I’m three episodes into this series set in Ireland. I confess that I tend to watch it with the captions on because the accents (what I perceive as accents) is very thick and I have trouble understanding them. They also use words that are not common (or used commonly in that context) in my part of the English-speaking world, so I like to make sure I heard them correctly. My favorite is “Sound!”, which is apparently a greeting among lads.
But I have a couple of questions.
What is the sport Connell and the other boys are playing in the first episode? The kids are all looking forward to the big game. Marianne and other students are in the bleachers, watching the action when Connell scores the game-winner. The game is played with a spherical, white ball, like a soccer ball, but without the polygons. The players can catch the ball and even run with it, but it seems they have to bounce the ball from time to time, but not as often as in basketball.
In the third episode, there is a big dance at school called “Debs”. I assume this is a dance similar to what we in the USA call “prom”. A boy asking a girl to Debs seems to be a big deal. At the dance, a group of teens are sitting at a table and pass around what appears to be a wine bottle. At one point, a girl gets up from the table to go to the ladies’ room. She stumbles, apparently having had to much wine. Later, another teen is sitting at the bar at the dance drinking a beer. What are the rules for teen alcohol use in Ireland? Several teens are also seen smoking, which was common when I was a teen in the 1980’s, but is not as common now. Is teen smoking common? Both of these activities are common here, but are on the down-law and officially frowned upon by most authorities.
I’m not getting why Connell is so hung up on his friends not knowing about his relationship with Marianne. She’s a bit of an intellectual odd duck, but certainly cute enough and not a total social pariah. She’s even eager to put out. What’s his deal? He lets his friends talk trash to her face (and really, really offensive trash, not good-natured teasing). One guy even sexually assaults her right in front of him, and Connell does nothing. WTF?
I tried searching for a thread on Normal People, but the search function wasn’t working.
As the series goes on, I wonder how someone who"s as good a student of English literature as Connell is shown to be can be so unable to “read the subtext” of Marianne and so lacking in emotional intelligence.
But my assumption is that, at the beginning, he really is shallow enough to not want to tie himself down into being a part of an established couple, and doesn’t understand how hurtful “lads’ banter” can be. In that scene where he doesn’t stand up for her, it’s as though he’s not really listening anyway. He just lets it wash over him, and seemingly does the same when it comes to girls coming on to him.
The age limit for buying alcohol is 18 in Ireland, as in the UK, so by the time of their leaving party (which is what I take “Debs” - “debutants”? - to be) they’d be entirely within the law. In any case under-age drinking is hardly unusual in the UK and I assume Ireland is no different: it’s only if it gets to be a noticeable problem that officialdom steps in.
I assumed ‘debs’ is short hand for ‘debutante’s ball’. An antiquated term but these things survive. And yes, it’s like a prom. Drinking isn’t the knicker-twister it seems to be in the US. Both Ireland and the UK (which I mention because that’s my reference) have strong drinking cultures which start in our teens. And 18 is legal anyhow.
Can’t really comment on the smoking except that teenagers do things which aren’t necessarily good for them. And at 18, the teachers can’t exactly stop them unless they’re on school property. They are also in a small town with not much to do.
Ah, teenagers, what you gonna do with them? People at school get bullied for no good reason the world over. Marianne is good looking, sure, but she’s also the only ‘rich kid’ in a fairly poor area, living in the big house, so that makes her a target. She’s also super bright, and takes no prisoners - she doesn’t try to fit in with the others, so they spurn her and bully her.
Sadly it’s what kids do. Connor is an exceptionally awkward teenager who hasn’t worked out his place in the world, and doesn’t have the emotional capacity to stand up to his friends yet. He’s a good kid - I don’t get the impression he remotely approved of her being bullied or groped. He just doesn’t know how to handle it, and doesn’t want to fall out with the ‘in’ crowd. It’s a failing he does beat himself up about.