On the Campus, Online


Trash TV for Tigers

Dawson's Creek is a secret hit among undergraduates

by Emily D. Johnson '01
illustration by Chris Brooks '97

Eight o'clock, Wednesday of Reading Period, a combined five papers still to write, my roommate and I had our priorities in order: we were trying to find a television to watch Dawson's Creek. Some of you (those living among the Amish) may not have heard of Dawson's Creek. Brief explanation: several attractive and sexually charged twentysomethings play 15-year-olds dealing with the deep issues of life and love and generally using dialogue more appropriate to SAT prep classes than to teenagers.

So of course we had to watch it. In our frantic search we tried the basement TV of Laurie-Love-not functioning. Then my old roommate's room-no cable. Finally we hit the basement of Wu Hall, where a guy was settled in front of the big screen. With bated breath we asked what he was watching.

"Uhh, I think it might be Dawson's Creek," he said haltingly. "I don't really know, I'm just killing time."

Yeah, right.

It soon became obvious that Mike's Dawson Creek watching was not an isolated incident. Since I'm not a regular watcher, I had to ask our new pal a little bit about the plot (Dawson and his schoolmates were dealing with the aftermath of very nasty girl's drowning on last week's episode). At first he brightly rattled on about the characters, but then he caught himself, and, turning red, he trailed off: "Uh, I mean, I'm not sure, but I think that Joey, you know, likes Dawson or something."

Mike is not alone in his D.C. habit. I asked a geology friend if she wanted to work on the week's problem set together. "Well sure!" she said. "Right after Dawson's Creek." Cloister Inn devotes each Wednesday night to watching Dawson's Creek en masse. A couple of weeks ago I watched it in "The Zoo," a suite in Wilson college of 10 very large varsity athletes, most of whom gathered around to watch Dawson and Joey deal with the issue of sex. They were enthralled, involved, and vocal. "What's the big deal?" says one. "I don't think they're going to do it," says another "I think Dawson should go out with Jen again," says a third.

DAWSON VS. DESCARTES

You might be thinking that Princeton students are lacking the eruditic profundity they had in the good old days and are now wasting their time with silly TV shows. But hey, not only do Dawson characters expound on the meaning of life more than Descartes, we college kids need some time just to relax. We are stressed out people. We have to read things like Dickens, Tacitus, and my personal favorite, TheCompressibility of Sodalite and Scapolite from the American Mineralogist. We have to write 30-page papers with one-sentence thesis statements, memorize rules named after famous dead mathematicians, and do it all on four hours of sleep a night.

That makes Dawson's problems (aspiring but talentless filmmaker in love with his best female friend) seem easier to deal with than our own and MUCH more interesting. Dawson's Creek has fast-paced action, virtual intrigues, and most importantly no paper due at the end. There is no deeper meaning, no commitment, and no pressure to absorb the main ideas. We just watch.

Trashy TV is fun and entertaining, and I wish I had time for more of it. At home I watch at least two hours a night, which is probably two too many, but after a long day of heavy thinking there is no better way to unwind than by watching Dawson deal with his parents' imminent divorce, or Jen flirt, or Andie reform the wayward Pacey with her love.

Dawson's Creek is simple to understand and fun to watch. It's unrealistic, its silly, and its fascinating.

It's also eight o'clock. I've got to find a TV.


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