The Stealth Smart Girl

OK, so I've been very lax about keeping this blog, but now that it's summer (though you would never guess it since it's about 50 degrees outside), and I'm not teaching, I'm determined to do it more often. Not only can I get some thoughts out, but hopefully I can work on ideas that will become either an article or the revised conclusion of my book.



Normally I'd start out writing about last night's shows, but the less said about Desperate Housewives' season finale, the better. That was dead boring. Although yay, Chuck has been renewed! Only for 13 episodes, but hey, that has helped a lot of shows really focus, and I don't know what the budget cuts will do, but it's all better than not having the show.

I've written, as anyone reading this blog or who knows me in general may know about the Smart Girl character on television. I've tried to set a boundary between teen shows that took place between 1990 (when Beverly Hills, 90210 began) and 2006, when Gilmore Girls ended. In my dissertation I proclaimed the end of the teen show era after that, but I suppose I was premature.

What may have died out, however, was the brainy girl archetype. Neither Gossip Girl nor the revived 90210 has an Andrea Zuckerman, or even a Rory Gilmore type--driven, book obsessed, school oriented. Useless Vanessa on Gossip Girl is supposed to be a filmmaker, and is clearly intelligent, but is being home schooled (without actually living at home, so it's unclear how that works or actually where she lives at all) so definitely isn't the standard type. She's significantly less well fleshed out as a character than Blair, Serena, or even Jenny. Her job seems to be, for the most part, to be judgmental and to be "good" in the way Dan is. Unlike Blair and Serena, she hasn't mentioned college, so it's not even clear what year she would be if she were in school, or if she already graduated and just plans to make films or what (how's that for ringing academic prose?).














Blair, on the other hand, is what someone I know--and actually I'm sad to say I cannot recall who, so if you are reading this, please speak up,--called a "stealth smart girl." Although the most popular, best dressed, and one of the richer girls in school, she has had perfect grades (although I don't believe we've ever seen her study), and a high (if unmentioned) SAT score and earned entry into Yale. She isn't going to Yale, due to some bad actions on her part and because of ifwesendourcharactersawayhowwilltheshowcontinueitis, and may end up at NYU. Still a good school. Like Rory Gilmore, getting into the Ivy League (in the pilot Rory says Harvard, but later obsesses over Yale, which is much closer to Stars Hollow and from which she graduates), has been presented as Blair's be all and end all, along with becoming Audrey Hepburn (a goal after my own heart). It will remain to be seen how the story treats her at NYU, or whether it becomes Columbia after all (it would have made more sense to send Nate to NYU and Blair to Columbia), but it will be interesting to see if they have school challenge Blair.

The season finale is tonight and I'm "unspoiled" but I'm guessing Serena's recent arrest is what will torpedo her going to Brown. She's never been school oriented and it wouldn't be surprising or terrible if next year she didn't go to college but modelled or something instead. The final girl on that show is Jenny, who won't be ready for college for at least one more year (maybe two--these shows are so vague). As a fashion designer she is outside the realm of the "smart girl" no matter what her grades, which have never been mentioned--she is instead an artsy girl.

90210 also didn't include such a character. Andrea Zuckerman's daughter Hannah was introduced in the pilot as the anchor for the school TV news show Navid runs, but was barely seen and has never been mentioned again. Annie is the good girl, and the actress, but is much more Brenda than Andrea, only tons more annoying. Even when the world hated Brenda, Shannen Doherty was tons more convincing and good in the role than Shenae Grimes. Anyhow, as PK (Principal's kid), it seems likely Annie gets good grades, but we've seen no evidence of her stressing over anything other than boys and whether she's the lead in the school show or not. Silver is the blogger (like all smart people are), but mostly the rebel with problems and actress and druggie Adrianna and popular/bitchy Naomi are far from school oriented. So far no one is a stealth smart girl, but any of them could turn out to be a genius.

Friday Night Lights also didn't have such a character. Coach's daughter Julie is shyer than the other girls, but not flamboyantly brainy. Lyla got into Duke, but was more into cheerleading, then Christianity, and later boyfriend Tim than school while Tyra was the classic underachiever who ultimately did get into college, but through a great deal of struggle.


Finally, there is The Secret Life of the American Teenager. Unfortunately for me, despite having just completed a season, this will be back in July and I'm sure I will watch every minute of the total train wreck this show is. This show alone might include the brainy girl in the lead, Amy. She plays the French horn and, until shortly before the show began was of the "never been kissed" variety of girl I discuss in my sex chapter. However, by the time the show starts, not only has she been kissed, she is pregnant. Although frequently referred to by the actual words "smart girl" we never see her do anything particularly brainy, and in fact she, and most of the cast, come off as quite dim. An interesting character, however, is Adrian, a very stealth smart girl. Although clearly the sex pot (she sleeps with the father of the baby, another girl's boyfriend, and her new stepbrother), she is also determined to do well in school. She will admit it, but even her friends (and she starts off wanting few) are surprised to discover her devotion to school.

So, what does the stealth smart girl mean? Does this mean that braininess is now a less outsider characteristic? Given that some of these shows actually have characters of color (though Gossip Girl only does as recurring characters, including an Asian girl with gigantic glasses, and 90210 and Friday Night Lights have had only boys of color), is that enough? Are we supposed to see all the characters as so well integrated that they don't need obvious signs of smartness as glasses or huge piles of books around them? I'm not sure, but it's something I want to think about this week.