ATTENTION: SPOILERS BELOW
If you haven’t watched Shameless, stop reading this article and start binge-watching the show on Netflix right now. I’m serious. This show forces you to feel every emotion imaginable.
If you have watched Shameless, enjoy this brief refresher on its crucial moments. The show is about more than a group of kids raising themselves. The central themes of Shameless reflect issues our society is faced with today.
1) Alcoholism/Substance Abuse
Frank Gallagher…need I say more? This man is the definition of an alcoholic. Unfortunately, alcoholism runs in the family. Lip’s addiction gets him kicked out of college and sent to rehab. Fiona gets some rehabilition of her own. She’s sentenced to jail time for child endangerment after her baby brother overdoses on cocaine she left out.
2) Poverty/Gentrification
You may have noticed the Netflix poster with the words “GENTRFY THIS.” The South Side of Chicago is labelled “up and coming” and the rich begin to buy up and improve the neighborhood. While this may sound good it comes with one big problem; the poor families like the Gallaghers are either displaced or can’t afford to live in the neighborhood anymore. Their alcoholic father and mentally ill mother leave Fiona and her siblings to provide for themselves.
3) LGBTQ Rights
Ian and Mickey will always be relationship goals. Mickey comes from an abusive household and is beat for coming out to his father. They stick with each other through thick and thin until Mickey has to run away to Mexico to escape law enforcement. So many heartbreaking moments between this couple.
4) Pro-Choice vs Pro-Life Debate
This is a hot issue in today’s political climate. Shameless presents both sides of the argument. Ironically, the Gallagher sisters find out their pregnant at the same time. Debbie becomes a teen mom to a beautiful baby girl while Fiona exercises her right to choose.
5) Domestic Abuse
In addition to Frank’s violent episode while drunk, Mickey’s sister Mandy is abused several times in the show. The Gallaghers offer her a place to live once they find out she’s being sexually abused by her father. They try to save her again once she gets into an abusive relationship, but she moves away with him. Again, one of many heartbreaking moments.
6) Mental Illness
Bipolar disorder is a issue that arises frequently in the show. Briefly, Monica comes back into the Gallaghers’ lives. The infamous Thanksgiving episode featuring Monica’s suicide attempt shocks viewers. Even more shocking is who inherits Monica’s disorder. Ian relutantly accepts medical help for his disorder and uses it to help others as a paramedic. One happy ending to a terribly depressing story.
Television doesn’t have to rot your brain. Showtime’s Shameless is a example of pop culture with a message.