Seriously who the blazes writes this tripe? - Waterloo Road (2006) Discussion

[–] jamesbloke 12 years ago

Well said.

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[–] kevin-cooke 12 years ago

Thanks, I don't usually let things like this bother me too much but I feel there is already too much pressure on kids to grow up far too quickly these days & shows like this are not helping one little bit, if I had my way we wouldn't even have rubbish like this on but I cant dictate to a young adult what she watches all the time.
The problem is that kids take away the message that this is normal behaviour & take that message into their own schools with them, is it any wonder that we have discipline problems with so many kids when they are being fed the idea that they are able to do things like this with no long term consequences?
I had actually had a conversation with one teen who used the excuse that a character from one of the soaps had done what she wanted to do & it worked out OK for her so why shouldn't she do it? this kid wanted to move into a flat in London at the age of 16 & make a life for herself alone, she wanted to join a rock group & share a flat with them, they were all much older than her & doing all sorts of drugs the "flat" was in fact a squat & they only wanted her because she had a brilliant voice, they were not in the least bit interested in her welfare or what would happen to her when the group inevitably broke up which it did a couple of months later following a huge punch up in a pub.
She genuinely believed that if it all went wrong she could just move home & it would all be OK, when I asked her about experimenting with drugs which I knew she had started doing she had the idea that because this bloody soap character had just quit overnight she would be able to as well.
If these blasted shows want to show harsh realities in their storyline then they should have the guts to follow through with it, show the consequences long term over years as the characters deal with the realities of alcohol & drug abuse, teenage pregnancy & the often permanent interruption of education that comes with it, the loss of all the things that teens in real life should be doing, the impact on their families & friends & the other real & permanent changes that accompany truly bad decisions in life.

"A lie can travel the world while the truth is still putting it's shoes on" (Mark Twain)

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[–] kevin-cooke 12 years ago

Thanks, I don't usually let things like this bother me too much but I feel there is already too much pressure on kids to grow up far too quickly these days & shows like this are not helping one little bit, if I had my way we wouldn't even have rubbish like this on but I cant dictate to a young adult what she watches all the time.
The problem is that kids take away the message that this is normal behaviour & take that message into their own schools with them, is it any wonder that we have discipline problems with so many kids when they are being fed the idea that they are able to do things like this with no long term consequences?
I had actually had a conversation with one teen who used the excuse that a character from one of the soaps had done what she wanted to do & it worked out OK for her so why shouldn't she do it? this kid wanted to move into a flat in London at the age of 16 & make a life for herself alone, she wanted to join a rock group & share a flat with them, they were all much older than her & doing all sorts of drugs the "flat" was in fact a squat & they only wanted her because she had a brilliant voice, they were not in the least bit interested in her welfare or what would happen to her when the group inevitably broke up which it did a couple of months later following a huge punch up in a pub.
She genuinely believed that if it all went wrong she could just move home & it would all be OK, when I asked her about experimenting with drugs which I knew she had started doing she had the idea that because this bloody soap character had just quit overnight she would be able to as well.
If these blasted shows want to show harsh realities in their storyline then they should have the guts to follow through with it, show the consequences long term over years as the characters deal with the realities of alcohol & drug abuse, teenage pregnancy & the often permanent interruption of education that comes with it, the loss of all the things that teens in real life should be doing, the impact on their families & friends & the other real & permanent changes that accompany truly bad decisions in life.

"A lie can travel the world while the truth is still putting it's shoes on" (Mark Twain)

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[–] stillstanding 12 years ago

What bugs me the most is how much the teachers care. In the real world most schools are businesses these days; they take your money, give you a standard education but don't actually give a damn about steering you in the right direction in life.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] stillstanding 12 years ago

That's unbelievable! I went to a boarding school which my parents paid good money for. Though I came out of it with respectable exam results, I didn't have a clue what I wanted to do in life because the school essentially didn't care enough to enquire in the 5 years I was there.

University was much the same, they care even less. I've since learned more about life from friends, family and by simply grafting away in the real world.

WR teachers are a rare breed. They actually teach you about what to expect in life - obstacles, success, hard work for very little reward, disappointment, failure, ups and downs etc. My dad always said he'd prefer I was taught what will happen in 5 years time rather than 5000 years ago!

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[–] marktayloruk 12 years ago

Hasd to get much of my uniform from one shop in the 70s.How DID he afford that Mserati on a headmaster's salary?

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[–] hannah_dru 12 years ago

Some of it is really silly and unrealistic, I definitely agree there. There's a lot of things I haven't agreed with because they try to deal with serious issues but because of the watershed they skim over them too quickly which gives the wrong message.

http://www.insanedrusilla.deadtime.net

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[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] hannah_dru 12 years ago

You hit the nail on the head. I was thinking of Tariq when I wrote that and you described his situation exactly.

http://www.insanedrusilla.deadtime.net

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[–] kevin-cooke 12 years ago

If they can't deal with a subject properly then they have no business bringing it up in the first place, they are fully aware of the impact these shows have on impressionable minds yet constantly gloss over the real outcome of stupid decisions.
They depict kids defying and deceiving their parents & teachers in almost every episode as if it's a right & proper thing to do, last night they even had a wedding carried out without parents being aware, these are supposed to be school kids for goodness sake.
I know real life isn't exactly sugar coated and kids get up to all sorts of things they shouldn't, I made a few mistakes in my youth which ultimately had a disastrous outcome that haunted me well into my late twenties & has altered the path of my life ever since so am all too aware of what the outcome of one or two bad choices can be.
This show does not demonstrate this, everything is short term & it all comes out alright at the end of the storyline, it's giving kids who are after all the target audience the idea that they can do as they please & not worry about what may happen as nothing really has long term consequences.

"A lie can travel the world while the truth is still putting it's shoes on" (Mark Twain)

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[–] hannah_dru 12 years ago

Glad you mentioned the wedding actually, I was thinking the same thing. It is teaching kids that it's mature to do that and to hide it from people.
It was the same with Michael and his dad, I was hoping they'd have dealt with that properly. No way in real life would he be let off like that.

http://www.insanedrusilla.deadtime.net

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[–] kevin-cooke 12 years ago

That was a frankly ridiculous scenario, at the very least his teaching career would have been at an end & he would have almost certainly ended up in jail.
I can't imagine how many kids will try to emulate the things they see in this show.
As far as I can tell it's only saving grace is that it is in a small way getting across the message that education matters, even that is watered down & does not really demonstrate how difficult it can be to regain the ground that can be lost though wasted opportunities.
It took me a long time & great deal of effort to recover from the interruption of my education brought about by a few silly choices when I was at school & I was in the top 3% in my year with an essentially guaranteed place at university, how kids who are already struggling would manage god only knows, in this show kids seem to be able to make the transition from struggling to even keep up to promising future in a mater of a couple of episodes.
In my own case the career I had hoped for was lost forever and for a long time prospective employers were few & far between, only through serious effort & a LOT of hard work was I able to show I was worth taking a chance on.
Writers don't seem to feel they have any responsibility these days, they churn out stories that will excite kids with entirely unrealistic outcomes & then it's all in the past & moving on to the next fantasy.

"A lie can travel the world while the truth is still putting it's shoes on" (Mark Twain)

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[–] stillstanding 12 years ago

It would be interesting if they showed the harsh consequences of making silly choices.

I know what you mean kevin-cooke, I too was a good student but made some silly choices. I was bullied between the ages of 15-17 which was the main problem. My GCSE's were fine but after that I picked the wrong A Level choices & did nowhere near as well as I'm capable of. Because of the bullying I wasn't focussed on my work & cared more about just keeping my head down & being able to escape that school at 18. Teachers didn't really do anything & I was pretty good at just keeping my head down & not asking for help due to fear of being branded a snitch. So when I left I had mediocre to semi-respectable results, was a shell of my former self, had no clue what I wanted to do & felt ashamed for allowing certain people to effectively ruin the most important years of my education.

But what I was most upset about was how teachers knew full well how low I was and how it was affecting my work yet did nothing. I shouldn't have let the bullies beat me, but without any support that's what happened. You're right how WR teachers at least push that message better than real teachers do.

I went to university but had to do a different course because my grades weren't good enough. After that I struggled to prove to employers I was worthy of taking on for about 4/5 years. Your own self worth drops massively in that time which doesn't help matters. I'm proud that when I eventually got a decent job and back on my feet I did it all by myself. But its sad that my teachers played no part in it.

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[–] 12 years ago

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[–] stillstanding 12 years ago

Thank you, I appreciate that. Its a shame my schooling ended on a bad note but things are so much better now. In a way it did actually make me stronger, though it takes a few years before you realise this.

Did they honestly care more about the image of the school than the girl's welfare? That's worrying.

I turned out okay (eventually) but I'll be taking into account my experiences when it comes to my own children's education. I doubt I'll send them to a boarding school. If you think paying a sizeable amount to send your child to a fancy boarding school will guarantee an amazing future you're wrong. How do you even know how they're getting on, what's truly happening or how they're really feeling when you don't see them for weeks on end? Also many of my year struggled anyway after uni because it was the year the economy collapsed & jobs were so scarce (& still are). I'd prefer to send mine to a decent, affordable, day school so I can keep my eye on them & pick up on problems if they arise. I'll also maybe even make them get Saturday jobs so they know the value of money - boarding school doesn't allow for this sort of thing; instead you just doss about all weekend at your parents expense.

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[–] SpiritedAngel 11 years ago

It's not reality though, so it doesn't need to look like reality. I know it's a school drama so it should be focused more on the school stuff, but honestly, it wouldn't be nearly as interesting .

I understand what you mean about the consequences, but if they were to show all of that then not only would it be a really long show, but a lot of people would find it a lot less interesting. They're not gonna show the boring bits, otherwise they'll lose the audience.

I think it's a bit wrong to say that all young people who watch this have a distorted view of reality. I've been watching this since I was 15, I'm now 22 and I don't have a distorted view of reality, I know it's just a tv programme and it doesn't show real life.

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