Have you ever heard about a TV show where the main characters have profiles on social media just as if they were real people? If the answer is no, you have no idea of what you are losing. I am talking about Skam, a Norwegian TV show produced and released between 2015 and 2017. This web series created by the film-maker Julie Andem tells the story of five girls and the challenges that they face in Nissen, a school in Oslo, Norway.
Throughout the four seasons, it is possible to find out the fears, thoughts, wishes and the pressures that young people encounter in Norway. Each season is shown from the point of view of one character, which makes the show even closer to our reality. The first season is about Eva and her problems with her boyfriend Jonas, while the second season is about Noora, a feminist and strong teenage that changes a lot after meeting the playboy William. The third season is about Isak and his insecurities and the last season focus on Sana’s reality as a muslim girl in Norway.
Read now 5 reasons why you have to stop whatever you are doing and go binge-watch Skam as soon as possible!
- It is a web series
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Skam was produced by the broadcaster NRK and originally it was only available on their website. As the TV Show started to be watched all over the world and became a global success, many people translated the episodes and released them on websites in different countries. The advantage of this fact is that you can watch Skam in your language and the best part is that it is free and very easy to access. In addition, it is important to mention that the main characters have profiles on Instagram and Facebook, so if you want you can watch the web series while you are looking at posts and photos of the characters.
- The soundtrack and shooting techniques are amazing
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Even though Skam is a small production, with only ten people in the group of producers, it has advanced and professional shooting techniques. With different angles and lights, many scenes evidence the detailed and careful job done by Julie Andem. One special effect that the director enjoyed using is slow motion, which is used in important moments of the story. The perfect Soundtrack hand-picked by Andem includes not only successful singers and bands such as Ed Sheeran, The Weeknd and Alphaville, but also alternative and less known songs that are just as amazing. All of which contributed to building the Skam universe and making it so unique.
- It is very relatable
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One of the biggest worries of the creator of the TV Show, Julie Andem, was to tell the story as realistically as possible. Although the story is set in Norway, many problems and challenges that the characters have to deal with are universal. This promotes identification as well as allows the viewer to dive into the series as if it was real. The fact that the actors have almost the same age of their characters, that they use no make-up and do not remove sweat marks are also important in order to make this production more relatable.
- It is thought-provoking
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Skam is different from other more conventional teen series especially when it comes to the plot and the topics that the story covers. It is not just a series that portrays couples, parties and shallow problems, but it shows teenagers that care about the world and are critical of our society. The characters discuss in a spontaneous way important social issues such as beauty standards, mental health, feminism, capitalism, homophobia and religious intolerance. Julie Andem created and directed this web series with the ideal sensibility to represent teenagers that hope and fight for a more diverse and fair reality.
- You can watch the remakes
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Another reason for you to start watching Skam is that there are many remakes of this series. Because of the success of the norwegian version (original), a myriad of countries started to produce other versions with the same storyline and just a few changes. Although the original production ended in 2017, many remakes are still being produced and released to this day. So far, seven countries have made their own versions of this phenomenal series- Skam Spain, Skam France, Skam Italy, Wt fock (Belgium’s version), Skam Austin (USA’s version), Skam NL (Netherlands’ version) and Druck (Germany’s version)- and you can easily check them all out on the internet. Certainly, this experience will raise awareness about the norwegian and other countries’ cultures and particular problems. It is definitely going to be worth it!