A review by acouplereadss
In My Humble Opinion: My So-Called Life by Soraya Roberts

informative slow-paced

3.5

In the 90s a smart, engaging show about real teens aired from 1994 to 1995 - My So Called Life (MSCL). This shows realistic representation of adolescence was groundbreaking - without Angela Chase you wouldn’t have had Buffy/Felicity/Veronica Mars/Rory Gilmore. MSCL explored gender, race, identity, sexuality, class, body image and other issues vital to the feminist movement. To this day passionate fans dissect teenagehood, what Rickie Vasquez did for gay representation and Jordan Catalano’s lean. From serious topics to girl crush moments Roberts dives into MSCL.

These Pop Classics have become such a fun dive into consuming non fiction pop culture phenomena in a bite sized piece. In this edition we dive into MSCL and how it affected a wide audience even though it only lasted one season. I remember finding a dvd of the show at my local library in the early 2000s when I myself was a teen. It was exactly what I needed and stuck with me all these years. There wasn’t another show that went into such depths that resonated with me - except maybe Freaks and Geeks but even so, Angela’s angst reached me on another level.

This was written well and did in depth recaps for episodes 1-8 and how each episode spoke to race, gender, sexism, class and sexuality through a feminist lens. This was a fairly succinct textual analysis of the show that included interviews, quotes from the show itself and third sources. I enjoyed this nostalgic trip down memory lane and am still sad this show ended so abruptly, 3.5✨.