YAB Review: MTV's 'The City'
Posted by meredith on 02-06-2009Today's Ypulse Youth Advisory Board post comes from Caroline Marques who shares her thoughts on MTV's latest reality spin-off, "The City." Remember, you can communicate directly with any member of the Ypulse Youth Advisory Board by emailing them at youthadvisoryboard at ypulse.com…or just leave a comment!
YAB Review: MTV's 'The City'
Since I'd been growing a bit bored with "The Hills" and Lauren Conrad, I was pretty excited about watching MTV's new reality show "The City" featuring ex-Hills star Whitney Port. Not only was I looking forward to getting to know more about Whitney, but also to seeing the scenery change from sunny L.A to fast-paced NY. But to my disappointment, she wasn't really much of a a main character. And yet, despite that and even though the ratings for this show haven’t been impressive, I've noticed most of my girlfriends (internationally and in the US ) have been watching.
I think that a lot of young people can relate to Whitney, because she seems relatively normal and is regularly surrounded by relationship/friendship drama. It almost feels like she's still in high school. I also think a lot of people will admire her for her job, especially those interested in fashion. I see the show as a mix of "Sex and the City" and "Laguna Beach," with the combination of high fashion and high drama.
I believe this kind of show resonates with teens because even though we sometimes want to act like these catty girls, we also want to avoid similar characters in our real life. We can compare Whitney's life to ours and possibly learn from her and friends' mistakes.
Still, I think most teenagers would choose "Gossip Girl" over "The City." They’re both set in New York, with rich girls and cute boys, but GG shows a life full of extravagant drama and luxurious everyday lives, while "The City" tries to balance that out with reality. As a result "The City" seems more tame so teens might get bored, even if they can relate better. I think I'll keep on watching this new show and see how it goes. After all, it's still drama in New York, and who can resist that?
About Caroline Marques
Caroline is a high school student in Geneva, Switzerland. While Caroline lists sports, music and travelling as her hobbies, she also very much enjoys writing and reading. After being a teen adviser for NickMag, she thought Ypulse would be the perfect opportunity for a new start. While trying to keep up with the trends (or setting some of her own), dance classes, working on long papers and trying to master three new languages, she rarely has time to write the novel she wishes she could finish, though she is certain one day she will. Writing is never far from her thoughts.
Categorized under: TV, Youth Advisory Board
