Letter: The trite and tired ‘Thirteen’

EDITOR,
I took my 13-year-old daughter and friend to see “Thirteen” at Scotts Valley High. The students in the show were delightful, but the show itself not.
It started out promising. But rather than explore the various upsets and commonality of adolescence, it was the same old thing: protagonist must decide between being popular or true to his outcast friends, boys want to make out, girls fight over a boy.
I felt bad for my girls, once again watching themselves portrayed in such shallow, superficial terms. Ironic, when you consider that adolescence is the time when most of us begin to take on the big questions.
This show was so fraught with stereotypes, and these stereotypes were so condoned, they were actually listed in the program — like “goth” and “loser.”
The boy had male friends backing him up, the girl had a back-stabbing friend. He could manipulate the situation to “get some tongue,” but the girl’s best friend was bad when she manipulated. Each kid was labeled and assigned a group, “loser,” by default.
How can we teach our children not to stereotype others when we constantly stereotype them? How can we encourage them to “be themselves” when that character is always portrayed as the loser?
The 13-year-olds I know — real 13-year-olds — are funny, insightful, sensitive and supportive of one another. Girls have varied interests, from sports to drama. Boys are friends with the girls and actually see them as humans. Women have strong bonds with other women, like to be together and support one another in various endeavors.
Would adults stand for this dumbing-down of themselves? Would the high school permit a show that so stereotyped a race or nationality?
Please excuse my complaining, but as they say in “Thirteen,” Jews are always complaining.