The creator of ‘Skam’: I experience all the emotions I put my characters through Ahead of the fourth and last season of ‘Skam’, Julie Andem, who is behind the Norwegian series, tells in an interview with DR about how affected she was by writing the third season about the homosexual Isak.
A Friday night in December, Julie Andem and the colleague Mari Magnus sat down and had a beer.
Mostly to calm their nerves. They were waiting for the eighth episode of the third season to premiere. And they were nervous.
- The whole NRK was prepared that there would be very strong reactions and complaints, Julie Andem tells us, when DR Culture meet her and Mari Magnus in Copenhagen after the third season has aired in both Norway and Denmark.
Together, they did the extensive research as preparation for the creation of ‘Skam’ that just announced that the fourth - and last season - of the series is going to have the character Sana as main.
читать дальше
While Julie Andem writes and directs the series, Mari Magnus runs the ‘Skam’ blog and the characters’ profiles on social media.
In the previously mentioned episode, Isak gets his heart broken by the slightly older Even. Even hasn’t told that he is bipolar, and Isak doesn’t know what to believe anymore - does Even love him, or is it just an illusion, a part of the manic episode Even is having?
Julie Andem had already noticed that the production team behind ‘Skam’ had had a hard time with the episode.
Everything was quiet for a whole hour
My video editor called me when he had read it and told me off. He was so angry. And I thought, wow, those were some very strong feelings.
And then she wrote Mari Magnus.
- Have you read the manus? Julie Andem asked.
- Yes. I have to get back to you later, sounded the short answer from Mari Magnus who had to take some time to digest the episode where Even, to Isak’s big despair, leaves a hotel room in Oslo completely naked.
- The whole team thought it was so mean, Julie Andem recalls.
And she knew that the reaction from the viewers would be much greater.
Therefore, that Friday, Julie Andem and Mari Magnus sat by their screens and watched the comment section on NRK, Facebook, and Instagram.
But when the episode was over, nothing happened. Everything was completely quiet.
Andem and Magnus are used to some time passing before the comments start ticking in when an episode airs.
- But it was quiet for a whole hour. It was so unpleasant, Julie Andem says.
Isak’s worst enemy is himself
But then it all went down. The comments poured in.
- People were angry, upset, confused, and frustrated. It was exactly the feeling Isak sat with. Like when you’re in love with someone and sense that something is wrong. But you don’t want to face it. So you deny it and deny it. I feel like the audience knew deep down that something was wrong, but they didn’t want to face it. And when it came, it hurt an awful lot (så gjorde det ‘kjempeondt’), says 34 year old Andem.
Julie Andem herself was strongly affected by writing season three about the homosexual Isak who struggles to come out of the closet.
But most of all he is fighting with his own demons.
- Isak’s worst enemy is himself. It’s his own prejudices and his own fear that holds him back. And most of us can recognize that, says Mari Magnus.
And especially the creator of the series, Julie Andem.
- I go through all the emotions I put my characters through when I write.
So the viewers’ strong reactions don’t surprise Andem and Magnus. Most of all, it brings them joy to know that they, with a series aimed at Norwegian girls at the age of 16, have gotten such a huge fanbase.
And that a lot of adult viewers and big parts of the rest of the world have also started watching, still blows their minds.
‘Here’s some money, try to create something for the teen generation’
Back when she wrote and asked Tarjei Sandvik Moe, who plays Isak, whether he wanted to be the main character in season 3, his immediate reaction was, “Do you really think the series will stay on air for that long?”
It did.
Throughout last summer and fall, the Danes caught the ‘Skam’ fever. Today, the series is streamed in countries as far away as China and Russia. DR has also aired the Norwegian version, and the Americans have bought the rights to create their own version with the title ‘Shame’.
This has, not surprisingly, increased the expectation pressure on Andem and Magnus.
- When we started, we were like: Here’s some money, try to create something for the 16-year-olds. It was a great starting point.
It allowed them to take chances and try something new. Not worry about anything other than the target group.
Now, people that they’ve looked up to for many years come up and tell them that they love the series.
And the more praises the show gets, the bigger the expectation pressure.
‘Skam’ was put into the world to remove some of the pressure the youth feels, she explains.
- We found out that the youth are exposed to an enormous amount of pressure from all aspects of their life. And we wanted to create a series that could relieve some of that pressure for them.
Paradoxically, the show’s success has made Julie Andem and the rest of the team feel a huge pressure as a result of the expectations. But the work pressure with the series is so intense that they insist on not caring and just have fun.
- We work so tightly that we have to have fun. The foremost thing is to have fun. If we work in fear, the whole team is going to trip.
Lives in a ‘Skam’ bubble
So they do everything they can to relieve the pressure.
- We’re trying to remember who we’re making this series for. And keep having the courage to experiment and try out new things and not worry too much about the reception.
Still, they think about the show all the time.
- We live in a ‘Skam’ bubble. I dream about ‘Skam’ all night. I should be paid when I’ve worked an entire night on an episode while I was dreaming, Julie Andem laughs.
But in general, they think it’s amazing that the series has had such a huge impact.
- We think that everyone in the world should watch ‘Skam’.
And they try their best to let the fans know that their comments are much appreciated.
- We want to mirror the audience and say “we see you”. So whenever we can and have the energy, we release a little something to the viewers.
Danish receptionist a greeting to Denmark
Especially the enthusiasm from Danish audience has touched Julie Andem.
Therefore, she included a Danish receptionist in season three. Many fans in the Facebook group ‘Kosegruppa’ have wondered if the receptionist was a praise to the Danish fans.
- It was written solely as a greeting to Denmark, Julie Andem confirms.
- We wanted to show that we’re grateful for the overwhelming response from Denmark. There have been so many comments and so much warmt. So it was to say that we ‘digg’ you back, and we made Even declare, “I’m a huge fan of Danes!”
Mari Magnus adds:
- Right from the start, we agreed that we wanted to create a series about a big heart. And when we received that positive response from another country - it was insane. So we wanted to give that heart back.
The idea about the heart leads back to the show’s original purpose: To relieve the pressure on the youth.
Julie Andem is extremely aware that she is writing out to a very young and vulnerable target group. And that topics such as homosexuality, loneliness, religion, and mental illness can be explosive.
- We’re very aware about what we start in people. And I never write anything if I don’t find it extremely important, she says.
Homosexual narrative inspired
They’ve chosen many of the themes because it’s something that is interesting to the target group. During their research for the series, Julie Andem and Mari Magnus met at 17 year old homosexual boy who told them how he had come out to his best friend.
That story was written into the third season and has now become the scene where Isak tells his friend Jonas that he is gay over some kebab.
Isak asks Jonas whether he can guess who he likes. At first, Jonas takes a few guesses at some girls. But Isak gives a hint: It’s not a girl.
Just like in real life, Jonas just keeps making guesses. Now at boys instead of girls. And Isak’s fear of coming out turns out to be baseless.
- It has happened. I’m not the one who wrote it, but a 17 year old guy who told us the story. Somewhere out there is a great friend, Andem says.
The scene was met by overwhelming, positive response from the users.
And even though Julie Andem is aware that in the real world, there is prejudice and hatred towards minorities, she wanted to show the youth with this series what the reality can also be like.
- Just think if it could all be like that. Just think if you could come out to your best friend and afterwards just sit down and discuss what to write to the guy you like.
And next week, barely four months after we left the Norwegian high school students, they’re returning with Sana as the main character of the next season.
Статья ©
dr.dkПеревод ©
тумблр
@темы:
сезон 3,
Julie Andem,
Mari Magnus,
интервью