Archetype, Remix, or Ripoff?

NotAVampyre considers the noticeable similarities between Degrassi characters and rejects the idea that they are simply replicas of those that came before.
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[@pikachick222]

the difference between Ali and Manny was that Ali was book smart Manny was street smart

[@NotAVampyre]

Technically Manny did have some book smarts since she was revealed to be really good at chemistry(?) somewhere in season 6-7.

[@basketballgirl723]

She was very good at science especially chemistry. You aren’t just GOOD at chemistry. That takes serious smarts and memory

[@oooh19]

Idk if Manny was street smart though she’d survive in a bad area? Idk

[@oooh19]

Ali definitely not making good decisions like marrying Leo

[@typicaldemoness6x111]

Street smart? I don’t think you know what being street smart is if you think Manny has any. They don’t even show a situation remotely close to Manny being street smart.

[@purpleprincess4881]

I agree with you but there is a strong similarity between Emma, Clare and Maya but I think this is a good this as each time it shows a strong female character and the different choices they make that shape their personality

[@NotAVampyre]

I can see more similarity with Clare and Emma, but Maya stands out because she's not as morally driven as the other two are though they all can be called strong willed.

[@st3458]

Does anybody else think that Katie and marosol kinda remind u of Paige and hasel

[@NotAVampyre]

A little bit. Except Marisol got to do more than be another main character's girlfriend/best friend.

[@jazzcritic3587]

NotAVampyre I wasnt a fan at all pf Marosol and Katie.

[@NotAVampyre]

Thought they were fine. Not the best people, but they were interesting to watch

[@jazzcritic3587]

NotAVampyre yeah Marisol was kind of annoying to me.

[@jazzcritic3587]

Meant for me

[@denisejohnson4037]

So how do explain Paige: "New year, new look, new Paige" and Holly J: "new week, new day, new Holly J" Yeah, they were trying to copy

[@NotAVampyre]

Or make a silly reference old fans would appreciate.

[@denisejohnson4037]

@@NotAVampyre In any case, I think thats life. Every school year you're going to have a paige, spinner, marco, etc. Those are just people's personalities. I would have loved to see Holly J and Paige in school together, though.

[@terranceforeman5116]

Wow.. Now i will never look at these characters the same now

[@kianineshay3484]

I thought I was the only one who saw these recaps in characters as the season changed

[@NotAVampyre]

Many people see that and use it as a criticism, but as I try to explain, calling these characters just recaps or copies isn't very fair.

[@davontekh]

i love how Degrassi retools its archetypes you will notice that a lot of media does that very thing.

[@jazzcritic3587]

I never found Manny as a boyfriend stealer She did come onto Craig when she was with Ashley but Craig wanted her too. He could have said Im with Ashley Im not into you. But his relationship with Ashley was fizzling out. No one blames Craig for anything which pisses me off.

[@NotAVampyre]

Manny still went after a guy in a committed relationship. 2 of them when you count Spinner. Of course they guys could've said no and not cheated on their gfs. But Manny could've also not gone for guys she knew were taken. She's not completely to blame for either, but she is still culpable.

[@jazzcritic3587]

NotAVampyre Yeah but a lot of people call her a whore and a slut for these two instances. And Manny never pushed herself onto Spinner things just happened. And Craig hurt her and Manny. Craig does a lot of bad things but somehow remains likeable.

[@jazzcritic3587]

NotAVampyre I wondered how Craig would be if he was bisexual?

[@jazzcritic3587]

NotAVampyre Boyfriend stealing is a selfish term like oh I just steal your boyfriend cuz hey I just want to make you feel bad or for selfish reasons. It wasn’t about stealing him, Manny clearly loved Craig and thats why she was willing to stay with Craig even when Craig was with Ashley. She wanted to show Craig that she loved him more than Ashley and if he did he’d choose her. And Craig called her the one. Its hard to leave someone when they call you that. And Manny did feel uneasy about it in a couple instances. She was young, naive, and stupid like we all are at some point. Nobodys perfect and we all do thing we aren’t proud of. Manny grew up and she became something of herself thats commendable.

[@NotAVampyre]

But you're still treating this as though she did NOTHING wrong. Maybe you dislike the term "boyfriend stealing", but pursuing someone who is currently in a relationship is just slimey and wrong. You're showing NO consideration for their significant other as person who also has feelings. If the relation breaks apart on its own, that's one thing. But to force it so you can be with someone you like is selfish. Manny didn't really learn this lesson. She was sorry that Craig eventually played them both into thinking he was being true to the other. She wasn't sorry for continuing to pursue him when they were still together.

[@NigelsPad]

These videos are making me miss this show so bad. Just the talk about Sean Cameron's character makes me want to watch the show all over again! Totally agree with everything said here!

[@lh9591]

I think the similarities are drawn from the physical similarities as well. The dark haired brown girl, good girl blonde activist etc.

[@NotAVampyre]

But Clare isn't an activist...

[@oooh19]

@@NotAVampyre Clare isn’t blonde either

[@millie209]

I like how this makes it sound like there can only be one person with these very very VERY common traits in a show with a 30 year run

[@NotAVampyre]

Yes!!! Exactly! !

[@Turtleo0]

You forgot about how both Alli and Manny had strict overbearing parents who suddenly changed and tried to be better

[@NotAVampyre]

I wouldn't quite say suddenly changed. Id describe it as they learned how they were wrong and sought to be better

[@hidden-blocks]

I disagree that Emma always admits where she's wrong whereas Claire does not. Once it got to season 4, Emma started blaming things on other people whereas Claire would begin to acknowledge where she needs to improve as her seasons went on.

[@HaleyNicole11]

I just found your channel and I love your videos!

[@NotAVampyre]

+Haley Padour Thanks!

[@RheRheSmily]

I feel like you cant steal someone, if they want to go then they will.

[@NotAVampyre]

What are you talking about?

[@RheRheSmily]

@@NotAVampyre Manny and how people think she's a boyfriend stealer. Those boys chose to cheat physical and emotional.

[@NotAVampyre]

That is so. You're no't literally steaingl a bf or gf in the way the term is used, but it is still a problem that Manny was pursuing guys who were already in a relationship in the first place.

[@RheRheSmily]

@@NotAVampyre I means I understand what you mean, morals and all that, on the other have I feel like she followed he heart and who she had a condition with. I kinda feel like she doent have a huge responsibly to other people's relationship. The people in the relationship have that responsibility. Sure It's not nice to invade someone's relationship but she put herself first which I kinda like.

[@NotAVampyre]

It's not that she has a responsibility to other people's relationships or even right vs wrong. It's that she disregarded Ashley, Paige's, Spinner's, and Craig's feelings. She pursued cheating relations with the guys while not considering how it'd make their girlfriends feel, and chased after the guys not caring that they might really love their current girlfriends. It's the utter lack of concern for anyone's feelings other than her own and that she never really accepts the hurt she caused especially Ashley. The most she says on the matter is that Craig played them both. Except, she purposely preyed on Craig and waited to insert herself in the middle the moment things looked sour with him and Ashley. It's funny how this behaviour is applauded in Manny and yet is called out as creepy and wrong when Eli tried to do this to Clare. The problem in the latter case isn't that Clare wasn't reciprocating Eli's feelings, but that trying to get with a person who were already in a relationship whether the person wanted to or not. It's especially troubling with Manny and Craig because Craig had already rejected her the previous year, so it's not like he was simply trapped with Ashley but truly wanted Manny.

[@elikabolo2817]

there should be a list about degrassi characters who wear the same thing everyday lol

[@NotAVampyre]

That was actually rather rare. The only one who comes to mind is Connor for much of the show. The uniforms kept things on repeat for a while. Zig wore the same type of outfit with some variation. Clare wore her Catholic school uniform for a season, but that's about it I think.

[@katwebbxo]

In the first few seasons there were more examples like Spinner's hoodie, Terri's skirt, Emma's heart shirt and dolphin jeans, etc.

[@NotAVampyre]

Yeah there's more than I recalled like Eli's necklace he almost always had

[@sparkle7653]

I just finished all of degrassi, I'm so lost now 😂 I watched degrassi junior high, degrassi high, degrassi tng and degrassi next class. My favorites were degrassi high and the first few seasons of degrassi tng, also I watched a few episodes of the kids of degrassi streets but like it's so hard to find lol and it's not as entertaining to me

[@ggerrgy6fffyuugff376]

U should watch were it all began degrassi kids of the street

[@lh9591]

Toby does care about social norms ... when he got an eating disorder. He learned from that. Eg why he was able to reject holly j.

[@NotAVampyre]

The eating disorder wasn't about looks though or social norms. He wanted people to care about him and to recognize his accomplishments, and the only way seemed to be by becoming a jock. So, he went for wrestling, but found there wasn't a spot for him on the team unless he was in a lower weight class, and to get there and stay he chose to stop eating.

[@lh9591]

Hmm. I would definitely say trying to fit into a jock social popularity norm was what Toby was going for. And an important theme to address since not all kids are natural athletes.

[@NotAVampyre]

He wasn't trying to be a normal jock tho. He just wanted to be a jock. The clique title was all he wanted. He wasn't like Ali trying to fit in with the cool, popular kids or Ashley trying to score social points with Ellie. He only wanted to be on any sports team because the school and his friends seemed to only care about athletics. Not that he wanted to necessarily be a part of the clique itself

[@lh9591]

The only reason he was trying to be a jock WAS to score social points. He saw who Sean was cool by being on the wrestling team. He recognized how popularity isn’t influenced by achievements, but by what field you achieve in. That’s why he tried out for wrestling. In that episode he wanted the social status.

[@NotAVampyre]

But that's distinct from social norms. He didn't want to fit in perse. He wanted the glory of being rewarded for his efforts instead of being sidelined for not caring for athletics.

[@cll27]

I hate when ppl compare them

[@IONov990]

Manny had no issue accusing everyone of being jealous of her.

[@NotAVampyre]

?

[@davontekh]

book smart boy dumb something as a tagline is actually very fitting.

[@jellyhuman1466]

Manny and Allie reminded me of Stephanie Kay's story line from the original series.

[@NotAVampyre]

A bit yeah. It's one of those high school experiences that doesn't go away with time. That age is often the start of self discovery

[@jellyhuman1466]

@@NotAVampyre I think one of the main things is that they all had to change clothes at school, due to having strict parents. Changing there images for boys/popularity. Personally growing up with parents like that I used to change clothes anywhere I could, a very personal teenage experience

[@cokebenni]

One thing I’ve noticed was how similar the Maya, Miles and Zig love triangle was to the Emma, Peter and Sean love triangle. Blonde girl with her rich boyfriend, big brooding bad boy from girls past coming back to her life, rich boyfriend feeling insecure and tries to frame bad boy, Bad boy and rich boy fight over the girl.

[@greasome]

I feel like the writers took all the og characters and then tweaked them a little or changed the perspective to make new characters and then added totally different characters that have never been brought up before.

[@saraicruz6476]

Who were the 2 deaths Toby went through?? 1 was J.T. Who was the other one???

[@NotAVampyre]

Rick

[@naomiurban9930]

While I can understand your point that they aren't copycat characters, I can't agree with you about the storyline differences as a whole. You said that the generations do have several similarities and I personally see more similarities than differences. I don't have a problem with the show bringing back the traditional archetypes, but I wish they mixed up the traditional friendship pairing.

[@hostileX7]

Manny < Alli ❤!

[@charlottedavis4543]

Okay so... technically, the new characters were just the old characters, but somewhat different. And I like Degrassi... well the earlier seasons, but it does reuse storylines, they just make it somewhat different. I mean how many times could a school have a shooting or a child getting raped and not get shut down or at least have security everywhere. Also, Paige, Holly J, and Zoe are all alike, with some little differences. Degrassi reuses the storylines, and it doesn't just make the show lose its relatability and common sense, it makes the show lose its viewers because the viewers are busy wondering why Degrassi just gave up over time.

[@tradbimbo]

If anything, wouldn't Emma lean more similar to Caitlyn, as opposed to Clair being like Emma.

[@NotAVampyre]

I can see a bit of both tbh. Although, I think the comparison comes more from them both being in TNG and many TNG fans not having seen Caitlyn's class

[@SMP2390]

Allie and Manny are nothing alike there are things Allie wouldn't do that Manny have done and Allie try to learn from her mistakes her only crime his she was sheltered because of her traditional parents but he and Sav had to walk in a nontraditional world.