The makeup, music, unique characters and intense cinematography are all what make HBO’s show Euphoria a huge hit for the young adult audience. While I enjoy all of these show stopping aspects about Euphoria, I find it almost hard to gloss over three significant qualities about the show that make it problematic, such as excessive nudity, lack of plot development for most characters and over the top underage sex. Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoy the show! However, I do want to note that people can critique shows while still enjoying them.
- Why is There So Much Nudity?
Anyone who watches Euphoria knows how much nudity there is in one episode. Most of the time, excessive nudity is shown within the first few minutes of the show, which was fine at first. However, it’s come to the point where the amount of nudity adds absolutely nothing to the plot. I also find it off putting to see the excessive nudity since the characters are supposed to be in high school and the show is supposed to be for an adult audience.
- Lack of Plot Development for Most Characters
If you are familiar with Euphoria then you should be familiar with Mckay, the Black college freshman football player. In the first season, he was assaulted by his team members while he was intimate with his now ex-girlfriend, Cassie. A group of his team members barged into his room, recorded him having sex, and crowded him while he was still naked. This scene was beyond disturbing and hurtful for viewers, and the fact that the creators of the show left this scene unresolved is confusing and angering to me. I hope by the end of the season the creators bring much needed justice for Mckay!
- Over the Top Underage Sex
I know I slightly touched on this previously but I can’t stress this enough: why are the characters in high school if the audience is for adults? Underage folks in their adolescent years aren’t even encouraged to watch the show, so why can’t the characters be in college since that’s a majority of the audience? Just questions I hope creators can think about and learn to justify.
Even though I love ending my Sunday’s by watching the hit HBO show Euphoria, I find it important to acknowledge that while there are great qualities about the show, there are also actions that shouldn’t be encouraged or glorified so much.