TV Review: The Hills
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What Parents Should Know
Parents need to know that the series follows 19-year-old
Lauren (graduate of MTV's own
Laguna
Beach) as she gets an internship, moves into an apartment,
goes to college, and learns to live away from home. She clearly
has money, as does the rest of the cast, and her roommate is a
dim blonde with no grasp of reality. The series makes getting a
high-profile internship seem effortless. Lauren is a fairly
level-headed girl, but she lets her new friends take advantage
of her and has little personality in front of the
camera.
Families can talk about what has helped Lauren get to where she is. Do teens consider her a role model? What internship would your teen want to get? How hard do they think it would be to get a job like Lauren's? What are the benefits of being an intern? Why do you think MTV was interested in continuing to follow Lauren, rather than the other Laguna Beach cast members?
Common Sense Media Review
Lauren "LC" Conrad has moved from
Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County to THE HILLS of
Los Angeles. She's settled into school at the Fashion Institute
of Design and Merchandising (FIDM), landed a coveted internship
with
Teen Vogue, and moved into a gorgeous apartment --
what more could a 19-year-old want? MTV cameras following her
around for her own reality show? To land on the cover of
Teen Vogue herself? Check and check.
It's the effortless perfection of LC's life that makes The Hills such an unrealistic take on reality. No mention is made of the often-grueling college- or internship-application process. Rather, the head of FIDM congratulates LC for bringing her 3.6 GPA to the school, and her two-minute interview with the Teen Vogue editor -- though bumpy -- manages to land her a high-profile internship.
Typical trials ensue with LC's new friends Heidi, Audrina, Whitney, and Jordan, but the girls' dialogue plays second fiddle to extreme close-ups, exaggerated exhales, and glares. The Hills is like the pages of a magazine, with pouting teens looking distraught in between sexualized images.
MTV deserves some credit for featuring a teen with somewhat-relatable career goals -- unlike the subjects on Tiara Girls and The Real World . But Lauren lacks the dynamic personality of her Laguna Beach arch-enemy, Kristin Cavillari, and, as is often the case when a series transitions teen characters into career-driven adults, high school drama becomes an irreplaceable ingredient. Without it, The Hills is unlikely to come alive.
Teens might want to check out more-promising reality programming such as True Life and MADE .
Common Sense Media is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing information to help parents make media and entertainment choices for their families.
