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stan- The awkward years: The Imbetweeners, Adam Kotsko and the Great Recession

Adam Kotsko attributes the social history of America to the growth in the awkward comedy. For example, Kotsko argues that the fall of the USSR left the capitalist west without an ideological foe and thus the popular ironic comedies of the 90s emerged. It is an interesting argument though I am not fully convinced by it. I believe the appeal of awkward humour is much more universal. Nonetheless, I found the application of the same thought process useful in diagnosing my favourite awkward UK sitcom growing up: The Inbetweeners.

The Inbetweeners | All 4

The series is set around four teenagers who are inbetweeners in every sense of the word. Their age, social status, class, and intellect: all uniquely unremarkable. It was a massive success amongst young people in Britain, and I can personally attest to the persistent almost ritualistic referencing of the show in social settings that persisted for at least a decade.

Using Kotsko’s method of socio-historical analysis the shows appeal amongst young people becomes clear. In many ways the characters show the reality of a disenfranchised unromanticised youth culture. Befittingly, the inbetweeners lack the strong social bond of the late 80s rave scene nor the uniform appearance of the Teddy Boys or the political consciousnesses of the hippies or punks. They were indicative of a youth culture not defined by their own taste but merely their existence and demonisation at the hands of the media in a time of financial crisis, political transition, and a nascent social media addiction.

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The characters were seldom the victors of their own stories nor were they particularly heroic or aspirational. Often their romantic, academic, or social pursuits would end up in humiliation and embarrassment. The show has several moments of jaw-dropping cringe that remained popular.

In the clip below the character Will tries his best at flirting and fails to a painstaking degree. The humour, for the audience comes from us recognising his failure, the social repercussions of this failure and the relatability and quotability of this particular social violation. It is humanising, unglamorous, and funny. I can understand why Kotsko talks about the “weird kind of social bond” awkwardness creates particularly at a time of social imbetweenerism. 

 

3 thoughts on “stan- The awkward years: The Imbetweeners, Adam Kotsko and the Great Recession”

  1. Love the application of Kotsko to the very British awkward humour of The Inbetweeners. However, what I find most befitting of the show is its relatibility. The awkwardness only works because teenagers growing up in this social setting can attribute some of their own failed social interactions to what transpires here, thereby creating comedy in light of their own lived experience.

  2. I completely agree with your sentiment of universality in awkwardness! It’s somewhat of a narrow range to inspect if all we consider is the American reasoning for awkwardness, when we can also consider other cultures’ own reasoning for the development of awkwardness. For some other cultural cases, I’d believe that the development of awkwardness could come through different contingent points within their own historical reality.

  3. I think you make really great points about the conditions that led to the creation of the show The Inbetweeners. One thing I find very interesting about the show, is the fact that despite its lasting popularity (which, as you’ve said, can clearly be seen through parts of the show still being quoted today), the show was initially cancelled after one season due to low ratings. Fans of the show, however, fought to get the it back on screens because these characters and their awkward navigation through life was relatable to British teens. I believe this makes it clear that this representation of awkwardness is a necessity for people growing up, most likely to help these people realise they are not alone in experiencing awkward situations.

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