SO, I am loving this topic because actually something that I love to do is watch shows where the plot is not in America. I am always intrigued by the differences that I see with the people, the families, friendships and even schools. The show that I am going to be talking about today, is Baby and is available to watch, the link attached is to season 1 episode 1.
Overview
The show takes place in Rome Italy, and really focuses on one character, her name is Chiara. Her, and her friends go to an upscale private school, in which there parents pay a lot of money for them to attend. With that prestige in mind, their parents expect nothing but the best behavior out of them, but this is not the case. Her and her friend live completely different, and controversial lives at night. This causes nothing but trouble and scandals in their lives, that they have to deal with the consequences of.
Characters
The teens that are in this show, are similar to the ones that would be in an American show, except for the fact that the way that they live is different from the way that teens in America live. The family lives are different, the way that they interact with the parents are different, and even what is expected of them is different. For example, in Rome they are allowed to drink before turning 21 so many times throughout the show, they go to bars and hangout with friends at bars after school because they can, but this is not something that the parents approve of. Most of these kids are very religious so the things that they do that are not allowed, are frowned upon more so then if they were done in America. The parents are also a lot more strict when it comes to what they are and are not allowed to do. The same stereotypes are still there for the characters, because I feel as though high school settings are universal throughout.
Setting
Many of the times this show takes place in the high school, and at the clubs that these girls travel too. The houses that they live in though, are a lot smaller than the houses of most in America. By that I mean that the average house is still smaller than the average house that is in the show. Also their use of transportation is very different, in a lot of foreign countries cars are not used because the roads are so small, so the way that these kids get to and from school is by scooters or bikes. The weather in this show is relatively gloomy, and a lot of the times the sun is not out. This also made the setting of the show seem a little gloomy, and rightfully so because of all of the scandalous behavior that was happening. There fun was also a little different than high schoolers in America, because of the fact that they can drink at a younger age, so a lot of the time, like I said before, they were at the bar.
Culture
Due to the nature of the show, and how it is a teen show, not much about culture or politics are mentioned but there are some cues throughout the show that I picked up on. I feel as though in the show, a lot of the time it seemed as though the kids could do and go wherever they want without it being a problem to the places that they went. By this I mean that there was no curfew that was inflicted onto them by the people in the places that they went. Throughout the show though, I did notice that the nature in the place that they live are different from the surroundings that are in America. This place is a lot more hilly and have narrower streets.
Overall
Overall, I love to watch shows that are not based in America because I feel like I get a little more out of the show than when shows are based in America. I think I get a little more sense of what kids are doing that are my age, and even if not my age, comparing the norms of America to the norms of other places. I think when we watch foreign shows we get a little more background into culture. This is important to notice because a lot of the time we draw stereotypes out of things that we do not really understand, and with this we can kind of grasp a little bit of a better understanding.
Soo, with all this being said, I super suggest you to watch a show that maybe you would not have thunk to watch before, maybe even a foreign show, it might surprise you!