Wealth and Beauty Equals Popularity in Beverly Hills 90210 :: Media Argumentative Persuasive Argument

Wealth and Beauty Equals Popularity in Beverly Hills 90210 Every teenager who has attended high school can relate to the pressures that come from the desire to be popular. It’s normal for teens to feel the need to be in the â€Å"in crowd† and to fit in with the â€Å"beautiful people.† Television shows help contribute to this â€Å"need† to fit in. One such show, Beverly Hills 90210, is based on beautiful teenage characters, most of whom are wealthy and, coincidentally, popular. In today’s society there is a shared cultural belief that in order to be popular high school students must be wealthy and beautiful. The show both challenges and reinforces this cultural belief by offering characters like Kelly Taylor, who is a beautiful, California blonde who seems to lead an ideal life. She is one of the most popular girls at West Beverly High (partly because she was able to afford a nose job). Beautiful people such as Steve Sanders--a wealthy, snobbish womanizer--constantly surround her. A character who challenges this belief is Andrea Zuckerman, an intelligent, middle-class student who is more concerned about her grades than her appearance. And there are also the twins from Minnesota, Brenda and Brandon Walsh, who are not instantly popular; rather, they use their personalities (and their good looks), not their wealth, to fit in. On the outside Kelly, Steve, and even Brandon and Brenda seem to be happy because they are popular and because they lead fairly normal lives. But the well-seasoned viewer knows that these are just transparent beliefs. These beautiful teens do not lead perfect lives. The show has some cultural significance: seemingly superficial characters have complexities that are not obvious at a first glance. In fact, Kelly is ashamed of how she lost her virginity and the fact that her mother is an alcoholic. She is unexpectedly conscientious; she was concerned about her SAT scores. Kelly also proved to be a good friend to Brenda after she threw her a surprise going away party when the Walsh family was planning to move back to Minnesota. Kelly seems so self-absorbed on the outside but at the same time she is constantly trying to help her friends overcome obstacles. Steve also contributed to the going away party.