Daria, Alienation, and the Limits of Irony

THE_DARIA_DEFENDER has logged on. (The original version of this video had a few more clips from the show, but Viacom / KZbin's automated copyright machine apparently doesn't like free PR telling everyone how great Daria is.)
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[@superanimenerd13]

I always liked Jane more than Daria to be honest. I agree with what you said about Jodie being a mirror to Daria and I think Jane is kinda similar in that she's like if Daria found a creative outlet for all of her rage and cynicism. Don't get me wrong she's still bitter and really cynical but she also believes in something as much as it is fleeting. I don't know how but I think that has to be the way to actually be counter culture now. Cynical nihilism is the new normal and because of that it's radical if you actually care about something. Not in a, "this will solve all of my problems" kind of way but more "nothing matters so I need to make it matter". That said, I hate an idea for a reboot. It may very well be the best thing ever but I honestly don't see it happening. If only because a reboot implies that they're all back in high school and if ANYTHING the last thing relevant to teens today is Daria's edgy 90's cynicism. Everybody who watched Daria back then has grown up from that time and everyone who's old enough to relate to a high school Daria would just see her cynicism as another edge lord that says they don't care about anything. How they expect any of that to work is beyond me. However, while a reboot sounds awful, I would absolutely LOVE a sequel movie or series where all the Daria characters are early to late 20 somethings and they all have weird internet jobs. Jane makes an obscene amount of money doing furry smut commissions on Patreon to fund her passion projects, Quin becomes a lifestyle blogger/podcaster/author, Jodie still attempts to fight the system from within so she probably works at that universe's equivalent of Buzzfeed trying to do hard hitting journalism but is instead making listicles, and Daria is a lefty video essayist! Daria and Jane are still friends and they co-found that universe's version of Clickhole. Is it bad that I actually kinda want that now that I think about it?

[@MichaelSaba]

Damn, I think this post really says it all -- you came up with a better concept for another Daria show in the comments of this video than the 'professionals' Viacom hired for the reboot. Thank you for this thoughtful comment, Alex.

[@superanimenerd13]

Thank YOU for making the video! I haven't seen Daria as viewed through a socioeconomic lens so this was really insightful! My one regret in my original post is that I didn't come up with something for Trent to be doing! Maybe he's the one constant and he's still playing shows with Mystic Spiral all these years later.

[@lucapeyrefitte6899]

Alex I'd want to actually see that

[@theecho4858]

Your idea sounds better, it be happy to see that instead

[@NiamhCreates]

I always liked Jane more, too.

[@b.griffin317]

the best daria revival would be to simple re-air daria.

[@josepho3366]

Seems reasonable.

[@FG-418]

*with the original MTV soundtrack

[@Plankstv]

@@FG-418 This x100

[@b.griffin317]

@@abcx1237 Good to know.

[@TheHomerowKeys]

@@abcx1237 I can't find it on there

[@g_man2177]

There is no need for a reboot. Just rerun the original series. It still holds up.

[@essence____beauty_92]

Yes indeed I agree

[@Lucailey]

I would love to see a reboot! Daria was picking up on the reality of the 90s and all the bullshit around us. Things have gotten worse. It's all media, it's all about hype and internet celebrities, its looking good on facebook and buying from temu...it's the same bull - just worse.

[@12inter88]

It still holds up. I showed an episode of “Daria” to my class for our “Catcher in the Rye” unit, and the kids said that while her delivery was unpleasant, she had a point (it was the college episode)

[@FabiolaMacabre]

Yup

[@FabiolaMacabre]

⁠​⁠@@Lucaileyit would be good if they made it good. But we’ve seen time and to me again that reboots just seem to always fail.

[@rinayung7115]

every generation thinks their generation was "the good ol days"

[@Tomas-te3ph]

I bet it’s because everything seems so simple when you’re young then as you grow up you learn and you no longer see the world in a child like way.

[@prisma6799]

that's something I like about the current one, because it's living me nothing to look back at.

[@raizen21ss56]

Lol nope. Im a millennial and I cannot stand my people and believe us to be the weakest, laziest, and dumbest generation of the past 100 years. Most of my people are destroying everything but I do also blame the boomers for doing such a shit job at raising us.

[@tronalddump2444]

No

[@line4169]

No one is gonna look back on this decade...

[@melissaisloud7404]

I loved the synchronicity between Jane and Daria. I always found Jodie to be an interesting contrast to Daria. Jodie couldn’t afford to be a pessimist because her race meant she had to succeed with a smile or not succeed at all. She was a great mental foil/mirror for Daria.

[@BeethovenIsGrumpyCat]

So it came full circle. Irony and detachment are now mainstream and commercial. It's like Daria went to a liberal arts college and found out all the other students were also Darias. All this proves that irony and detachment are ways of coping and surviving but not ways of truly living or changing anything. They're not enough.

[@tarod3]

She had a 2 season arc of coming to the same conclusion!

[@juicyd9233]

This comment is woke as hell and i mean it unnironically

[@BeethovenIsGrumpyCat]

tarod3 last time I checked that was more season 4-5ish. It’s been a while since I watched Daria.

[@pottertheavenger1363]

The only way it would work again was to be an opposite Daria as the old one. If the world is cynical now, then Daria should enjoy life in a more innocent, carefree way, to stand out from among today's negativity.

[@BeethovenIsGrumpyCat]

@@pottertheavenger1363 How does one be innocent and gracious but satirical and insightful at the same time? Hmm...

[@christinamcneair4545]

I agree. Daria had a time and place and it has past. Not everything needs a reboot.

[@Kai555100]

U forgot something important: MONEY MONEEEEEY

[@DrCruel]

Daria is a corporate product, mocking the pretentious petulance of lazy Leftie nihilists. I hope they make lots of money.

[@amuro9624]

seriously, they manage to pull off this amazing piece of art on fucking mtv. that's not something you can do just like that. fans aren't gonna like it just because oh I know those characters. everyone who love daria loved the writing and the meaning of the show, for the rest that was just some random show they didn't care that much about. you can't just get famous (woke) writers and make it work. daria is on of the few shows I never wanted a reboot or a sequel for. that would be like wanting a reboot or sequel to pulp fiction. it's not that kind of franchise that you can just milk lazily and making a sequel or reboot as good as the original is probably never gonna happen.

[@JohnLane_aka_Jane_Lane_fanboy]

Daria ended in full circle.

[@bezzaderbane9890]

Rarely ANYTHING needs a reboot.

[@lidu6363]

"...no pun intended..." "None taken." I love her.

[@cormano64]

Laughed my ass off, that was brilliant.

[@wiwewawowu]

Daria deserves to be left alone.

[@legzfalloffgirl5148]

She likes it that way

[@mandacole8703]

Completely agree

[@spenceroni1738]

You have the pride flags in your pic i dont like you

[@Cheezy_Bunz]

Bruh ^

[@JayTohab]

spenceroni ya know When a person of “pride” can understand the disadvantages of a “woke” reimagining for a story predating modern priorities, I think such a one deserves more credit. Just my opinion.

[@davidjay7116]

"Irony is no longer a way to cope with a hopeless world. It is now the primary way the world markets our own hopelessness back to us." Damn. Damn... Damn. Subscribed.

[@jeffg7478]

Gen X’ers. We were so hip. We isolated ourselves from the larger society of the day. Then you find the same conformity and group think in the smaller ‘hip’ circle that you then find yourself in. So you need to go deeper and ironically isolate yourself from them. Then the cycle continues. You see? Ever increasingly alienating and isolating till you nihilistically push yourself out of existence. But you are still alive and still need to eat and relate to others. No that’s not the best way. Ultimately we have to open our hearts to others. To everyone. That doesn’t mean you become like anyone else, it means you stop rejecting and judging. It means you open up to love and understanding of everyone. Not just the poor or downtrodden but the rich and well off too. We all share the experience of being human, we all experience loss and ultimately death. We should care about each other, not isolate our hearts. The world isn’t hopeless. Don’t fix the world, fix yourself.

[@jeffg7478]

@@jwl4340 thanks for your thoughtful post. Many of these things can be true at once. We need a certain amount of detachment to our goals, ideas, hopes and work. Whatever we strive for typically breaks down if we try too hard. Especially when it comes to internal self improvement. On the other hand self isolation, worldly and emotional detachment separates us from our heart which has, as its birthright, love for the other. We care about the world, we care about others, naturally. Both need to be cultivated. I’m not saying I even understand the meaning of these things nor am able to present a heroic face to the world. But aspire to.

[@MasterCrash123]

My rule of thumb: if it's on a T-shirt at the supermarket, it's dead.

[@NewWaveEnthusiast]

@@jeffg7478 I wanna hang this comment on a wall. Beautiful.

[@Sh12pen]

​@@MasterCrash123putting that on a t shirt

[@queenlele6193]

Being a black woman , I related to Jodie especially being seen as the “ token minority “. I also got a lot of pressure from my parents because I was the “ smart one “ so they expect me to have a highly successful career and break stereotypes. I graduated with my bachelors degree last year and it’s still not enough. I plan on going to law school next year and it’s still not good enough for my parents.

[@Hardcore_Ant]

I wish you luck, on both fronts.

[@AllenTax]

It does suck when parents do that. As they put you, the kid into the job or career they wanted b.s. More aggravating when a said child graduates a year early. Do to 100 in class grades. More expectations of you.Put on a imaginative pedestal by parents. Never realizing to put what the child wants for them.

[@SpinDlsc]

Expecting elitism out of your child is a good recipe for resentment, either you toward them from the pressure, or them toward you if you fail to live up to their expectations. I hope in the least that you are doing things more for your sake than theirs. Best wishes to you.

[@MotivatedSoccer18]

Good luck to you and do what YOU want to do.

[@WashOfCascadia]

Who cares about impressing your parents by their wants and putting on your shoulders the pressure to break the stereotypes a few bigoted individuals believe? Just do your own thing, man. Do what makes you feel meaningful. Dont do something just because other people say to. Stand up to tyrants.

[@dajoler]

I hate to be this direct to MTV but.... ...you're standing on our necks.

[@jorgemehdi3397]

La La La

[@tommylenio8725]

This aged well

[@dusty9735]

Tommy Lenio OH NO

[@naikabrice6745]

Tommy Lenio 👁👄👁

[@mowari_da]

@@tommylenio8725 whaaat?

[@pinkymixology4965]

It's sad that Daria's outlook on life could be called "wildly optimistic" by 2018 standards.

[@arcanecola9906]

Truth

[@joeblow9657]

That one hurts so much because it's so true

[@imarvg8285]

Obviously you never saw 2020 coming.

[@kgb4150]

@@imarvg8285 - Wait, we are all Darias? - Always have been

[@blakedavis2447]

2020: you ain’t seen nothing yet

[@josuebartley7272]

Bojack is the real Daria reboot

[@meralmaray2795]

More like a reboot of Duckman, another Viacom property show from the same era as Daria (just some few years older).

[@bobsandwich3431]

Max Payne your crazy to think it's the most horrendous show ever made. That title belongs to beavus and butthead

[@josuebartley7272]

H. Almaray I hadn't heard of Duckman before this comment, thanks for introducing me

[@oathkeeperofoblivion972]

@@JohnLane_aka_Jane_Lane_fanboy "and don't forget it's made by the studio who are responsible for the deaths of local and major video rental stores" hate to burst your bubble, but when one product kills another, the masses usually like it better.

[@scummymilk4622]

@@JohnLane_aka_Jane_Lane_fanboy you say it as if the world lost something when video stored closed down. a better (depending on what and where you are) service came along and people liked it more. why go to a video store and pay however much for a rental, when for $8 a month you have hundreds of movies and TV shows at the click of a few buttons? anyone who was a part of both of these eras (video rental and video streaming) will tell you that a streaming service is WAY better than going to any video rental store.

[@claudefrollo3378]

It's actually really sad. A lot of artists just aren't artists anymore. These large corporations make reboots of our favorite childhood movies and shows for the sole purpose of profiting off them. Not because they want to use their imaginations to create something fresh and breathtaking. They're using nostalgia against us. And the sad thing is, we fall for it everytime.

[@dolphinboi-playmonsterranc9668]

Think about it this way, at least you had one good animated series. There's yet to be one good animated version of Berserk, and the comic started on 11/29/90, the first animated version in '97. And that was the BEST animated version. 21 years of disappointment.

[@chloegoodwin2482]

You're blaming artists for what producers are telling them to make. Artists can't really afford to make art when their bosses are too worried about profit to give them a voice.

[@fairoadiary]

Claude Frollo to be honest the artist barely gets paid

[@Melodyofthesea78]

@@fairoadiary They get paid far more here then in Japan. You should look up how much they make its ridiculous. But animation over there is more about passion then making money.....at least with the animators.

[@lonebattledroid4474]

And the ones who are arts usually bash you over the head with symbolism and other stuff with no subtlety

[@vcxz4009]

You see, we live in a society.

[@TheRojo387]

I bet Daria would feel right at home in Australia.

[@Luigi_Mario_1997]

You don’t fucking say?

[@aname.9743]

The bat the bat BRING ME!!!! ... the BAT!!!

[@jacobhunter]

"Jody actively called out this kind of tokenism. So it's really, really uncomfortable to see that MTV is apparently doing exactly that." oop. someone said it.

[@HonklerUnitedInc]

the left sees blacks as pets so not shocking

[@djgamez1412]

I always noticed how Jodie was a mirror to Daria and how the show kinda pointed out that being a detached observer and moral absolutism isn't really feasible unless you are already relatively comfortable (upper-middle class, WASP). Daria was able to dress down the comforting facade of modern society with a wry or cutting comment but Jodie was the one that was usually seen trying to change it. She was more involved because her disenfranchisement was more acute (she felt like a token minority in her own life), so instead of being at mercy of the system she tried to fix it from the inside. Daria might find that a reeboot is a cynical cash grab and would therefore be against it but, I think Jodie would see that it still has value in portraying disenfranchised people and that pushing society forward in any small way is better than just complaining that things are shitty from the sidelines.

[@OrbitZombie]

I don't know, would Jodie be fine if this reboot version of her became a stereotypical "woke" black girl instead of a 3 dimensional human being? Representation is great, but is artificial, mass-marketed representation, that exists so corporate entities can cash in on disenfranchised millennials and pretend to be "woke" really something she'd support? Because it kinda seems like this is what MTV has in mind.

[@Aivottaja]

But you already know Jodie wouldn't be the same she was in the show. She would drown in the race-baiting, ever-soapboxing demands of the creators. Instead of pointing out the tokenism, she would pretend it doesn't exist and would roll with it.

[@vfaulkon]

I don't necessarily agree with you, but I do see your point. A Daria reboot is likely going to miss the point entirely...but a Jodie show might have potential, if handled properly. That's a BIG 'if', but still, if Jodie was a mirror to Daria back in the day, it'd be interesting to see the mirror flipped. If the show focused on Jodie taking more of a reasonably active role in changing the problems of society, while Daria or a Daria-esque character shared her views but was too despondent or cynical to act on it, that could be interesting.

[@fakshen1973]

Jodie gets to be the token the character always railed against.

[@waywardkittywrangler]

Jodie was pushed into many of the situations you mentioned by her over achieving parents and complained about it a few times. Wtf show were you watching?

[@gilespeterson6832]

Daria is a timeless show, as a lot of teenagers today can relate to it. Not everyone has to get the pop culture references of that period, but every other aspect on that show is still relevant today.

[@davewhite1676]

"no pun intended" "none taken" this fucking show is brilliant

[@tbk2010]

I see Daria as sort of a happy accident of television history. It was extremely nuanced, something I highly doubt was even recognized by MTV at the time, much less intended. For them it was just another animated sitcom. A deliberate attempt to re-create this will very likely backfire, the announcement already sounds terrible. If you want to make more Daria, why not a sequel about her as an adult trying to balance a boring job, a barely functional family, artistic ambitions, and political convictions in a post 9/11 pre trump america?

[@MichaelSaba]

Yeah, there's a huge gap between early MTV (which had a genuinely counter-cultural streak) and the MTV of today, which is wholly a creature of Viacom. Daria was very much a product of that freewheeling early era, the show was created because MTV quite literally let the creators do whatever they wanted. If you're interested in this topic, I strongly recommend the book 'I Want My MTV,' which is an oral history of the network's rise and fall -- it definitely informed the creation of this video.

[@dirtrtls]

@@MichaelSaba Are you talking about the "i want my mtv: the uncensored story of the music video revolution"by craig marks and robert tannenbaum?

[@ADerpyReality]

Bojack Horseman.

[@terryh.9238]

@alexandra galici Yeah, Diane is like an almost Daria. In the first season she still had faith and it looked like she could start descending into more cynicism, but instead she ends up doubling down on fakeness, self-aware of it as she is. The most recent season she has quite a few more Daria moments, after the breakup with mr. peanutbutter, getting back more of what her character originally was.

[@Warlocke000]

I've already seen what people think an adult Daria would be like, thanks to EW, and it's horrifying in many of the same ways as this reboot sounds like it will be, only even more depressing.

[@loufher284]

The fact this show is being rebooted seems like a fitting "Daria" episode...

[@J.Soffer]

😂😂😂

[@salmanedy]

I've said this once and I'll say it again. There will never be a show like Daria possibly ever again. It's lighthearted enough and dark enough to have an edge to it but it never crosses the line and being too much to handle. As much as I'd love a revival, I doubt it would ever work as well as it did. Incidentally, this is the show that I frequently watched over and over again. All five seasons of it. Sure, there are stinkers but "Boxing Daria" and "Is It College Yet?" is definitely something I appreciated more because the ending is more than satisfying. It really nailed the ending.

[@ProjectRedfoot]

"Wokewashing" I love it

[@FreyaEinde]

The only way the Jodie and Daria show could be interesting if it was about transitioning into early middle age at this point and time. Being woke in your 20 is novel and cute but can you stand to be that bold in your early 40's which is usually when you have a sorta panic about your fleeting youth. It would be fun to watch because you rarely get a show about this stage in a women's life that isn't revolved around sitcom motherhood.

[@unluckycloverfield4316]

yeah, that was what I was hoping we'd get. especially after the creator release those aged up redesigns. I thought they were awesome. I 'd love the show to focus that later life transition

[@FreyaEinde]

Unlucky Cloverfield I know! Too bad that’s not what we’re gonna get and I don’t trust a writer from Amy Schumer or kimmy Schmidt both shows fly under that one of the boys kinda feminist line of thought like it never wants to get deeper than that and the original had that integrity at least.

[@peoplethesedaysberetarded]

"Daria: The Wall."

[@ezra5514]

@@peoplethesedaysberetarded *dry wall

[@julijakeit]

the 'panic about your fleeting youth' part is in _every_ romcom movies or shows that cast women in 40s as either leading role or a sidekick.

[@SeveringJuan]

I think what made Daria special is the same thing that made the simpsons (early seasons) special: they both had a heart, yes, Daria is cynical and she always has the right comment for the right situation, but the series wasn't afraid to show us that she actually cared about people and things, that her gloominess was sometimes nothing more than a facade, you can see this is if you watch the show chronologically, you see her how she passed from always on the offensive, to start taking control over her own life and decisions, yes, those changes are subtle and through 5 seasons and two tv movies, but who changes from one day to another? I think she captures pretty well that awkward phase from: "I know everything because Im smarter than everyone" to: "I know a lot, but not everything, but I know what I want", phase that any teenager lives through. This is why Rick and Morty's cynicism is pretty hollow, the characters say things they supposedly believe, but they dont act like it, they act in an ironic way all the time, to the point that is impossible to relate, as they dont take their own lives seriously, and if they dont: why would we?, Daria does say things that she doesn't believe, but the series points it out as contradictions and as any contradiction: she eventually faces them and grows up (as any person would do) And the most important of all (and why I have the lowest expectations about the reboot), Daria did all of this but never went out of its way to show us the fact that it was doing all of this, because that would mean moving the spotlight from the most important thing to a lesser important thing, that most important thing being: the stories and the characters.

[@eurovicious]

Wonderful comment

[@whatno3145]

I hate when people brush Rick And Mortys cynicism aside. S1-2 showed Rick's cynicism as it was: Partially right, but mostly a facade. Rick cares way too much about everything that he forces himself not to care so that he won't get hurt. His nihilism and cynicism is self destructive and hurts everyone around him. Later seasons fucked it up by making him a God but idk, I will defend the early seasons of Rick And Morty till the day I die

[@Ously6]

I find it funny that the two girls that Daria connected with the most had the same Initials. Jane Lane and Jodie Landon

[@Lindsay-nx5sv]

Jodie's problem was her parents that bullied and pushed her into everything she did. They decided what she did at school, they decided what she did after school, they decided what she did in the summer, and they decided what college she should go to. They are the reason she had no autonomy. Yet she blamed the town and society.

[@norestrictions12]

One could say her parents pushed her so hard because they’re aware that, as a minority, she would have to work just as hard if not harder than her non-Black peers in order to get ahead….which in that time (as now) was true. It’s still society’s fault.

[@whycaninotfindagood]

@@norestrictions12people want to do not blame society because they are part of it this would need to change. Easier to blame parents.

[@nerissarowan8119]

@@norestrictions12my memory is that was explicitly stated in at least one episode.

[@craxnor]

One thing I regularly noticed about Daria is that for as much as she spoke against things, she never really did anything. Like she would outwardly say she disagreed with the system and society, but made no active attempt to change the system. She left things as they were and continued to complain and disagree with a system that she spoke against. At least my take on it.

[@vfaulkon]

There's actually a few episodes that follow that exact idea (the soda episode in one of the later seasons, for example), so the writers seem to have agreed with you. I think one thing that sticks out, though, is that Daria's more fleshed-out character as the show went on revealed how isolated she felt from just about everyone. That's probably a big part of why she's so apathetic in her approach to problems; when you feel like it's literally you vs. the rest of the world, the idea of winning that fight seems ludicrous. Better instead to assume a solid defense and take potshots from the safety of the ramparts - you won't win, but it's certainly a less suicidal way of exclaiming your views.

[@natemendsen1629]

Probably because the character knows that in the end these are things that are unchangeable. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

[@thelatentsexualfreak]

Daria was an intp/intj.she didn't give enough fucks to try to change things

[@ryh5169]

"For it matters not how small the beginning may seem to be: what is once well done is done forever. But we love better to talk about it: that we say is our mission. Reform keeps many scores of newspapers in its service, but not one man." (Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience")

[@missymani]

Just like people nowadays, they complain about everything but thye don't actually do anything other than jump into hate bandwagons and nag in their social media but no real effort in real life.

[@meralmaray2795]

(Update below) - I agree that Daria would probably not be liking this reboot of her very much. I would have liked it if they did a spin-off of just Jodie herself though, following in the same line of how Daria originated: as a spin-off of a character from another show, but thrown into a scenario and context entirely different from the previous show to give her her own protagonism. Jodie on her own, dealing with the world of today and with her own issues from her very own perspective would totally rock. Jodie as the friend of Daria is just her again as the token she hated being - yet she had to resign to be. Edit: Apparently it'll be a Jodie solo indeed, with Tracee Ellis Ross es exec prod, and she'll be turning it into a cartoon version of her Blackish series (getting rid of Mackenzie as Jodie's couple for a white guy instead) because Ellis Ross can't do anything that is not her Blackish series. Clap. Clap.

[@vitamins00]

I feel like a solo jodie spin off would feel even more forced, tbh. hiring writers from current shitty shows that think-pieces try to pin as the "most feminist thing ever!1!" to make a woke comedy about a young black girl sounds....less than amazing. unless they hire a panel of black writers to give it more authenticity, I can't see a solo jodie show made by current mtv no less, to be worth watching. at least daria can give them another character to bounce off with and do some more foiling to. not to say that I wouldn't like a jodie show, I just don't think mtv in its current state (plus the wokewashing media push) would do it justice

[@dimsufferer9951]

I don’t know about a reboot, it would be more interesting to have a whole new cast of interesting and diverse set of characters from the current high school generation, maybe have Daria cameo as the cool aunt of one of the characters

[@jamesmays9814]

Then the main character would have to be a child of Quinn. Could be interesting, actually.

[@tatehildyard5332]

Apparently it’s going to center around Jodie which I think might be the good call for a 2020 take on the concept

[@metalman4289]

You could have daria as a parent commenting on todays american school culture that could be interesting.

[@aiolos000]

I cannot wait for another piece of my youth being sold back to me

[@GuvernorDave]

I count Daria as my favourite animated series, but for reasons better described in other comments, it will never be as good because it was originally made in a different time. They won't recapture Daria. They can't.

[@lucapeyrefitte6899]

GuvernorDave they definitely won't because the original creators aren't working on it

[@dollydagger4306]

GuvernorDave I totally agree with you.

[@miggans21012]

Just like all the other reboots made. They were popular because they captured that time period.

[@florianlaur5300]

Isn't that the same issue we have with most movie series and tv show reboots? Take Lethal Weapon, Indiana Jones, Star Wars...they all start to suffer from being made in different decades. If a movie or show is 80's, it won't feel the same, being made in the 90's or 00's. As for Daria, I was always sad it ended, but could they continue it? I'd say the only way they could was if the original team worked on it and had the confidence to pull it off(or pull the plug if they think it doesn't work). But that'd require courage from the producers. Hard to imagine in a time where everything seems to be made to make money.

[@theshevirgo]

I agree. I went back and rewatched it a few years ago. It was different watching it then vs now. It was something new. Also the music also played a big role in it to. So with the original music cut out it also loses impact because the use of pop music in Daria was great as well. The music often set the tone too.

[@waywardkittywrangler]

They need to just leave the show alone. And show the episodes with the original damned songs. -a gen Xer

[@l6318]

Agreed about the original songs thing. But I heard that they were left off the DVDs 'cause it would have been prohibitively expensive to license 5 seasons worth of famous tunes. I remember one episode having a Bob Marley song in the closing credits. That estate is so tightly guarded, that episode alone would have cost a fortune to release on DVD the way it originally aired. Still though, they had some pretty great selections. Bummer.

[@Nightman221k]

Yeah, I still recall the weirdness of the scene where Quinn blasts Savage Garden and in the next room Jane asked what that sound was and Daria said "Must be a wandering band of eunuchs"... in the DVD Quinn blasts generic stock background music without any singing at all, so Daria's line makes no sense at all.

[@l6318]

@@Nightman221k lol I remember that scene! Pity they messed it up like that...

[@thatBigfuu]

I sadly would never have known this... It will all be lost to time

[@l6318]

@@thatBigfuu :(

[@CheckinaCoulibaly]

Daria is one of my favorite shows in adult cartoons.

[@Guccibear100]

A Daria reboot will never work.

[@Nidael009]

Wokewashing has become a main point in today's entertainment, appropiate name. I think that through these kinds of shows they manage to keep part of the population in a never ending cycle of catharsis, which means that they feel relieved through the revolutions, or fights against the statu quo in these kind of shows which then stops them to actually perform any kind of political act against the real one.

[@MichaelSaba]

Bingo, you described exactly what I was going for with this video. 90s Daria didn't have anything in the way of catharsis -- more of an acknowledgment that we're all stuck in this shit situation, so we might as well laugh at it. Nowadays our entertainment is supposedly getting more socially conscious, but it always ends up being a kind of stunted, performative takedown of obviously wrongheaded opinions, which doesn't do much besides reassure us that we're holding the 'right' beliefs. (This exact dynamic is why a movie like 'Get Out' was so timely and well-received, I think.) Meanwhile, the real powers of this world grind on, unchecked.

[@MrOssyMoro]

It always happens

[@DrCruel]

Maybe it's just businesses catering to the arrogance and petulance of "revolutionary" Left fascist children. Corporations fulfill consumer desires. They're a mirror to the wider culture. Not their fault if you don't like what you see.

[@kingswit]

the modern equivalent of daria would probably be the women who host the Red Scare podcast, I suggest checking them out if you haven’t already

[@DrCruel]

soundcloud.com/red-scare-727066439 I see. So it's Daria with vocal fry.

[@marcopalomba9463]

But again, name a slightly decent idea MTV has had in the last say...twenty years?

[@Nightman221k]

Uh... well there was Clone High?

[@frankwolftown]

@@Nightman221k That was a great show

[@Nightman221k]

@@frankwolftown I agree. Clone High, Daria, and Beavis and Butthead were pretty much the only shows I watched on MTV.

[@LeoMidori]

@@Nightman221k Exactly. In fact, it was such a great idea that's why they killed it until it was dead, and thankfully kept airing on Teletoon for it to reach cult status.

[@Youre_dumb]

Catfish is my guilty pleasure

[@sakurabuffet_3439]

Im very late, but I am very afraid of Jodie spin-off (as it is no longer or Daria and Jodie). I'm Black and I love representation, but Jodie wasn't supposed to be used as the right representation for how Black people should be. She serves as a harsh reality of how Black girls and women HAVE to act. By making her the sole character of a show, its accepting the harsh reality that Black people have to go through without actively deconstructing it. Daria doesn't need more seasons. I've watched it through 4 times and each time its even better. Any type of reboot cash grab is just directly opposing the meaning the show.

[@alltheworldatmyfeet]

You've perfectly expressed what I couldn't about how a Jodie spin off itself is worse then nothing. She was a foil not a main character for a show! She would just be reskinned Daria but emptier because of how she was made in her original context to be opposite of a white perspective. Seeing that played out for a whole show or her character being made entirely different misses the point and brings up how an original black woman character had her own show instead of being used as a cash grab based on the sole fact she interacted with an important white person.

[@Strawb_Goblin]

I am autistic and I always thought her monotone, feelings of isolation and factual way of being were ways of coding her as on the spectrum

[@RandomSkyeRoses]

I felt like Daria could've been on the spectrum. That's why the character was relatable in a special way

[@WocklessGamingforAnimeMoms]

Nah it's just a posturing type of thing. Probably not tism. Trying to act like you're above it all.

[@blu_cardinal545]

​@@WocklessGamingforAnimeMomslike someone who hates Nirvana because everyone likes them

[@lolafierling2154]

I always felt that too. When they flashback to her as a very young child, the signs are all there. Which process it isn't just a disaffected act she was putting on but her actual way of being.

[@DeLaSoul246]

Agree. I'm an autistic millennial and Daria is uncannily similar to how I was in high school. It's not an act. It's not arrogance. She feels *separate* from it all, because she literally is. Other people interpreting that outcastness as "above it all" is kinda a dck move and, ironically, very cynical from my POV

[@christiannataylor2735]

"Wokewatching" is a term that destroys some of my brain cells

[@HIMOMLETSGO]

this channel is severely underrated, your content stands out from the rest

[@nico26985]

ratboys Agree

[@MichaelSaba]

I really appreciate the vote of confidence -- nice comments like this motivate me to keep making videos.

[@twiggyjali]

I'm tired of everyone thinking they're woke. It's a misnomer for "I'm trendy and angry." It's exhausting to be around angry people all the time.

[@mazadancoseben4818]

Same with "redpilled" people Everyone thinks that they are better and awakened Just in a different way

[@MasterCrash123]

It's even worse when their anger rubs off on you, and then you start being pissy and angry for no apparent reason. I swear, everyone could stand to sit down and shut up all at once for awhile.

[@TheDrinkyDude]

The strong learn that it's all bs and enjoy the nonsense, have fun with it that's all you can do

[@TheDanrox110]

“Woke” in its original idea was “staying awake” to call out government, corporate, and social corruption vs “staying asleep” in passive acceptance. Like most things, the term was hijacked by people defending the status quo and cheapened to a stereotype of young white liberals

[@twiggyjali]

@@TheDanrox110 babe, you're replying to a 3 year old comment. Go outside.

[@quadders9198]

Interesting analysis of a show I used to watch religiously in my teenage years. It's hard to say what it all meant and didn't mean, but looking back it was the beginning of the over analysis of everything, every small political point about everyone and everything to the logical point where everything is pointless. Having just turned 40 and looking back I am beginning to envy the jocks and popular girls and cliques who simply enjoyed their lives and made the best of it and didn't stress about so much. Irony's standing on my neck, la la la!

[@lasz1979]

I went through high school at the same time Daria aired, I practically grew up along side her, and I realized how much being an outcast I was, that's what Daria was about, alienation, cliques, and the toxicity of the school officials in favor of the jocks. I saw all that first-person. Daria was never about feminism. It spoke to Everyone.

[@KaiDecadence]

I related more with Jane but yeah, I hear ya. And so true, Daria was never about Feminism and it's sad that she's being pushed as a "feminist icon". Why can't she just be her own icon?

[@oof-rr5nf]

What is wrong with her being a feminist icon? She is a well-written female character with a strong personality.

[@Torthrodhel]

The thing wrong with it is that it's a political movement claiming ownership of a character not specifically attached to it. So no matter what you do or don't agree with that movement on, now suddenly Daria has to. Which she never necessarily had to before. So yeah it's kinda a bit off. Sigh... movements and labels, everywhere all of the time.

[@Torthrodhel]

@TheGreaterGood80 that sounds like ridiculous shipping to me. And people wonder why I'm generally uncomfortable with shipping. It's shit like that "every friendship has to be a relationship" nonsense. That's just offputting to begin with. Yuck. But what do you mean by LGBTQ ideologues? Am I associated with insane shippers like that just by virtue of my sexuality or gender? Please no.

[@Torthrodhel]

I had to look up the word again and I'd had a muddled impression of what it meant, my mistake.

[@Rs2006REMAKEVids]

The worst thing about reboots is that they rewrite the past. A poorly-written, short-sighted and thematically opposed rewrite will forever taint the name of the original, just by popular association. Why does it need a reboot? Why not make a sequel? At least with a sequel, you don't destroy the original property. A product of the times should move with the times, not remain perpetually trapped in the same setting with the same formula. The Simpsons was good once. It's not anymore. Will we be able to remember a time when Daria was good? I hope so.

[@KennethStokes]

Absurdity is the next Irony.

[@danny___928]

What I think made Daria so special, is the fact that under that Blah exterior of cynicism. Daria lives her life as if seeing everyone else living their lives are a cautionary tale. There are sparks or maybe even less moments where she truly let her feelings show and her guards down. She acted and succumbed to her own vulnerability at different times. An example is when she was planning on finally having sex with Tom, and her nervousness kicked in so bad she flaked on him. Or when she dated Tom after Jane and his relationship failed. Even the last episode where her repressed feelings come about from the box and her parents fight as a child. As much as those situations were tense for her and triggering, it shows her humanity. A lot more teens now a days know that when we see the clear injustices used to defend a "perfect" society they can do something about it; as well as be more empowered about it. Daria is the quintessential to the 90's because as much as she realized so much clearly laid out injustices through out the show- she probably didn't know how to go beyond just noticing and be the power to fix it. Instead of spending time worrying and being upset about what she was already going to be judged for and not really be able to fix, she just decided to detach herself. What also made Daria special was that she wasn't alone in many of her feelings there were times that Quinn and Jodie and even Brittany related to her on some level and understood or tried to understand her clandestine and apathetic nature. Each character's qualities of both intelligence and counterintelligence in most cases played off her persona well. My feelings on a reboot? yeah that would be great, but there wouldn't be much material since Daria's whole premise might have to change or her being conflicted with her past cynicism.

[@gabrielboorom9778]

The sick sad reality is Daria warned MTV's audience where both the country and the network airing her show were headed, and like her, people did nothing. People who decided it was better to do nothing than be a part of the things Daria talked about... leaving people who didn't understand to do as much as they could. Finally, someone came along and said, "We have to do something. We can't just continue doing nothing while others do the worst possible things and claim they're making everything better than it has ever been. If we want greatness, we have to do something-even if it's hard, even if it's unpopular, even if we make mistakes." Because the sad truth is the real Daria did nothing at all, it was those around her that determined what she wouldn't and couldn't do. They are still around today, and now they're running her show for her.

[@Aster_Risk]

Thanks for making a video on this. I periodically search for new videos about this show, so I was pretty happy when I came across yours. I'm only 27, so I really grew up with this show. I identified with Daria as a younger person, but have grown to appreciate Jodie and Jane more the older I get. They called Daria out on her bullshit. Nowadays, everything is encased in layers of irony and sincerity is uncool. I'm not sure how a reboot is going to work, and they really have some explaining to do if Jane isn't involved.

[@unluckycloverfield4316]

well things were pretty drenched in sarcasm and irony then too, in a different, less dank meme way, but I think that's why the show was memorable. Something sincere sticking out throught the irony might be what makes it good. although to be clear I don't think that is what this reboot will do. I don't think it will feel as sincere.

[@Aster_Risk]

@@unluckycloverfield4316 True. I was into irony and being sardonic in every situation as a kid and a teen. I am not trying to have any kind of high hopes about the reboot, but I agree it probably won't have the sincerity that balanced the irony.

[@norabellerose8560]

Daria is definitely the greatest thing MTV ever made.

[@mr.e5595]

*"Cynical nihilism is the new normal and because of that it's actually radical if you care about something".* This was from the comment pinned to to top of the comments section and I couldn't agree more! I still feel 100% like Daria, except I also can't accept that things are just the way they are and to go through life as if nothing matters. I plan to vote for progressive politics and promote progressive ideas because I still give a shit, *even if I lose in the end*, and that's perfectly fine. We ain't here to find ourselves or discover meaning to life. There AIN'T NO MEANING TO LIFE. We have to DEFINE ourselves and create that meaning for ourselves.

[@JaneDoe-gu5sb]

I love Daria but I don't like the idea of a reboot

[@louschwick7301]

u dont like the idea of a reboot BECAUSE u love daria

[@tracygalicia7342]

Watching daria during my teens, really helped me cope and get through highschool. Understanding myself and the impending doom of youth and into adulthood.

[@rhonnichan]

I literally love Daria so much that I have Sick Sad World tattooed on my shoulder. I was only 1 when Daria came on MTV however I got ahold of the DVD Box Set at Walmart because my Psychology Teacher told me "you remind me so much of Daria." Had to go find the boxset and found it at walmart. I remember my mom watching it but i wasn't too familiar with it so i hopped on KZbin and watched clips and i instantly saw the similarities. Calling out bs and it may have excluded me from people but people still came to me for advice. It was like looking in a mirror. I also related so much to Jodie being among the small group of black people in a small town with Suburban American houses and I was a A/B student, seen as one of the "good one", a token minority among teachers AND students, and they would be so shocked about how "safe" i was moving from this huge city like New Orleans to a small town in Oklahoma. I truly related to both girls even to this day as a 26 year old woman. So one day I was rewatching Daria and decided to get this tat lol Personally i hate when non black folks use the word "woke" because it was taken from African American Venicular English (AAVE) now as a codeword for anything that involves black people when it originally use to mean being aware/spiritual I agree with what you're saying tho

[@AdventuresThroughTheMind]

"irony is no longer a way for us to cope with a hopeless world. It is now the primary way the world markets our own hopeless back to us." win.

[@natrelletyson]

" Since the token women and minorities you hire rarely move into upper - management" damn... Daria was woke!

[@debbiegraund1783]

"I've never identified with a character more than Daria" Sis we know, you even talk the same way. Maybe a lil faster but dude.

[@FeonaLeeJones]

I can't believe I just found your channel! Great analysis!

[@jessicobra7]

This content is amazing; I can't believe I didn't find you earlier. It's the perfect blend of research and original ideas-and well-written too. It's hard to find these video essays these days that don't feel like they are intentionally wasting my time, but you have done it. Really great stuff, honestly.

[@ingusmant]

Daria was a product of it's time, a contemporary show in a context that no longer exists. 90s liberalism is dead and if you bring this show back you can only expect a lot of complaining and deliberated misinterpretation of the themes exposed.

[@eatatjoes6751]

Thank you. I can never actually binge watch the whole thing anymore because Daria reminds me too much of Twitter.

[@Klymenthis]

I’m torn on looking forward to the reboot - one of the best things about Daria was that watching it as a twelve year old I loved how cynical and blunt to authority Daria could be but rewatching the show years later you get to see how clever the writers were with Daria as a character not just a mouthpiece - she was insecure and made bad decisions out of selfishness and teen crushes just like Quinn and Jodie and Jane did, she felt the embarrassment of holding out on her crush on Trent when intellectually she knee it wasn’t going to happen. She held herself back from doing a lot of things that could have been fun and she judged people around her insanely harshly. Daria wasn’t always right, she could be just as wrong as the next teen and almost cruelly brutal even when she was right. With the reboot it is so likely that Daria will be lionised as the ultimate informed teen- in the right on every issue and an activist when the original Daria might have had opinions she was never a joiner and her best moments came from recognising others humanity and being a bit more fair to her sister and parents and classmates. The new show may lose the best aspects

[@knowitallari4815]

I just wanna say. I may have watched your video like 3 times in a row. It totally spoke to me. Always loved Daria

[@atthecore4560]

Thanks for the hard work, mate. You do Daria a serious service with this video. She deserves no less.

[@env0x]

I'm glad this reboot never happened

[@TheBlarggle]

"No pun intended" "None taken" That's hilarious.

[@laurens3091]

This is an outstanding reading of the series and articulates so many things about the show that I couldn't express as well myself. Very well done, please keep doing what you're doing. I've just subscribed and will keep watching as long as you keep making videos like this.

[@ehreneous]

This is an exceptional analysis. Thank you

[@GeoNeilUK]

"...one of her closest friends, Jodie Landon..." And there's the mistake, Daria only had one closest friend - Jane Lane. Of course, making Jodie Daria's newest best friend also makes the show almost impossible to criticise in the same way that Ghostbusters 2016 became almost impossible to criticise. You become accused of being racist because actual racists make the same complaint. And yes, the 1990s (which I classify as running between 1989 when the Berlin Wall fall up to the 11th of Spetember 2001) was a magical, wonderful time that had to end because disillusioned youth were beginning to look at the faults in their own political systems instead of having an enemy to distract them.

[@KAXSH]

Yeah, but if you end up liking it people call you an SJW...life sucks.

[@tomfrazier1103]

There seems to have been a lot of ragged-edge decades, the Fifties, 1953-1963 or 4. I grew up seeing a lot of scrutiny on the "Postwar experience" I have seen the huge nostalgia for 1890-1914 in American culture in the 1940s, the tail end on a perceived Century of Peace 1815-1914. Phrases like the "Gay '90s" I never saw Gay Rights try to appropriate that phrase. I pretty much learned of homosexuality from overheard schoolyard innuendo. I have a feeling this "Reboot" is/will be a bad idea. As people have said, some things belong in their time. I'm pretty sure I watched MTV a lot in the '90s but life got chopped hard in Oct.99. People are right about a lot of Boomer navel gazing going on then, Gump, they invented Cool &c. As other people indicate, us Gen-xicans are a blip in pop-culturama

[@DWScores]

Great analysis!

[@seneca2403]

Subscribed!! Excellent analysis.

[@lexa8702]

Glad Pluto plays full episodes of this show free on certain days

[@tattastrophicwitch6337]

Wokewashing is exactly what they have done to the “Charmed” remake.

[@dianneEdangerously]

Your direct and unapologetic depiction of Daria and the generation at that time is second to none. Good job I wish that MTV would focus on going back to music videos rather than trying to reboot something that is perfect in that of itself. Leave Daria be. Now making a real sick sad world... that’s a great idea, I have never seen America in a sicker or sadder state, no pun intended lol

[@goatinstein]

Why? So we can go back to watching the same 20 mainstream music videos on repeat all day? KZbin is better for music videos than MTV ever was.

[@kenhollis6197]

@@goatinstein Yeah, I can see that happening. The few music videos they featured on the 2011 Beavis and Butthead reboot were awful.

[@AM__Society]

I love the directness of this video. Keep it up!

[@shelbydavis1173]

I deeply enjoyed this summation of Daria, the show. Beautifully executed.

[@patorjk]

Ugh, that Daria reboot sounds horrible. Pairing those two together doesn't seem natural. It seems like something they're doing because they want to make a show about gender and race and they realized they had this old, popular IP that they could use.

[@Boyd2342]

It's a cartoon.

[@patorjk]

MrFuckUrMom69420 Can people not be critical of cartoons?

[@KITsune-ICHI]

Ding ding ding we have a winner! unfortunately someone already raided the prize closet so all we have is dread, disappointment, and a schools worth of Ultra Cola swag.

[@iamcarpetpython]

I agree about Daria reboot being a bad idea, but, just a thought: What if there was a Daria reboot that still took place in the 90's where the social, political, and ethical commentary were still abstract and glazed over (as they are clearly dissected today in enough media, and to do so would be monotonous), and focused more on 90's culture, and daily life in a humorous way with a 20/20 hindsight, with pop-punk kids, alt-metal mall-goths, dial up internet, talk shows fear mongering of Satanism, Clinton era jokes, etc. and lastly, developed The Sick Sad world segments more.

[@user-jj4vo1yg6s]

I'd watch it

[@smartymcfly7972]

This was brilliant! I especially appreciate your take on Jodie’s character and role on the show. Spot on bro ; you definitely get it ✊🏾🙏🏾💆🏾‍♀️

[@xenshia]

This is a wonderful video and examination, thank you.

[@life4fireforever273]

If the show was called Daria and Jane - it'd be such a smash hit! (the reboot). Jane was such a great character and so similar yet different from Daria.

[@bbomg02]

Honestly I find irony in the whole reboot idea. Like what you said. Daria as a character hated older gens trying to be hip, yet MTV is basically just that.

[@baronvonbunghole5999]

I discovered Daria thanks to this video. AND all of the original episodes are on Hulu, ready for binging. Thank you for giving me a new medium to waste my time on

[@ariannelakra6108]

Awesome video! Thanks for making it

[@crisscrosscruz2034]

Currently watching it for the first time on season 3 Honestly the dark sarcastic humor of both daria and Jane, is what makes me love the show so much Helps that my main type of humor is the sarcastic and dark kind Makes me relate to the show Alot, despite being born just after the late 90s era

[@justajumpingypsygirl]

Um---Jodie and Daria were definitely friends. Otherwise that fight would not have had weight to it. Jodie was one of the few people at Lawndale that Daria respected.

[@Beanerlicious1]

Woah, I thought this video was recently made, very well done

[@stella-vu8vh]

that final Daria clip you used was really good

[@QueenZsWorld]

wow I never knew what Daria was about (I was a teen in the 2010s) but this video was super informative. I see why this reboot is problematic and you're right, companies are using "wokewashing" to hide other agendas. So I'm actually not here for it and will not be watching the reboot. I wish they would give Jodie the reboot cause THAT would ACTUALLY be progressive, sadly enough that I have to say that.

[@norgepalm7315]

It still is the 2010s.. so you still are just a teen.

[@Shyuthrosnaevin]

.

[@manicpepsicola3431]

Yeah I was watching this and thinking the same thing if they want it to actually be good Jodie should get like a future spin off show or something

[@ceilingeye]

water bear And that’s relevant to her comment how?

[@aSpectreAppears]

Straight to gulag, do not pass go or collect your 200.

[@leosabat4636]

i remember a little of that show and honestly i dont whant more reboot we live in a grave digger cultural times.

[@AceAM264]

I don't know why this came up in my algorithm but I'm so fucking happy I found your channel. Awesome video.

[@truecrimerip7936]

thanks for this video man, really good!!!

[@trishabennett6539]

The show would take a turn if this show continue to be in her 20s where she had to provide her own roof over head. No more of being sarcastic but running around to provide a life.

[@apseudonym]

believe it or not you can actually do both

[@latenightlogic]

They’ve changed it to just Jodie - with a different voice actress - so thankfully Daria won’t be tarnished.

[@YohanJPark]

Great video I might have to give Daria a rewatch now. Also subbed because I spotted that Char Zaku 2

[@J.Soffer]

I hit subscribe as soon as you clipped Reality Bites. This is a great video! You are killing me softly.❤❤❤

[@attackofthecopyrightbots]

that intro clearly ahead of its time

[@1980rlquinn]

As a teen in the '90s (you whippersnappers get off my lawn!), my love for Daria is now almost pure nostalgia. I have adored the show, but it did not age well. In 2018, it's Armageddon out there, and we cannot afford to separate ourselves from the system anymore or blow it off with a cynical quip. Today's Daria would have to be an activist, and, in fact, would make for an entirely different show. So, Daria in name only, or Daria out of time? Either way, do not want. The only "new" version of Daria I want is an unadulterated copy of the first run with the original music.

[@darnellmajor9016]

Daria was spunned from Beavis & Butthead and they were no different from her lol

[@jaredleemease]

Thank you Michael. 😎

[@faustafortelli7848]

Thank you for making this content...very deep. The character of Daria helped me so much surviving high school ❤