Because middle school is terrible. So is high school really, and why we don't have more shows on a college campus I'll never know. Middle school is filled with hormone-crazed sociopaths, and a psychotic cutthroat social order.
Why is middle school such an under-used setting?
- Thread starter themistermanguy
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- Mar 17, 2012
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No one liked middle school
If you say you did, it's a lie
Only thing I can think of in middle school is some of the CN cartoons like My Gym Partner's a Monkey (eh) or Ed Edd n' Eddy (straight flames fam)
If you say you did, it's a lie
Only thing I can think of in middle school is some of the CN cartoons like My Gym Partner's a Monkey (eh) or Ed Edd n' Eddy (straight flames fam)
I liked middle school. That's when I first started questioning the world around me, most notably the validity of religion as a whole (Christianity more specifically) and found the joy of historical and scientific reading.PsychicTaco115 said:
I honestly think there is also a practical reason to consider, atleast with live action shows/movies and that is simply that they can use young adults without it appearing too weird as opposed to having 20+ year olds playing middle schoolers. It's far less hassle in terms of laws and regulations if you use adults.
I guess this is an American thing since I was starting Highschool at that age well the early years. So shows like Doug or other High School did kinda apply to me eventhought the age setting was wrong?
I'm pretty sure this is a reason why Doug was as divisive as it was...it took place in Middle School after all. Middle School felt like a pit-stop more than anything: a 3 year detour in between childhood and adulthood (well, high school). I met some cool people in middle school who stuck around through high school but there were no shenanigans to be had. I think As Told by Ginger made the middle school setting work but then I'm pretty sure it had an episode (or possibly just a passing reference in an episode) about the girl's side of puberty...which is another problem since while it's progressive to have a show aimed at kids that isn't afraid to talk about puberty it isn't exactly something you can build a series around. Not in the US anyway...Redryhno said:
Easy, because it's trauma for most of its target audience. That and everyone will be "triggered" or some shit
I didn't have a real middle school experience. Went to a Catholic school that ranged from Kindergarten to 8th grade. So my middle school was just more of my elementary school. Which is fine by me, it's probably because of that fact, that my "middle school" experience was pretty decent. 8th grade was actually awesome for me if I remember correctly. I never had to worry about changing schools, or making new friends.
That's my case. Reading the other posts here, middle school was either uninteresting, or just plain terrible. I guess writers feel the same way.
That's my case. Reading the other posts here, middle school was either uninteresting, or just plain terrible. I guess writers feel the same way.
Well, let's be honest, there's not a whole lot most middle schoolers can get up to these days. They can't drive themselves places, they don't have their own money to spend, they don't have a lot of responsibilities and quandaries beyond doing chores and homework. Unless we're talking about children in broken or dysfunctional homes, most don't have a lot of opportunities to get into trouble. Any time a group of them is in public without parents would be treated as highly suspicious, and to some would seem nearly neglectful.TheMisterManGuy said:
Whereas in high school, it's okay for a group of them to be in public without an adult, they can travel on their own, they have higher responsibilities, they're making more tough choices about life (educational future, more sophisticated relationships, etc), and they have more possible moral quandaries they are forced to tackle on their own.
I'm not saying it's impossible by any stretch, doing a show or book based on a group of kids below high school has been done well many times. Recess was one of my favorite cartoons growing up, as was Pepper Ann. Hell Rugrats was about babies. I think there are more shows out there like this than you think. Hell Harry Potter started when the kids were 11. But when a show or potential franchise is looking to have lots of choice as far as conceivable situations it can put its characters in, high school is just more ideal for it.
It's mostly because no one likes tweens.
In terms of personality, they're still basically children, with the only major differences being puberty-induced angst and the newfound ability to swear. All of the depth of children, but none of the nostalgia or innocence, but they're still not mature enough for any of the drama of being teenagers.
Also, for some reason I can barely remember middle school. Elementary school and high school I remember perfectly, but middle school is just this detached haze that feels like I can't fully process as my own memories.
In terms of personality, they're still basically children, with the only major differences being puberty-induced angst and the newfound ability to swear. All of the depth of children, but none of the nostalgia or innocence, but they're still not mature enough for any of the drama of being teenagers.
Also, for some reason I can barely remember middle school. Elementary school and high school I remember perfectly, but middle school is just this detached haze that feels like I can't fully process as my own memories.
Azumanga Daioh was high school. It ran for three in-story years (ending at graduation), so everyone was 15/16 in the beginning, ending at eighteen, excepting Chiyo who started at ten and ended twelve.BloatedGuppy said:
Negima was middle school, though, whenever the school was actually the setting. And Sailor Moon was a middle school setting for the first two seasons.
Well I'll advance my theory, I'm sure it will prove unpopular. The question shouldn't be "why is middle school an unpopular setting" but "why is high school such an overpopular setting?" The reason they're both terrible settings is because nothing interesting or of any importance happened to anyone in middle or high school. NO, stop! I know "well in MY middle/high school..." NOPE; no matter what the end of that sentence is, it wasn't of any real importance or significance to anyone but YOU, no one else would be interested or care. High and middle school are part of a time in a person's life where the most important thing that happens is they gain the very minimum level of skills necessary to be useful in any way in society. That's it, nothing else of importance happens. All the things that SEEM so important at the time turn out to have ABSOLUTELY no effect on someone's real life after they leave high school.
And that's not the way it really is, obviously. But maybe it would be better if that's the way it was portrayed. Shows set in high school that say anything important (other than getting that basic level of education to function in society) is actually happening during those times needs to be replaced with shows that happen during actually interesting and meaningful times in a person's life. It goes like this: pre school life (that part of time that's only important to your parents,) school (basically just learning to be a person) and then a person's life ACTUALLY enters the meaningful part when high school ends.
And that's not the way it really is, obviously. But maybe it would be better if that's the way it was portrayed. Shows set in high school that say anything important (other than getting that basic level of education to function in society) is actually happening during those times needs to be replaced with shows that happen during actually interesting and meaningful times in a person's life. It goes like this: pre school life (that part of time that's only important to your parents,) school (basically just learning to be a person) and then a person's life ACTUALLY enters the meaningful part when high school ends.
The arguments bolded don't really make sense to me. First, it is possible for middle school kids to have disposable income of their own through chores or work. It's not a lot but it's at least something. Second while middle school kids can't drive, they can travel on their own if they live next to a local town by just walking. By 12-13, they should already know about stranger danger unless they're really naive. I never questioned a bunch of 12-13 year olds walking around in a mall by themselves as suspicious, that is, whenever I saw them. They're at an age where they want some freedom from their parents, and I think they should deserve some. I'm no parent, but this is how I feel IMO. Of course, middle school kids are nowhere near as mature or adult-esque as their high school counterparts, but they're still in a different world from grade schoolers, and should get at least some time on their own.Lilani said:
We don't have middle schools either, but I can't remember the higher grades ever being mean to the lower ones. They'd mostly just make jokes about their big backpacks ('that backpack is carrying a child!') and claim the best lunch spots. In my final secondary school years, there was actually a trend where older students would surprise hug younger ones. Not the 'squeezing the life out of you' or 'tackle to the floor' kind of hug either. Nice, friendly hugs. Which is, of course, still weird and a violation of personal space, but I guess it could be worse...PaulH said:
Meh ... might of been my specific school. A lot of us expected and accepted it. Call it "social Darwinism." Though I did have the added stigma of being effete and queer. Though that being said, when you do manage to ambush one of them with a cricket bat.... I don't consider myself a vindictive or spiteful person, but there's something about knowing you have the upper hand and seeing it in their eyes of your year long former tormentor that you have them beat.NPC009 said:
Children are wolves. Then you grow up, feel years of guilt, and then you get over it. Your school does sound a farcry from mine though. Can I ask where it was?
I'd say it's 3 main things, all of which are pretty simple.
1: People are highly familiar with the established stereotypes of high school (the Jocks, the Cheerleaders, the cool kids, the nerds, the Goths, the Valley Girls, etc. etc.), but I honestly can't think of any established middle school stereotypes.
2: Actor's ages. You can get actors ranging in age anywhere from 16-24 (maybe even older if they are particularly baby-faced) and have them believably portray high schoolers. For middle schoolers, you'd have to get people within that specific age range of middle school, and then you have to deal with the usual problems of working with child actors.
3: Sex, puberty, and sex appeal. Somewhat related to 2, but high school is when hormones are raging, sex becomes a prominent part (or at least thought) of most people's lives, and most people are fully developed into their adult bodies. In addition to allowing funny scenes of awkwardness, dating, etc. this also means you can have "hot" actresses and actors portray characters and not have people feel like pedophiles for finding them attractive. No guy I know has a problem admitting that he'd have sex with Sarah Hyland (the oldest daughter from "Modern Family"), even though she's supposed to be a high schooler. Why? Because she's actually 25 years old.
1: People are highly familiar with the established stereotypes of high school (the Jocks, the Cheerleaders, the cool kids, the nerds, the Goths, the Valley Girls, etc. etc.), but I honestly can't think of any established middle school stereotypes.
2: Actor's ages. You can get actors ranging in age anywhere from 16-24 (maybe even older if they are particularly baby-faced) and have them believably portray high schoolers. For middle schoolers, you'd have to get people within that specific age range of middle school, and then you have to deal with the usual problems of working with child actors.
3: Sex, puberty, and sex appeal. Somewhat related to 2, but high school is when hormones are raging, sex becomes a prominent part (or at least thought) of most people's lives, and most people are fully developed into their adult bodies. In addition to allowing funny scenes of awkwardness, dating, etc. this also means you can have "hot" actresses and actors portray characters and not have people feel like pedophiles for finding them attractive. No guy I know has a problem admitting that he'd have sex with Sarah Hyland (the oldest daughter from "Modern Family"), even though she's supposed to be a high schooler. Why? Because she's actually 25 years old.
It was just a fairly good school in a small town. It's not as if bad things didn't happen (there were several attempted suicides), bullying within classes was still a problem, but there was a fairly strict but unspoken hierachy that kept atleast some things in check. Bullying younger students was considered pretty crude, so most people just left them alone. The hugging thing probably started because this one year has some exceptionally cute new kids (they were so tiny!), the older girls liked cute things, and the guys (and atleast some of the girls) thought causing embarrassment through positive attention was just hilarious, so... yeah. Hugging. Probably scared the crap out of some of them.PaulH said:
Heck, I even saw some of the cliques 'adopt' younger students. Not like gophers, more like... pets, I guess. Or maybe like idealised little brothers and sisters you only saw at school. Our social circle just had someone's actual little sister hang out with us at times, but I guess I understand the appeal. It was fun to spoil her with snacks and hot cocoa, help her with homework, teach her how to cheat certain systems, reveal teachers' weak points...
Wait, doesn't middle school have raging hormones too? Though granted, I understand portaying a middle school student as "sexy" wouldn't fly on TV. Also middle school does have it's own cliques like the popular kids, the geeks, the trouble makers, though granted there are more cliques in high school.Ihateregistering1 said:
Almost all of that is in middle school aside from actually having regular sex and developing an adult body. And that's why middle school as a setting is kind of disgusting and creepy. You couldn't realistically shy away from the most obvious middle school problem - and that is the increase in sexual drive. It's in middle school when boys start to fap uncontrollably several times a day and get boners all the time and talk about virtually nothing but sex. It's also a terrible time for girls as well because of all the hormonal changes that occur with them. Who would that kind of show be targeted to?Ihateregistering1 said: