jediwands

Did anyone have an issue with the dialogue on the show? I know many who couldn't continue watching because of how unrealistic they sounded.

Take this moment, for example, when the writers were obsessed with showing Pacey talking about Joey in 03x14:

Do teenagers really talk like this? Especially a Pacey type?

Look at Everwood and Ephram and Amy exchanging ILYs for the first time in 3.3:

Everwood is ten times the quality in writing and construction compared to Dawson's Creek and which one in this instance displays teenagers a little better?

It's incredible how unrealistic and weird the dialogue on Dawson's Creek was and when I reread it now I am even more blown away by what they passed off as normal teen words and expressions. It is so ridiculous. LOL. I have a friend who stopped watching the series in early S3 because she hated Joey... she literally thought the writers insulted the audience with the dialogue and how far away from reality it was. She couldn't handle it at all and thought it was irritating and insulting.

TL22

As Michelle Williams said, and she is far from being a dummy, "When I read the script I had to keep a dictionary by my side".

No teenagers don't speak like that.

TL22

What Pacey really said.

"Look Dougie, if I say something, the whole world will turn to crap.

jediwands

Michelle said that? Oh my God, so bang on true. She was totally poking at the show. LOL.

Exactly, Tony, they do not speak like that.

jediwands

TL22

I'll see if I can find the article where she said that.

jediwands

Sweet, sounds good, thanks!

COOLCAT200

Soooooo funny lol I mean a lot of the big words used aren’t really said by teenagers

jediwands

My 22 year old niece tried watching Dawson's Creek a few years back when she was a senior in high school. She's always been very mature for her age but she couldn't continue on after a few episodes. LOL. I have two nieces that are Gen Z and it seems like they just easily see through the BS. They are also very passionate when it comes to things like racial injustice, women's rights, homophobia... so taking one look at Dawson's Creek and some of the issues you see right away along with the unrealistic way the dialogue is showcased... it's a big no which is precisely what my one niece who attempted to watch stated as she promptly stopped watching the series.

This series hasn't aged well at all for multiple reasons.

Jerry D

Your nieces are smart, perceptive and passionate about the right causes, which doesn't surprise me at all. It runs in the family!

The show really hasn't aged well, even Season One, which had elements of racism, sexism, and homophobia in it, not to mention an illicit teacher-student affair.

jediwands

Teresa knew the score too.

Exactly, Jerry. When you think about it... what on earth were we watching?

What made me the most sick was how Jen was depicted as a s$ut in so many words in S1. Even her own grandmother treated her like that. I couldn't imagine even for a second my grandmother going there with me. It was unbelievable what they used the character of Jen for.

It was inferred Jen was almost assaulted because of how she looked and acted, she was not good enough for the player in Charlie or any other guy. Even with Dawson she was depicted as his second choice. Joey, for as much as we talk about how she was the queen, she was also basically reduced to which guy she was going to end up with. Right now given what is going on in the world, just noticing the treatment of girls/women on this show is maddening.

TL22

By Jediwands
I see where you're coming from, but I sort of disagree. I feel the series tilted so much toward Joey, and the way every other female was degraded so she'd look good, kind of makes her exempt from your idea.

The two boys were made to look pathetic and foolish over their slavish love for Joey.

Jen, Andie, and Audrey were all degraded to make Joey look like the queen.


I have hard time feeling any symphony for Joey once the series turned into Joey's Creek

jediwands

Yes, overall it was disgusting how she was generally constructed. Of course.

But at the same time she never had a really good storyline. She was singing to her mugger! Embarrassing. That’s not her own quality storyline. Her character was never fleshed out. She had zero relationships with her sister or nephew. We never saw anything outside of which guy she wanted to be with. One Tree Hill did a way better job of writing female characters and it’s not even close.

In the end, she was reduced to what man she ended up with.

I don’t feel sorry for her in the least. I started hating the character in S2 and it only got worse given how Katie’s acting changed and she decided to play Joey post-S1.

But the truth is, Joey Potter, who was the main female character, never received quality storylines or balance in the least. It was all centered around her romantic life. That is essentially how she was defined. Talk about misogynistic. Truth is, with Andie we found out she went on and became a successful physician, an independent woman... the reality is Andie got the better ending. I like this fact.

Jerry D

Yes she did! She stopped watching in Season Three!

That's so true!

Oh I know! Jen was treated so horribly on the show from the beginning to the end.

That's so true, because as much as the show idolized Joey, they also reduced her to being the "prize" that either Dawson or Pacey would "win," which is incredibly misogynistic.

Jerry D

I completely agree with everything you've said here. Joey wasn't fleshed out as a character, and she was defined by her romantic relationships and nothing else. In the end, the show came down to which guy she would be with, and like I said in my previous post, she became nothing more than a "prize" to be "won" by Dawson or Pacey. Like you said, talk about misogynistic!