Sex, Love and Homework in the Real ‘90210’ World

When students at Beverly Hills High School grumble about the teen melodrama “Beverly Hills, 90210,” they overlook an important fact--they forget it’s a television show.

Although the show makes valiant efforts to point out that West Beverly Hills High School is not Beverly Hills High School, there is a presumption that the two are one and the same. Just because the show is set in Beverly Hills does not mean it has to reflect reality 100%.

Which isn’t to say it doesn’t bear an eerie resemblance to the real Beverly High. At Beverly Hills High, single parents struggle to raise their children, teen-agers are having sex and--believe it or not--we do think about our appearances. But last time someone checked, these were nationwide occurrences.

There are important differences between Beverly and its TV version. Contrary to its portrayal in the show, Beverly Hills High is ethnically diverse. Sure, on the screen, you may catch a glimpse of a black dashing off to class, or a Latino opening his locker. But these images are misleading. On our campus, students from the Middle East, Asia and Europe reflect the growing ethnicity of Southern California in general. And while Beverly may be a tad cliquish and socially segregated, it is tolerant. The fact that we are exposed to so many different cultures is never addressed in the TV show. Although interracial dating may not be exactly common at Beverly, it is a known and accepted occurrence, and would never be caustically referred to as “hip,” as a character in the show once did.

Some students say the show gives Beverly Hills a bad name. In some ways it does. The “typical,” or most functional, family is the Walshs, who are neither born nor bred in Beverly Hills. This leaves the impression that resident families are, in one way or another, defective, that parents are neurotic, alcoholic or absentee. That is hardly the case in Beverly Hills. There is a long tradition of family involvement in the schools.

One thing that damages the credibility of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” is that its characters are free of academic worries. Don’t these TV kids ever have homework? Beverly has a reputation for its competitiveness and academic demands. Some 90% of its graduates go on to college. The students at West Beverly Hills High are nearing graduation and yet do not acknowledge, let alone seem to care, about the impending threat of college. At Beverly, freshmen start preparing for college as soon as they are assigned classes. By the middle of their junior year, prospective college applicants are completely stressed out by the anxiety of preparation and the race for grades.

Aside from the one show about SATs and another about cheating, West Beverly Hills High’s teachers do not assign homework and never test their students, who--God forbid--should ever think about grades, lest that infringe upon their hours spent hanging out at the Peach Pit.

For the most part, the show’s treatment of teen-age relationships is honest. At other times, it’s hard to swallow. While Brandon Walsh dates his Woman o’ the Week and falls in love with each and every one, there are students at Beverly who take their relationships seriously--without the dramatic confrontations on the stairwells. Teen-age sex is a major issue at Beverly--but at what high school isn’t it? The fact is, some kids are having sex, whether it be after one month of dating or a year. Dylan McKay and Brenda Walsh’s relationship in the TV show is palatable, as is Kelly Taylor’s repentant sexual history.

The teens’ relationships with their parents in “90210” are more open than in real life. That’s not to say that open and honest parent-child discussions are rare; it’s that most students do not bear their souls--and sex life--to their parents.

Beverly has suffered from cutbacks and funding problems, resulting in larger class sizes. These realities, faced by many other schools, have yet to surface in the show. Instead, the students of West Beverly High go on their merry way, completely unconcerned about any financial difficulties for a good reason--there aren’t any at West Beverly. Their school will always have plentiful supplies and brand-new textbooks. In the fictitious West end, everyone has money enough, and expensive cars seem to grow on trees, except in Brandon’s case.

Most Beverly students do drive nice cars. Some have worked for years to buy theirs; others received them as birthday gifts. Unlike the show, the majority of cars are not Porches and Corvettes; there are lots of BMWs and Jeeps.

“Beverly Hills, 90210” does reflect some key elements of student life at the real Beverly Hills High School, and unfortunately neglects others. But often times it’s possible for a teen viewer to see themselves, or their friends, in the characters portrayed at West Beverly Hills High School. And isn’t that the mark of a successful show? That’s the show’s realistic nature--to capture teen anxieties in a setting most of them can relate to.