I'm anti-Daria

Even if it was exaggerated, I still couldn't identify with it. I'm very selective of what I watch, since a lot of what gets shown is like a real life version of the Mirror of Erised, where it shows you what you want or what you make of life, but unfortunately, it can't really give knowledge or truth, instead one waists away and their sanity declines. As Albus Dumbledore told Harry Potter, "It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live". There are some things in this world one should not be laughing at and if I did something like that I'd be automatically ashamed of myself. Deliberate Cruelty to others whether physically or verbally is something I find to frown upon. Daria's selfish demeanor is something I see no reason to laugh at. As a matter of fact selfishness is a virus that's a serious issue in this world and I'm afraid this show is only fuel if not the spark to this virus. My advice is if you want respect from others you take the heat whether you like it or not. Expression of displeasure is normal but someone who finds virtually no joy in the world, what kind of entertainment is that really?

Well mine was not the best either, but still it's just inexcusable to treat your parents or siblings like garbage. In fact, this made me think of an episode of Supernanny where the eldest daughter of the family had a "Daria" attitude, only a little bit worse, she even said she wished her mother would die. Unlike the exaggerated Daria, the true reason behind her attitude (if not justifiable) was because her mother married and paid more attention to the younger new members of the family and thus felt like she was being pushed to the side. True becoming an adult is painful, but sooner or later one needs to show some maturity and apologize to whom they treated with disdain unjustly.

You raise some good points how some teens gather that superiority complex issues and that's what rubbed me the wrong way about this show. I wasn't exactly and angry outsider, I did have some friends that I hung out with both in and out of school but I was a little disappointed more with the freshman than the seniors. Of course no student has ever had that "perfect" high school life and mine was no exception (bad grades, demanding sports, parental pressures and bullying the last one was the biggest). I can give Daria some good points however that a least she never bullied and the Scholarship report and graduation speech did exactly make me not completely dislike her or the show, it just still couldn't get me to become relatable to it nor a fan.

You took the words right outta my mouth.

^This. Perfect. I hate when people are so quick to make judgments about shows that they've barely seen any of. If they've seen at least 75% of it, I'll give what they have to say more credence. Until then, I can't listen to it.

I can't take any of the complaints the OP of this thread has about Daria seriously. My reason? Because the OP cites Saved by the Bell as the more realistic portrayal of high school life while saying that Daria was just unbelievable. Let's examine Saved by the Bell a little more closely, shall we? Does anyone really think the following "realities" shown in SBTB were anything close to realistic?

The school: The school looked like a shopping mall. Spotlessly clean and in up-to-date 80's colors, This school must have been the most sanitary high school that ever existed on television.

Stereotypes: Want to talk about unbelievable portrayals of high school life? How about that group? Let's see, we have a cheerleader, a jock (who looks like a prep), a prep (who looks like a jock), a brain (who looks like a cheerleader) a geek (who looks and sounds like the worst stereotype of geeks in every movie ever made, right down to the pocket protector), and, who am I missing? Oh yeah, the black American princess (who also looks like a cheerleader). Later, the writers would add another female character who was a rebel. How do we know she was a rebel? Because she wore a black leather jacket and sneered a lot. An equally stereotypical female geek was brought in as a love interest for the character of screech.

Let's be honest. The script for Saved by the Bell was insulting to a fifth graders intelligence. Not only were these insipid characters (or should I say caricatures?)completely shallow and unbelievable, the likelihood that they would come together as a group of friends was completely implausible, especially with the inclusion of Screech, who, in a more realistically written show, would have died in a hazing at the hands of Slater and Zach, or committed suicide after being bullied to death.

High school life: I don't know anyone who had all of their classes with all of their best friends. Yet, in the bizarro universe of SBTB, there they were together in every single class. Not only were they in all classes together, they also ruled the school. Every event, every dance, every talent show was dominated by this group,if not created for it. No attention was ever paid to peripheral characters. At least on Daria, her peers were fully developed characters who often fit the stereotypes in SBTB, but they were nuanced with depth and given more substance than what their outward appearance or social ranking within high school hierarchies would indicate.

The adults: All the adults in SBTB were idiots, including patently stupid principle Mr. Belding. Even the monkey Gleek from The Super Friends had more intelligence than any of the adults on this show. For some reason, Belding was always falling for some stupid prank orchestrated by Zach and carried out by his minions.

I was in high school when SBTB first aired. I only know of the details of it because it seemed it was always on and all of my friends watched it. Personally, I never understood the popularity of that show or the people who found it funny. I thought it was offensively stupid then. It's stupid now. In fact, I think Daria was the perfect antidote for a show like SBTB, and in some way, seemed to parody the very mainstream that pop culture junk like SBTB was aimed at. I was in my early 20's when Daria premiered and I connected with it immediately. I thought it was intelligently written, and for once, it wasn't pandering to people who might have been the outcast in high school or simply didn't fit in. In Saved by the Bell, it was like the writers were saying "let's make these shallow characters seem like good people by letting someone into their clique that they would never associate with in real life.

I wasn't unpopular or unattractive in high school, but I wasn't popular or considered part of any group either. I had bullies but stood up to them. I didn't care for the jocks too much, but didn't outright dislike them either. I even tutored one in English to help him get his grades up at the request of my favorite teacher. We got along, but when tutoring sessions were over, he was with his friends and I was with mine. I knew a lot of kids that more closely fit the profiles seen in Daria than even came remotely close in Saved by the Bell. Other than the fact that Daria was a cynical, less artificial portrayal of high school life, if not shockingly accurate at times, I really don't understand what the OP's problem is with this show. If the paronizing tone, braying laugh track, and winking self awareness of Saved by the Bell is your idea of a well written and hilarious show, then by all means, watch the reruns to your hearts content. Let the rest of us enjoy Daria for the honest, and less idyllic portrayal of high school life that it really is.

You're such a mess, the train wreck stops to watch you!

I feel like when I was in high school, I could hang out with Daria & Jane. Many years later, though, I can easily see they are a bit immature, especially how they are both just arrogant people that think they are intelligent, and the way they constantly project their hatred/. There is a line between the two. Besides, does being around people that do not reach your level of what you call intelligence really mean you are smart? It is one thing to know things that people don't know and try to help them understand, but it is another when you blatantly talk down to others and not help them learn things about the world. I almost feel sorry for them because it IS possible to be book smart AND have a social life, even amongst other people like them, but I guess even that would be asking to much for them, especially Daria.

I could maybe handle being around them in small doses now. Maybe Jane has a chance, but Daria strikes me as the type of person who emotionally and psychologically remains in high school when everyone else around her grows up. I bet even Britney the cheerleader and the fashion club end up with better lives outside of high school than Daria would ever hope to achieve.


The more personalities you have the less boring you are!