Daria:
Too Cool for High School

By Savita Droom

She's the intelligent outcast at her school, she speaks in a monotonous voice and her sarcastic sense of humor is her best quality. Who am I talking about? None other than MTV's Daria, my favorite animated TV character.

Daria is a student at Lawndale High, where she is definitely not a member of the popular crowd. Most of the other students, including her sister, Quin, think that Daria is "abnormal." They say that she's anti-social because she's not active in school activities and she doesn't like to party as much as they do.

It's not that she's a Goody Two-Shoes; Daria would just rather stay home and watch TV. Her favorite show is called Sick, Sad World and she also likes watching animal maulings on cable.

Daria doesn't get harassed by the other kids, but they won't invite her to a party either (not that she would want to go). She's constantly pressured to make more friends and open up more. But how can she? Look at the world she lives in and the people she has to deal with!

The Sister from Hell

First, there's her sister Quin, a trendy girl who would probably wear underwear on her head if that were in style. She's your average party girl, shopaholic and flirt, who has guys falling all over themselves just for her.

Quin is shallow, conceited and selfish. She cares way too much about her image. She even told her friends that Daria is her cousin in order to protect her image from the fact that she has an unpopular, weird sister.

Quin has practically the whole shopping mall in her closet, but Daria does not fuss too much about clothes. Not to say that Daria does not care about her physical image, but she has a style of her own.

She dresses pretty simple-her wardrobe consists of a straight, green jacket and a black skirt worn with combat boots. (I really like the way the characters are drawn.)

As you can tell, these two sisters are total opposites. Daria and Quin don't exactly hate each other, nor do they fight, but they do try to avoid each other as much as possible. A day spent together would be a punishment for both of them because they don't have much in common.

A Motley Crew of Teachers

Their mother, Helen, is a workaholic lawyer and a strong-minded woman. I like her because she knows how to stand up for herself and talk her way into getting what she wants. You could say that she needs to make more time for her family, but she does make an effort to bond with her daughters while trying to understand their two very different personalities.

Most of the time, though, it's Daria's school, rather than her home life, that is the focus of the show. I like the way the teachers at Lawndale High all have unique personalities.

One teacher is lost in his past and behaves like he's still in the military. Another concentrates on expressing positive emotions like love and happiness. You'll never see him get angry. And the principal spends her days figuring out how to make the school, and especially her reputation, look good.

Advice to Airheads

The students are divided into cliques. There is the popular crowd, which consists of the fashionable, trendy kids like Quin, who are self-absorbed and shallow. The jocks and cheerleaders are basically airheads and don't have a clue as to what is going on most of the time.

These people do not know how to think for themselves and, ironically, they turn to Daria, the intellectual outcast, for advice when they have problems. Even though she's not popular, they assume that since she's smart that means she has the answers to life's questions. And Daria does take their requests for help seriously-she's not the type of person to give bad advice to someone in need.

Daria's best bud is Jane, a talented artist who is neither part of the popular crowd nor a social outcast. Jane understands Daria and knows her better than anyone else. They share similar beliefs about certain issues.

During each show we learn a little more about them and their values-like the fact that they wouldn't be caught dead at a school dance.

A Major Crush

Jane has a cute, older brother named Trent, whom Daria has a major crush on. He doesn't attend Lawndale High, but he does have his own rock band, which is constantly changing its name.

Trent is one of the rare people who finds Daria to be pretty cool for a high school student. But Daria, like many of us, can't really tell the guy she's crushing on exactly how she feels, or what's going through her mind. She's afraid of rejection.

In one episode, Trent asks Daria to help him buy Jane a birthday present. Somehow, the two of them end up at a piercing boutique. Daria agrees to get her belly button pierced because Trent, who has practically everything pierced, thinks it's pretty cool. So both get pierced on a two-for-one special!

Later, Daria realizes that she wasn't thinking logically at the time, since piercing is not her style. She removes the belly button ring and the hole closes.

She Knows Who She Is

I feel that a person's sense of self is often at risk when it comes to fitting in and being accepted in the world.What I really like about Daria is the fact that she won't allow herself to act like someone she's not just to fit in, or live up to someone else's expectations of what a normal teen should be.

Many teens try to be someone they're not, which is one of the main issues the show tries to address. I admire Daria because she's a realistic girl who speaks her mind. And, even though she's a cartoon, a lot of what she says is logical and makes a lot of sense.

Daria tries to get the message across that a person doesn't have to be pretty and popular to be accepted. Today, many teenagers are being bullied just because they don't look a certain way or aren't down with the cool crowd. People should like you for who you are. A person shouldn't change for anyone other than herself.

So, if you wanna watch a hip, cool show about a cynical yet realistic teenager, I strongly recommend Daria. You won't be disappointed.