Flow of Madness

I am working on a Philosophy of Skins post. Just for my own amusement really and hope that maybe some of you might find it fascinating as well. So I am re-watching with an eagle’s eye every episode and taking notes. 

I have just finished picking my favorite scenes for every episode of Generation 1 and felt like I should say a few things about this unique and amazing generation. 

I declared this to be the generation of the lost looking for direction. The reason I declared this generation as that title is because all of the characters are trying to find themselves to face the future. 

Sid is faced with grades, losing his Dad, and faced with the challenges that his lack of motivation and passivity causes. 

Tony is faced with overcoming at first a distorted self image based on this idea that he has to constantly out do himself on the “fucked upness” scale and then has to overcome being hit by a bus. And trying to find his place in this world with that new challenge. 

Chris is a guy who is fun loving and tries his best not to deal with that bad stuff. He starts to pick up the pieces and tries to make an effort after finding someone who makes him realize it is worth that effort. 

Maxxie tries to get independence from his family. 

Anwar is a character who is quite impulsive and unaware most of the time. He found himself in the finale the most lost. Because he didn’t even begin to think about those big questions that everyone else has been dealing with for two series. 

Michelle’s journey is one that began as Tony’s girlfriend and took her to be an independent person going off to a completely different University. 

They all began the generation as a group of really lost kids who have known one another for ages. Who are quite etched in their roles of one person being the realistic negative one, one being the positive one, one being the impulsive one, one being the crazy one, one being the lazy one, and one being the manipulative leader to a group that grappled with those questions of direction. Of finding themselves and looking out into the horizons to become the people they need to be to survive. 

Now did the Skins creators think this as they created them…I am not sure. But they definitely if not deliberately then accidentally created a generation that mostly grappled with questions of growing up, finding directions, changing friendships, and ambitions for the future. Which is awesome. 

I always say if you compare each generation to your favorite it handicaps how much you can see in the others. Each generation is different. And it should be. 

I will touch more on all these characters and this generation when I finally get to writing that Philosophy of Skins. I purposely left out Cassie and Jal from the discussion not because they weren’t mentioning, but because I have special thoughts on them that I wish to save for later!  

Cheers to Gen 1