There has been recent talk about The CW's new television series Star Crossed. I actually forgot all about it until I heard that Reign and The Tomorrow People are competing for time slots with Star Crossed and another science fiction show 100. I saw the Star Crossed trailer and a clip or two and I must say I am intrigued.
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| Will love conquer all? |
First off the show is about a "Romeo & Juilet" couple (a human girl and alien boy) who despite all the hate between their races fall in love. Some background story: an alien race crash lands on Earth and they receive a not so warm welcome by the military. One of the young alien boys escapes and finds shelter in a shed where he is discovered by a compassionate girl who protects him. Kind of like E.T. but these extraterrestrials are much better looking (because they look human). However, like always the military comes in guns blazing and takes the alien boy away. The little girl thinks he's dead but he survives with a scar from the confrontation. Years later the alien children are teenagers and it's decided that they should integrate with the human high school students which is where the long lost friends meet again. Needless to say the human public is not pleased. It's like the Little Rock, Arkansas event where angry white folks picketed and protested black students attending white schools.
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| Typical "high school stalk your crush" behavior... |
Given the show centers on the teens (well most of the actors are in their 20s, ironic), you can expect some heated moments. Not just romantic moments but some violent ones where the alien teens clash with most of the human teens. The aliens seem to be referred to in a slur: Tatties, because of their birth-mark-like tattoos that cover their bodies. Yet the show will also cover racism, intolerance, xenophobia, interracial marriage, and civil rights.
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| They're just jealous of those awesome tats you got! |
Humans are slow when it comes to social and racial integration but you may find it even more surprising as well as disgusting that humans would be against aliens coming to Earth and integrating with their population. The only difference between these aliens and the humans are the markings on the aliens' skin. Why should the humans hate them so much? Personally I think it would be cool, but I should remember that in high school fitting in is very important to a teenager who hasn't experienced the world yet. So of course there will be friction among the students and a possibility of interracial romances will be met with some disdain by both sides.
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| Sorry... sweaty palms. Damn teenage hormones! |
Love conquers all. If history has taught us anything it is that kids have a habit of forming their own bonds and rebel against their parents. When you're a teenager your hormones are racing, you feel you must assimilate to fit in, and different things scare you the most. It would have been easier for the kids if they were forced to socialize when they were toddlers. Growing up with someone different seems to lessen a child's fear because of the familiarity. Despite a teenager's desire to fit in, as a species we seem to bond with others in our age group in order to rebel. With any luck these teens will follow the age old tradition of bonding: music, sports, and sex. Music blurred the lines of race time and again and everyone seems more agreeable when they cheer for their favorite team. But love has to be the ultimate way of crossing lines that others have drawn in the sand.
So my opinion? I think the show has a chance. People are getting more into science fiction as well as vampires as of late. I think it's because it happens to be a real question we have in our minds. Are there aliens out there? What do they look like? If they came here how would we react? How would we feel about integrating our races? What does it mean for our evolution as a species? etc. We are fast approaching the future and this show is not only an intriguing love story but also a mirror of humanity and our potential to form bonds with other races despite the rest being ignorant.
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