.9% increase in suicide among Americans aged 10-17.” The number of suicides was also greater than seen in any single month over the five-year period the researchers examined. Another analysis done by Jeff Bridge the leading author of the study and a suicide researcher at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus found that, the April suicide rate was higher than in the previous 19 years. A pivotal scene in 13 Reasons Why is of main character Hannah seeking help from school counsellor Mr Porter. Hannah expressed she wanted, “life to stop,” Mr Porter then told her, “there’s only one option”, which is to “move on”. This displayed extreme negligence from both Mr Porter and the shows creators. I believe they should have shown a positive experience, a relationship with the student built on trust and understanding. 13 Reasons Why failed this and ultimately making Mr Porter the 13th reason why Hannah took her life that same day.
Another teenage show tackling important issues is Normal People, and this show had the same intensely relatable narrative arc, and understated performances as Skam. Throughout Normal People we see introvert Connell Waldron a main character struggle with his mental health after graduating high school and the sudden suicide of a school friend. A pivotal scene in Normal People is when Connell is referred to a psychologist by his friend which brings him to finally breakdown in a flood of tears. He felt he played a role in his friends suicide, “you don’t need to apologise”, and, “not your fault” were the words spoken by the psychologist. She validates his feelings in a positive way to get rid of the guilt he was feeling which is the opposite of what Mr Porter did.
This positive, but realistic portrayal of mental health concerns is essential in both Skam and Normal People. For example, Isak, the main character of Skam goes to the school counsellor, as he is having trouble sleeping. From her advice he is able to tell his friend that he is gay, something that is challenging for other teenagers going through the same thing is treated with positivity. Skam also had the counsellor who was a reoccurring character the other characters turned to for pregnancy scares and how to help a friend with an eating disorder. This reinforces the idea in teenagers minds to be open and seek help when they are feeling vulnerable.
Another thing the shows had in common was that they also rebelled against the happy endings that many popular teenage dramas cling to as a way to make the audience feel fulfilled, and their realistic depiction extended past their adolescent target audience. Michelle B, a mother from America who has a teenager, and who fell in love with the show herself after watching it with her son/daughter was asked how she believed Normal People challenged stereotypes when it comes to sexuality and mental health? Her response summed up the show beautifully, “I think Normal People blew those stereotypes right out of the sea. Sally Rooney really open up to the understanding of what it is like to be normal. Which in some ways felt abnormal. And isn’t that the point though?”
There is a reason why Skam, when translated into English means, “shame”. It is because removing the stigma of shame is a key theme within the show. What is clear, is that the success of the show can be put partly on it’s acclaimed realism in its portrayal of young people, and that this is attributal to the critical research the creators conducted to understand what teenagers needed and then worked to provide that. Skam struck multiple cords, didn’t shy away from the taboos around mental health, and understood the shame teenagers face while growing up. Most importantly, it successfully made its fans, young and old, feel less isolated in the issues they face. Skam continues to grow each year with crossing culture lines, and reaching new audiences, and its themes of acceptance and dialogue are symbolic of a generation in need of this kind of role modelling, and who crave a more serious, more interesting kind of TV.
Word count: 1980
References
Bezzina, S 2020, pers. comm., 24 July.
Buchanan, E 2020, pers. comm., 27 July.
D.T. Max, D 2018, ‘“SKAM,” the Radical Teen Drama That Unfolds One Post at a Time’, The New Yorker, 11 June, viewed 15 May 2020, <https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/06/18/skam-the-radical-teen-drama-that-unfolds-one-post-at-a-time>.
D.T Max, M 2020, pers. comm., 15 May.
‘Episode 10’ 2020, television program, Normal People, BBC Three, United Kingdom, 26 April.
‘Escobar Season’ 2016, television program, Skam, NRK, Norway, 18 November.
Fallon, C & Gray, E 2020, ‘Normal People’ Is The Prestige Show Teen Romance Fans Deserve, viewed 26 May 2020, <https://www.huffingtonpost.com.au/entry/normal-people-hulu-sally-rooney-show_n_5ea9deccc5b61d0e36404ec2?ri18n=true>.
Hellerud, V Ellevillevillde 2016, Kosegruppa, Photograph, NRK, viewed 11 September 2020, <https://www.instagram.com/p/BLQdN49Brh6/>.
Krueger, S 2017, Coping with Shame in a Media-saturated Society: Norwegian Web-series Skam as Transitional Object, pdf, viewed 2 June 2020, <https://www.academia.edu/35669748/Coping_with_shame_in_a_media_saturated_society_The_Norwegian_web_series_Skam_as_transitional_object>.
Lawson, R 2018, ‘William and Kate Met Skam and the World Will Never Be the Same’, Vanity Fair, 2 February 2018, viewed 17 September 2020, <https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2018/02/william-and-kate-met-skam-and-the-world-will-never-be-the-same>.
Marcelina Borges, B 2020, pers. comm., 11 June.
Mediamorfosis, M 2017, SKAM Case Julie Andem / Mari Magnus - ENGLISH - Mediamorfosis 2017, online video, 26 October, viewed 16 June 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6gCzxrtIPs&t=213s>.
Michelle, B 2020, pers. comm., 22 July.
Mohn, E Evamohn2 2015, Squad, Photograph, NRK, viewed 11 September 2020, <https://www.instagram.com/p/_Ep3h4j6_4/>.
Mohn, E Evamohn2 2015, TBT, Photograph, NRK, viewed 11 September 2020, <https://www.instagram.com/p/9_MqYJj63Z/>.
National Institute of Mental Health 2019, Release of “13 Reasons Why” Associated with Increase in Youth Suicide Rates, United States, viewed 5 June 2020, <https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2019/release-of-13-reasons-why-associated-with-increase-in-youth-suicide-rates.shtml#:~:text=The%20Netflix%20show%20%E2%80%9C13%20Reasons,Academy%20of%20Child%20and%20Adolescent>.
Schwartz, M 2019, ‘Teen Suicide Spiked After Debut Of Netflix's '13 Reasons Why,' Study Says’, NPR, 30 April 2019, viewed 1 August 2020, <https://www.npr.org/2019/04/30/718529255/teen-suicide-spiked-after-debut-of-netflixs-13-reasons-why-report-says>.
Seven year youth mental health report – 2012-2018 2019, Mission Australia, pdf, viewed 21 June 2020, <https://www.missionaustralia.com.au/publications/youth-survey>.
‘Tape 7, Side A’ 2017, 13 Reasons Why, United States, 31 March, Netflix.
TEDx Talks 2017, SKAM - Everything is love | Håkon Moslet | TEDxArendal, online video, 17 October, viewed 8 June 2020, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTsruyZ1HEw&t=218s>.
Tine Marie Ausland, A 2017, SHAMING TEENAGE DRAMA, pdf, viewed 16 June 2020, <https://projekter.aau.dk/projekter/files/261962561/Master_thesis_Tine_Marie_Ausland_1.pdf>.
Todd, C 2018, ‘Here’s What 7 Mental Health Experts Really Think About ‘13 Reasons Why’’, Self, 9 May 2018, viewed 24 July 2020, <https://www.self.com/story/13-reasons-why-season-two-mental-health-experts-commentary>.
Wallis, O 2019, Mental health concerns increasingly common among young Australians, report finds, ABC News, viewed 9 March 2020, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2019-10-23/mental-health-concerns-increasingly-common-young-people/11628094>.
Wallis, O 2019, ‘What's driving poor mental health among young Australians? We asked them’, ABC, 21 November, viewed 26 June 2020, <https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2019-11-21/whats-driving-mental-health-concerns-young-australians/11714120>.
Warrior, J 2020, Survey on representation in TV shows, survey, SurveyMonkey, 2 June, viewed 14 July 2020, <https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/88P92NT>.
Whiting, A 2020, ‘'Normal People's Depiction Of Depression Is Just As Striking As Its Sex Scenes’, Bustle, 29 April 2020, viewed 12 July 2020, <https://www.bustle.com/p/connells-depression-in-normal-people-is-as-striking-as-its-sex-scenes-22852247>.