#not crosstagging cus apparently people hate that

[auroraayyye]

SKAM: An analysis

Part 1

This is not anything anyone has ever asked for, but I can’t sleep so here you go. A personal analysis of my likes, dislikes and favourite characters from every version of SKAM. Starting of with:

SKAM (The OG, Norwegian one)

Likes:

My own language and culture

A well written interesting teen show that tackled important problems you meet in life and brought out stories you didn’t see much of in media at the time.

The cast consisted of litteral teens. Tarjei who played Isak was a first year at the real school «Nissen».

The actors were so good. They all played such important roles, and you could tell they put a whole lot of personality into it.

I LOVED the format. SKAM has a lot of references to Henrik Ibsen (norwegian author), and he was known for writing plays in a style that in norwegian is called «Titteskap teater» (rough translation: a cupboard you can look into). The minimizes the distance between the audience and the action, creating much more debate around the plot. By giving us the clips online while they were happening «in real time» and giving the characters real SoMe accounts SKAM did exactly that. (Our teacher would seriously pause the class if any clips came out during).

I also liked how short the clips were. I don’t watch a lot of shows as I simply don’t have the time or attention span. But watching 2-10 minute clips and reading small text exchanges, thats something i could do!

None of the characters were «simple». They were all written and acted quite dynamic, deep and dimentional, and i loved that.

SKAM was brought up so goddamn much in our norwegian classes i swear. I did so many papers on it.

Unpopular opinion: i liked that it ended after 4 season. Ended on a high.

GREAT SOUNDTRACK

Dislikes:

SKAM is made in certain part of Oslo, which is the capital and biggest city of Norway. I don’t think it should’ve been changed, I just didn’t relate to a lot of the cultural youth references as I am from the north myself. And yes those enviroments are very different! So I just feel like letting the fandom know that that not all of norwegian is definitely like that.

They definitely could’ve done more with Sana’s season. I do not think that it was a bad season, i just think that there was too much focus on Noorhelm and girl drama which were topics that didn’t really need more focus.

Eva’s season just being overlooked in promos and in general. I get that it was the first season and the show gathered more attention around the second season but come on. Eva and her storyline is so important, the acting was so good and it laid a solid foundation for the rest of the show. I just feel like Eva’s character didn’t get the justice it deserved.

Favourite characters:

Vilde. Now my people let me tell you a little bit about Vilde. Vilde was the most important character in the entire show. She was the glue that brought together all the other characters. And she was so devoted to everthing she did: her friends, the bus, all the small gatherings. And i feel like everyone went to school with a person like this. Who was maybe teased and looked at like weird, but in hindsight you realise how much they really did for their community. In the last season we get a little peak into the life Vilde is living when she’s not at school and it’s absolutely heartbreaking. And again unpopular opinion but i liked that we never got a Vilde season, cus thats the reality of it. Most situations like these are hidden, and they are hidden so well. And not giving Vilde a season really enhances that. Vilde really just wanted to be good for the world and for the world to be a better place. And that scene from season 4 between Vilde, Chris and Magnus is honestly one of the most beautiful scenes of the entire show and both Vilde and Chris’ friendship and Vilde and Magnus’ relationship is so healthy and lovely. I love Vilde fight me.

Eskil. He is, without any doubt to ever excist about it, the funniest character on the show. He really gives me «Will and Grace»-vibes. But I also love that even though he is funny, he is not reduced to just funny lines. He is an example of how important one person can be to anothers life. He really did take care of the people around him, even though not everyone perceived his behaviour that way. He took care of Noora and brought her out of her shell. He took care of Isak and helped him come to terms with his sexuality and internalized homophobia. He took care of Linn and accepted her as she was while simultanously helping her be a part of their social community. He was also an very important counterpart to Isak’s character in season three. It gave out the message that there is definitely not one way to be gay. Although he wasn’t the best roomate, he was a good character.

Isak. My most favourite thing about his character is that i don’t 100% like him. It’s like having a friend that doesn’t agree with you on every single subject and i honestly feel like that enriches the relationship. And he is such a realistic norwegian boy, so many of my guy friends act similar to him. Guys and their feelings are very under-represented in the media, and i think as much as the third season is praised for its focus on lgbt+ and mental health, it should get some credit for putting guys and the way they face issues in the limelight. I love that he’s such a snake sometimes, because people do dumb, selfish shit no matter how much of a nice person you think they are. His friendship with Eva? Amazing. And also veey realistic. Sometimes friends grow a little apart before they come back together, and i think their friendship is a strong one. His friendship with Jonas? Amazing. That coming out scene at the bench says it all i need not write any further. His friendship with Sana? Amazing. Isak was such an important character in her season and she was so important in his. The talk they have at the bench in Sana’s season is such a nice scene. Also Tarjei, the actor who plays Isak, is one of norway’s finest. He’s so good, i’ve seen him in other things as well and he’s just astonishing. The «O Helga Natt» scene is good, but it wouldn’t be nearly as good without that amazing acting.

That concludes my personal analysis of OG SKAM that no one asked for, but if you wanna tag along make sure to look out for my next! And hopefully i will get to sleep now.