Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 3 July 2019
Creator of HBO's 'Euphoria' says it tries to be 'empathic'

NEW YORK (AP) — In the idea."
pilot of the new HBO series Then she slashes her own
"Euphoria," a young wom- arm.
an is about to be assaulted Appalled as her blood spills,
by an angry drunk in the the bully backs off. The as-
kitchen at a house party. sault is abruptly canceled.
Her hand happens to find a Sam Levinson, the creator
kitchen knife. and writer of the show,
She raises it. "You want to drew on his own youth for
hurt me?" she screams at the scene. At 16, he avoid-
her attacker. ed getting beaten up at a
"Put the knife down," the party by similarly out-crazy-
drunk now pleads. ing his bully.
"You want to hurt me?" "Part of what I love about
she repeats. "You have no this show is that I can take

This image released by HBO shows Zendaya, right, and Hunter Schafer in a scene from "Euphoria,"
airing Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on HBO.
Associated Press

experiences that hap- Other recent shows — like "Portraying it in an honest
pened in some way, shape Netflix's "Sex Education" way is the best way to cre-
or form and I can give and "13 Reasons Why" — ate empathy for addicts
them away to these other have explored the under- and their families, because
characters who can expe- belly of teen life, but not like I believe empathy is the
rience it in their own way this. On "Euphoria," there's only way that we can com-
and in their own circum- ugly sex, full frontal nudity, municate," he said.
stances," he said. "That's ul- and several disturbing and The portrait of teens that
timately what storytelling is violent scenes, with drug emerges is frightening —
all about for me." highs that are depicted lots of drugs and sexual
The eight-episode "Eupho- with room-turning or face- activity, but with a skewed
ria" follows a group of sub- melting effects. vision of sex since they're
urban high school students Parents — with the excep- raised on porn. They're
as they try to construct an tion of Rue's mom — are also addicted to devices,
identity amid shifting al- often portrayed as out of sharing explicit videos and
legiances and against step and self-medicating, photos. "It's 2019 and unless
a backdrop saturated usually with a beer or wine. you're Amish, nudes are the
with social media. The Or they're sociopaths, like currency of love," we are
soundtrack ranges from one father who has a video told. "So stop shaming us."
'50s crooner Jim Reeves to collection of his rapes. In It's a rough ride that even
Beyoncé, Lil Wayne and the absence of any helpful the stars of the show feel.
Drake, who is an executive adults, Rue gives tutorials "There are some days
producer. about how to beat a drug where I go home and
The show stars former Dis- test or the finer points of I'm tired and I'm like, 'All
ney Channel star Zendaya sexting. I did was cry today,'" the
as Rue, an on-and-off re- She takes whatever she 22-year-old Zendaya said.
covering drug addict who can to reach nothingness "I just need to hibernate for,
narrates her life. It also stars — cocaine, psychedelics, like, three days and watch
Hunter Schafer, a transgen- oxycodone, liquid valium 'Harry Potter.'"
der woman to whom Levin- or fentanyl. "I know you're On the night the show pre-
son gave the knife scene. not allowed to say it, but miered, the actress tweet-
The show has drawn criti- drugs are kinda cool," she ed a warning, noting it was
cism for its frankness, but explains in the second epi- designed for "mature audi-
its creator says it captures sode. "I mean, they're cool ences." She added: "It's a
something important. before they wreck your skin raw and honest portrait of
"It's about addiction and and your life and your fam- addiction, anxiety and the
it's about friendship and it's ily." difficulties of navigating life
about the people who you Levinson, the 34-year-old today."
meet who can change son of director Barry Levin- The conservative advoca-
your life, and it's about son, drew on his own strug- cy group Parents Television
holding onto these small gles with addiction, and Council issued a warning,
moments of joy when they said it was important for calling out HBO for "overtly,
come your way because him to show the relief that intentionally, marketing ex-
everything feels fleeting drugs can bring to some- tremely graphic adult con-
when you're younger," said one who suffers from anxi- tent — sex, violence, pro-
Levinson, who also direct- ety or depression — as well fanity and drug use — to
ed five episodes. as the pain. teens and preteens."q