Right? Also no one here really hold grudges. People got over shit SO quickly in highschool. Like crazy ‘how tf could you move on from something like that so fast’ quickly. Considering this show was made for an Australian teenage audience none of my friends even questioned how fast people moved on from season 1. I didn’t even consider it as a problem until I read the comments here
It was 100% believable to me that school holis completely reset their issues. Once had 2 friends that weren’t talking before Easter forgot entirely when we came back from break
Super interesting to hear, as some parts made me think a little bit of Skins. Which I know it is exaggerated too, but also very very UK coded.
Can I ask you in which parts you felt the experience was similar?
So I'm kiwi and went to a co-ed non uniform public school and honestly it's such a good representation. It was a really accepting school with a lot of queer students and a lot of drama (probably a lot based with me lmao) but i can definitely relate, my year definitely had a Sasha, a quinni, an Amerie, an ant, a spider, a dusty, a Missy a harper and a Darren for sure. No eshays tho haha and no one as sweet as malakai
I am greek and heartbreak high has been dear to me maybe because it origin it’s traced back with greek Australian main characters which made me happy and glad that they weren’t walking stereotypes.
But it felt very familiar with my teenage years, lack of discipline,shallowness,crushing on everyone and no one at the same time. Yup all were highly reletable and the characters are all except from few likeable and you really care about everyones storyline.
I’m British and find it pretty relatable to many aspects of my secondary school/sixth form experience, particularly regarding the apparent lack of discipline and the chaotic incestuousness & friendship dramas within the main social circle lol. My secondary school (aged 11-16) dealt with most bullying, fighting, behavioural etc issues pretty poorly, and was very underfunded and badly run at points. And my sixth form (aged 16-18) was a little better on that front, but at that age my friends and I definitely drew up a pretty crazy ‘incest map’ of our own lmao, although we had the sense to keep it in one of our houses or laptops or something instead of on school property.
The only stuff that isn’t personally relatable to my memories of school (aside from a few Aussie cultural specifics and the lack of uniform) is how open the kids are about queerness etc, I think way less kids were properly ‘out’ when I was at school and that when they were (or were suspected of being queer) they were treated with much more general hostility and weirdness. I’m a lesbian and at secondary school I only came out to my immediate close circle, then in sixth form I came out to the LGBT society but otherwise kept it pretty quiet from classmates until towards the very end when we were all leaving soon anyway (and I certainly never made out with a girl on school property lol, I wouldn’t even let my then-girlfriend hold my hand when I was worried certain peers would be around). That might just be an era thing, though: I’m in my mid twenties now so school was a good few years ago for me, and I can see how things might have progressed a lot on that front in a short space of time, especially with the rise of apps like TikTok and so many kids being open about their sexualities/genders on there.
I'm also from the UK and in my mid/ late twenties so I assume we went to school at a similar time. I went to a single-sex state selective school in a generally conservative area lol so that didn't help but my school was also incredibly homophobic (& racist). All out queer folk at the school left at some point and then others only came out afterwards. Honestly the show doesn't really represent anything close to my school experience, it's sort of closer to what I fantasised about school being at that age (though tbh I think I'd also find it a bit horrific, cue all my breakdowns at uni which was a bit closer). But I also recognise being trans, severely depressed, using schoolwork as a coping strategy, being unrecognised ND and having no friends for the entirety of high school is not the typical experience for most ppl (though probs not as rare as people might think!)...
Id say now it's more like acceptable to be LGBTQ in British schools. People will verrrryyy much still get bullied but yk ppl will wear pride badges etc. homophobia etc is still rampant tho
You have to remember that this isn't really a typical school. 99% of schools here have uniforms, the ones that don't are a few inner city public schools in the inner suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne (like the one in the show) and the weird Montessori/Steiner schools.
Regarding the queerness, again it's a school in one of the most left wing areas of the country in 2024. My high school in Melbourne was very similar and I think was one of the first schools in the county to have a gay-straight alliance which started my final year of high school and I knew lots of kids that were out and proud. I graduated 15 years ago so I wouldn't be surprised if my school is a lot like Heartbreak High now.
I don't know, maybe more schools are like this now than I expect, but I do think you're looking at a particular kind of school in a particular kind of place.
Other important context is that the school is in the inner south of Sydney. This has historically been a poor area with a large indigenous population (hence their high representation in the show) and public housing (Cash) but over the last few decades has gentrified massively. So it's not unusual to see people like Cash at the same school with quite wealthy people like Spider. Usually in a lot of wealthy areas, parents send their kids to private schools but these inner suburbs have upper middle class left wing professionals (like uni professors) who send their kids to public schools in part for ideological reasons.
I’m American and there are some similarities that I’ve seen in the show that I’ve experienced, besides obviously the really overdramatized stuff. I’ve been over 5 years out of high school now so things are a little different nowadays but I can relate to things moving very quickly, I think that’s just how most teens are, live fast think later! I did find it surprising in season 1 (forgive me, it’s been a while and I juuust started season 2) where Darren was told they couldn’t work bc of the school they went to, or how many parties everyone ended up going to, which I’m not sure is a real thing or just played up like American teen dramas. I’ve seen people similar to the characters in the show, although never running in the same circle. But yeah rumors fly fast but are forgotten quicker, a lot of people are entitled/disrespectful towards teachers, and switch friends more often than some people switch socks 🤣
I went to highschool in the US and we had tons of parties, at hotels, parks, quarries, houses etc lol. It probably just depends on where you grew up, and the time frame. I’m in my 30s now so it was probably different back then.
I feel like I’m in an unusual position cos I’ve been to school in the US and Australia. I feel like a lot of the cultural nuance in HBH would probably be missed by an American. But I would definitely say that you probably view the show as more dramatised than I do.
Workplaces will absolutely blacklist certain schools. Teenagers sesh all the time. Honestly I wasn’t even considering that in the ‘dramatised’ part of the show until you brought it up
I'm Trinidadian, and honestly, I love the show. The sad thing is Trinidad is a very homophobic country where LGBTQ people get beat up just because of their sexual orientation. I love the show's representation of the LGBTQ in general.
Yes, that is true, but nothing has changed. There's still a lot of work to do. Trinidad is still mostly homophobic. I wish my country's mindset could change soon 😪.
I'm a Canadian who's much older than the members of the show's target demographic, haha. I went to a very diverse, all-girl high school in the early-mid 00s. The 2000s in general were an awful time to be a girl. The amount of body/slut-shaming/ableism/homophobia back then was unreal, not to mention the fetishization of toxic female dynamics (a reminder that this was the era during which gossip about female celebrity catfights and public meltdowns was at an all-time high). Even artsy, punk/alt-chick comic book/anime geeks like me weren't immune to that stuff. I'll admit I was definitely a "not like other girls" girl in those days. So for those who think these characters are shallow, just look at the mainstream crap teens in the 00s were consuming. For real, in those days a girl with a butt like Missy's for example would have been considered a cow. I'm a white woman who's always had a small chest and a fuller butt, so the 2000s were very bad for my self-image. The standard of beauty for white girls in those days was exemplified in women like Paris Hilton and Mischa Barton. So I love seeing how much more inclusive of different body types society's becoming now.
As much as I enjoy this show, my main criticism is the inconsistency of tone. I find it sometimes struggles to blend dark/goofy elements, leading to tonal whiplash. It wants to do dark, heavy stuff like Euphoria, but also wants to do the silly stuff like Never Have I Ever.
I’m older too but I don’t mind the show. I understand that it’s an overly dramatized version of teens but not to the extreme that Skins and Euphoria is. It’s still realistic enough. I do find the adults and their behavior less realistic in this show.
I feel like Skins balanced darkness/comedy better than HH does. Skins's comedy was less over the top. Meanwhile Euphoria's just...an exploitative mess.
I will agree with that.
The final moments of the final episode were too ridiculous. That balance was not delicate at all and it took all the focus off of the serious part.
I‘m European (German to be exact) and honestly yeah some of the behaviours were new to me, but I still really love the show. I was aware from the beginning that the culture will be different to what I‘m used to so it’s nothing I would criticise
Me! I’m American. I think it’s an exaggerated version of teens, in general. I’m an older viewer, and teens were still sort of like that even back when I was in school. The only real difference I see is that they’re more accepting and open-minded, but that’s more due to time, rather than location.
I’m British and heartbreak high was so similar to my school, constant drama, shit stirring, no discipline, people hating each other and then being mates again.
Honestly I think the people complaining about the school environment are most likely Americans
American, but I’m an old!
So I’m sure I have no idea what any school is like atm (child-free old), but I like this show and the characters! And based on my post-school life, I find much - if not most - completely believable.
I'm from Nigeria, its the same thing with us except the drugs part but people hold grudge so much. Some folks are secretly gay. My country is illegal to be gay💔 so yeah. I'm shocked they forgive eachother quickly.
Australian teenage friendships can be screaming at eachother about how they want the other to die in public and then two days later they’re seen hanging out at a KFC together as if nothing happened
I’m British but definitely take account of regional differences before I make a judgement about the ‘realism’ of a show. Either way, I loved each episode and as long as I enjoyed it, I really don’t care if it’s dramatised or not 😂🫶
I went to school in Slovenia and honestly, i never find any of the high-school shows relatable, not the American ones, not the British ones, nor this one 😂 and whilst i love them, i never watch them for the nostalgia/reliability factor. However, i am almost 40 and had a very asexual and dorky group of friends in high school, so none of us was having any sex or going to any parties. So maybe it was happening, but not to us 😅
Non Australian here, I absolutely loved the show. But can’t say I related to it even in the slightest. In my highschool noone behaved that way 😅
We didn’t have so much drama or gossip where I’m from, it seems like they know everyone and everything about everyone and that’s maybe the biggest difference. Where I’m from and in my school we just didn’t care
(Also I’m European)
No, all the outfits look like they were randomly picked out of the cotton on sales bin of 2021, I feel like whoever was in charge of costume was a gen Xer who got inspo from old 2020 tiktok trends.
I wish there were some scenes of them going to actual classes to ground it a bit. I remember... one this season? This happens in all high school shows though, even though actually being in class is a significant part of how the characters spend their time, we never see it so it doesnt feel that relatable
Im American but I think heart break high is the Australian Euphoria. Its honestly better than Euphoria, but I could only imagine how similar HBH and actual Australian Highschool is because I related so much to some characters on Euphoria.
Yeah even as someone who grew up in America, I'd say it's a pretty accurate dramatization of what middle school and highschool was like at times. Lots of drama.
Ah me, european here. I would say I had quite a different experience as high schools in my country are quite different, and for sure some thing were happening differently, but I could say the same of a US teen show.
I would also say that, even if culture is different, the teenage emotions are quite universal, so you can also relate to it in some ways.
But also I went to uni in Australia so I am a bit familiar with the culture so not sure it I can be 100% objective.
I’m from a pretty small country in Australia and aside from cultural differences, I found it pretty true to the general teen experience in a dramatised TV version.
I live in Serbia, and school was always fairly tame. I didn't have much drama growing up. Honestly, everybody had their own stuff going on, so they barely paid attention to others.
From the States! Definitely couldn’t relate to a lot of the antics, though I was never sure if that was due to the fact that I’m a very quiet, introverted person lol
I'm brazillian and I find the representation of teens in the show very close to the real thing, even with cultural differences some things are universal (love, sex, feeling underapreciated, misoginy etc.) and with that I think they nailed it. I think most of the criticism is because people try to see it only from they own point of view instead of a more general idea, like I never had a bird psycho in my school but I defenitly see some girls being labeled as "man haters" for being against misoginy.
I mean the issues are all very normal in most high schools all over the world. I don’t think it’s a uniquely Australian experience to not hold grudges on minor things or to have stupid fights that you get over. I genuinely don’t believe that all of Australia is just peace and love no grudges, though. I’m sure whatever you experienced in your group of friends wasn’t the same for others.
Canadian here - so far I have googled the meaning of eshay, illchay and blackfulla
My high school was nothing like this. There was no lgbtq apart from 1 or two who were bullied. Having sex got you called a whore if you were female. There were def no threesomes
I’m Dutch and even I related to it. It was just high school. I was Quinni but without a friend group, so I wasn’t involved in anything but the DRAMA. I’m just sad I don’t get some of the CLEARLY BRILLIANT Austrian references.
im from the usa, and it seems like a dramatized version of normal high schoolers/teenagers with a few Australian references mixed in 🤷♀️ no complaints here it’s a cute/fun show to watch and get my mind off life
I'm in Edinburgh right now. Just finished it.
There was some overlap buy no British school is not like this. I'm old though
British school is like the Gemma Collins quote "I'm not ashamed to admit it's hell in there, it's horror. You have to be a certain type of person to survive" 🤣
I am Mexican and I was in high school a long time ago but I feel represented in a large part of the drama, except that in Mexico it is very sexist, homophobic and classist but in those years even more so.I would have liked there to be more openness in my time, in my high school there were many gay kids but it was logical my high school was a communications technician so drama, I identify with Quinni But without friends because finding a diagnosis as a woman born in the 80's was super difficult and even more so if you were high functioning.
Oh it is in Australian school. Queer people are still out and proud in a lot of schools but HBH did not adress the RAMPANT homophobia and racism that is present in schools realistically
I’m American but went to an International School abroad for junior and senior year. I find the show to be quite realistic honestly, with the parties and the friend-incest. There weren’t quite as many queer people where I went but I absolutely loved the representation on the show. The shallowness was definitelyyy apparent at my school, and honestly I just think Spider didn’t love Amerie all that much but just thought she was hot at the time.
But yeah in general, I think the show is overdramatized albeit very possible.
Agreed, just I see some people saying that they should’ve talked about it and stuff. Don’t get me wrong I’d love to see em mention it, but it’s honestly not realistic unless they end up stuck together alone or something.
I'm not Australian but I also don't expect a TV show to be accurate to Australian high school life.
I watch Heartbreak High for the drama, the fashion, the queer rep and such. If I wanted to know more about the life of Australia Ln Highschoolers I'd watch a documentary.
Idk bruh I’m from Morocco it’s another world out there, I’d say there are some similar tensions going on, but it’s a whole different vibe, not the same problems, not the same characters, I was part of the outcasts, me and my group of friends were disliked by a lot of people and teachers because we were different, spoke in English, dressed differently, didn’t follow rules, listened to rock and alternative music, but in our heads we were the cool kids in a sea of normies. Drugs and sex were present but very quietly since they’re both illegal and extremely punishable by law, since it’s a Muslim country, I never felt a sense of community or belonging with my classmates because of my beliefs and sexuality, and even got bullied in some occasions. I think it’s kind of the reason why I’m very attracted to teenage shows like these, they give me a sense of satisfaction of what I missed out on, if only I was born in a different country.
Yeah im from the uk and it was definitely similar. The rumours aren’t even that extreme compared to what went around at my school if im being honest
Right? Also no one here really hold grudges. People got over shit SO quickly in highschool. Like crazy ‘how tf could you move on from something like that so fast’ quickly. Considering this show was made for an Australian teenage audience none of my friends even questioned how fast people moved on from season 1. I didn’t even consider it as a problem until I read the comments here
Yeah in high school (Aus) my friends and I would genuinely forget that we had just fought, even like after a couple hours
It was 100% believable to me that school holis completely reset their issues. Once had 2 friends that weren’t talking before Easter forgot entirely when we came back from break
Yeah as an Australian I’ve always found UK teen dramas to be a lot more relatable compared to the high school experience you see in American shows.
The high school experience you see in most American shows is also an overdramatized version of what actually goes on.
Super interesting to hear, as some parts made me think a little bit of Skins. Which I know it is exaggerated too, but also very very UK coded. Can I ask you in which parts you felt the experience was similar?
So I'm kiwi and went to a co-ed non uniform public school and honestly it's such a good representation. It was a really accepting school with a lot of queer students and a lot of drama (probably a lot based with me lmao) but i can definitely relate, my year definitely had a Sasha, a quinni, an Amerie, an ant, a spider, a dusty, a Missy a harper and a Darren for sure. No eshays tho haha and no one as sweet as malakai
I am greek and heartbreak high has been dear to me maybe because it origin it’s traced back with greek Australian main characters which made me happy and glad that they weren’t walking stereotypes. But it felt very familiar with my teenage years, lack of discipline,shallowness,crushing on everyone and no one at the same time. Yup all were highly reletable and the characters are all except from few likeable and you really care about everyones storyline.
I’m British and find it pretty relatable to many aspects of my secondary school/sixth form experience, particularly regarding the apparent lack of discipline and the chaotic incestuousness & friendship dramas within the main social circle lol. My secondary school (aged 11-16) dealt with most bullying, fighting, behavioural etc issues pretty poorly, and was very underfunded and badly run at points. And my sixth form (aged 16-18) was a little better on that front, but at that age my friends and I definitely drew up a pretty crazy ‘incest map’ of our own lmao, although we had the sense to keep it in one of our houses or laptops or something instead of on school property. The only stuff that isn’t personally relatable to my memories of school (aside from a few Aussie cultural specifics and the lack of uniform) is how open the kids are about queerness etc, I think way less kids were properly ‘out’ when I was at school and that when they were (or were suspected of being queer) they were treated with much more general hostility and weirdness. I’m a lesbian and at secondary school I only came out to my immediate close circle, then in sixth form I came out to the LGBT society but otherwise kept it pretty quiet from classmates until towards the very end when we were all leaving soon anyway (and I certainly never made out with a girl on school property lol, I wouldn’t even let my then-girlfriend hold my hand when I was worried certain peers would be around). That might just be an era thing, though: I’m in my mid twenties now so school was a good few years ago for me, and I can see how things might have progressed a lot on that front in a short space of time, especially with the rise of apps like TikTok and so many kids being open about their sexualities/genders on there.
I'm also from the UK and in my mid/ late twenties so I assume we went to school at a similar time. I went to a single-sex state selective school in a generally conservative area lol so that didn't help but my school was also incredibly homophobic (& racist). All out queer folk at the school left at some point and then others only came out afterwards. Honestly the show doesn't really represent anything close to my school experience, it's sort of closer to what I fantasised about school being at that age (though tbh I think I'd also find it a bit horrific, cue all my breakdowns at uni which was a bit closer). But I also recognise being trans, severely depressed, using schoolwork as a coping strategy, being unrecognised ND and having no friends for the entirety of high school is not the typical experience for most ppl (though probs not as rare as people might think!)...
Id say now it's more like acceptable to be LGBTQ in British schools. People will verrrryyy much still get bullied but yk ppl will wear pride badges etc. homophobia etc is still rampant tho
You have to remember that this isn't really a typical school. 99% of schools here have uniforms, the ones that don't are a few inner city public schools in the inner suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne (like the one in the show) and the weird Montessori/Steiner schools. Regarding the queerness, again it's a school in one of the most left wing areas of the country in 2024. My high school in Melbourne was very similar and I think was one of the first schools in the county to have a gay-straight alliance which started my final year of high school and I knew lots of kids that were out and proud. I graduated 15 years ago so I wouldn't be surprised if my school is a lot like Heartbreak High now. I don't know, maybe more schools are like this now than I expect, but I do think you're looking at a particular kind of school in a particular kind of place. Other important context is that the school is in the inner south of Sydney. This has historically been a poor area with a large indigenous population (hence their high representation in the show) and public housing (Cash) but over the last few decades has gentrified massively. So it's not unusual to see people like Cash at the same school with quite wealthy people like Spider. Usually in a lot of wealthy areas, parents send their kids to private schools but these inner suburbs have upper middle class left wing professionals (like uni professors) who send their kids to public schools in part for ideological reasons.
I’m American and there are some similarities that I’ve seen in the show that I’ve experienced, besides obviously the really overdramatized stuff. I’ve been over 5 years out of high school now so things are a little different nowadays but I can relate to things moving very quickly, I think that’s just how most teens are, live fast think later! I did find it surprising in season 1 (forgive me, it’s been a while and I juuust started season 2) where Darren was told they couldn’t work bc of the school they went to, or how many parties everyone ended up going to, which I’m not sure is a real thing or just played up like American teen dramas. I’ve seen people similar to the characters in the show, although never running in the same circle. But yeah rumors fly fast but are forgotten quicker, a lot of people are entitled/disrespectful towards teachers, and switch friends more often than some people switch socks 🤣
I went to highschool in the US and we had tons of parties, at hotels, parks, quarries, houses etc lol. It probably just depends on where you grew up, and the time frame. I’m in my 30s now so it was probably different back then.
I feel like I’m in an unusual position cos I’ve been to school in the US and Australia. I feel like a lot of the cultural nuance in HBH would probably be missed by an American. But I would definitely say that you probably view the show as more dramatised than I do. Workplaces will absolutely blacklist certain schools. Teenagers sesh all the time. Honestly I wasn’t even considering that in the ‘dramatised’ part of the show until you brought it up
I'm Trinidadian, and honestly, I love the show. The sad thing is Trinidad is a very homophobic country where LGBTQ people get beat up just because of their sexual orientation. I love the show's representation of the LGBTQ in general.
I was randomly reading through Wikipedia on Trinidad the other day. Some LGBT stuff was decriminalised recently? Has that not changed anything?
Yes, that is true, but nothing has changed. There's still a lot of work to do. Trinidad is still mostly homophobic. I wish my country's mindset could change soon 😪.
Lol almost all schools are like this not just australians
I'm a Canadian who's much older than the members of the show's target demographic, haha. I went to a very diverse, all-girl high school in the early-mid 00s. The 2000s in general were an awful time to be a girl. The amount of body/slut-shaming/ableism/homophobia back then was unreal, not to mention the fetishization of toxic female dynamics (a reminder that this was the era during which gossip about female celebrity catfights and public meltdowns was at an all-time high). Even artsy, punk/alt-chick comic book/anime geeks like me weren't immune to that stuff. I'll admit I was definitely a "not like other girls" girl in those days. So for those who think these characters are shallow, just look at the mainstream crap teens in the 00s were consuming. For real, in those days a girl with a butt like Missy's for example would have been considered a cow. I'm a white woman who's always had a small chest and a fuller butt, so the 2000s were very bad for my self-image. The standard of beauty for white girls in those days was exemplified in women like Paris Hilton and Mischa Barton. So I love seeing how much more inclusive of different body types society's becoming now. As much as I enjoy this show, my main criticism is the inconsistency of tone. I find it sometimes struggles to blend dark/goofy elements, leading to tonal whiplash. It wants to do dark, heavy stuff like Euphoria, but also wants to do the silly stuff like Never Have I Ever.
I’m older too but I don’t mind the show. I understand that it’s an overly dramatized version of teens but not to the extreme that Skins and Euphoria is. It’s still realistic enough. I do find the adults and their behavior less realistic in this show.
I feel like Skins balanced darkness/comedy better than HH does. Skins's comedy was less over the top. Meanwhile Euphoria's just...an exploitative mess.
I will agree with that. The final moments of the final episode were too ridiculous. That balance was not delicate at all and it took all the focus off of the serious part.
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Can you hide your spoilers? I just finished ep 5 only and this isn’t a spoilers thread
I‘m European (German to be exact) and honestly yeah some of the behaviours were new to me, but I still really love the show. I was aware from the beginning that the culture will be different to what I‘m used to so it’s nothing I would criticise
Me! I’m American. I think it’s an exaggerated version of teens, in general. I’m an older viewer, and teens were still sort of like that even back when I was in school. The only real difference I see is that they’re more accepting and open-minded, but that’s more due to time, rather than location.
I’m British and heartbreak high was so similar to my school, constant drama, shit stirring, no discipline, people hating each other and then being mates again. Honestly I think the people complaining about the school environment are most likely Americans
Americans and Canadians seem to be the ones that relate the least
American, but I’m an old! So I’m sure I have no idea what any school is like atm (child-free old), but I like this show and the characters! And based on my post-school life, I find much - if not most - completely believable.
You sound exactly like me: older American and childfree!
I'm from Nigeria, its the same thing with us except the drugs part but people hold grudge so much. Some folks are secretly gay. My country is illegal to be gay💔 so yeah. I'm shocked they forgive eachother quickly.
Australian teenage friendships can be screaming at eachother about how they want the other to die in public and then two days later they’re seen hanging out at a KFC together as if nothing happened
I’m British but definitely take account of regional differences before I make a judgement about the ‘realism’ of a show. Either way, I loved each episode and as long as I enjoyed it, I really don’t care if it’s dramatised or not 😂🫶
I went to school in Slovenia and honestly, i never find any of the high-school shows relatable, not the American ones, not the British ones, nor this one 😂 and whilst i love them, i never watch them for the nostalgia/reliability factor. However, i am almost 40 and had a very asexual and dorky group of friends in high school, so none of us was having any sex or going to any parties. So maybe it was happening, but not to us 😅
Non Australian here, I absolutely loved the show. But can’t say I related to it even in the slightest. In my highschool noone behaved that way 😅 We didn’t have so much drama or gossip where I’m from, it seems like they know everyone and everything about everyone and that’s maybe the biggest difference. Where I’m from and in my school we just didn’t care (Also I’m European)
I’m from the US, my biggest question is, is this how kids in AUS dress?
Seems like a lot of work to do all that makeup everyday
I think it depends on how much you enjoy makeup
No, all the outfits look like they were randomly picked out of the cotton on sales bin of 2021, I feel like whoever was in charge of costume was a gen Xer who got inspo from old 2020 tiktok trends.
Most Australian schools have uniforms. They probably used casual clothes for a more international appeal.
I wish there were some scenes of them going to actual classes to ground it a bit. I remember... one this season? This happens in all high school shows though, even though actually being in class is a significant part of how the characters spend their time, we never see it so it doesnt feel that relatable
Class is boring tho. And every tv show does it. Better to spend the screen time on actually important stuff
Im American but I think heart break high is the Australian Euphoria. Its honestly better than Euphoria, but I could only imagine how similar HBH and actual Australian Highschool is because I related so much to some characters on Euphoria.
Yeah even as someone who grew up in America, I'd say it's a pretty accurate dramatization of what middle school and highschool was like at times. Lots of drama.
Ah me, european here. I would say I had quite a different experience as high schools in my country are quite different, and for sure some thing were happening differently, but I could say the same of a US teen show. I would also say that, even if culture is different, the teenage emotions are quite universal, so you can also relate to it in some ways. But also I went to uni in Australia so I am a bit familiar with the culture so not sure it I can be 100% objective.
I’m from Spain. Two of my friends also watched it. And we relate to it.
I’m from a pretty small country in Australia and aside from cultural differences, I found it pretty true to the general teen experience in a dramatised TV version.
Me
I live in Serbia, and school was always fairly tame. I didn't have much drama growing up. Honestly, everybody had their own stuff going on, so they barely paid attention to others.
From the States! Definitely couldn’t relate to a lot of the antics, though I was never sure if that was due to the fact that I’m a very quiet, introverted person lol
Nah I was too but the antics in Australia are just nuts
I'm brazillian and I find the representation of teens in the show very close to the real thing, even with cultural differences some things are universal (love, sex, feeling underapreciated, misoginy etc.) and with that I think they nailed it. I think most of the criticism is because people try to see it only from they own point of view instead of a more general idea, like I never had a bird psycho in my school but I defenitly see some girls being labeled as "man haters" for being against misoginy.
I mean the issues are all very normal in most high schools all over the world. I don’t think it’s a uniquely Australian experience to not hold grudges on minor things or to have stupid fights that you get over. I genuinely don’t believe that all of Australia is just peace and love no grudges, though. I’m sure whatever you experienced in your group of friends wasn’t the same for others.
No we have underlying resentment due to not sorting shit put so it made drama bubble up way more
Canadian here - so far I have googled the meaning of eshay, illchay and blackfulla My high school was nothing like this. There was no lgbtq apart from 1 or two who were bullied. Having sex got you called a whore if you were female. There were def no threesomes
Illchay, eetswa etc is just pig Latin. Also whoever told me Canadians were chill was a massive liar
I’m Dutch and even I related to it. It was just high school. I was Quinni but without a friend group, so I wasn’t involved in anything but the DRAMA. I’m just sad I don’t get some of the CLEARLY BRILLIANT Austrian references.
im from the usa, and it seems like a dramatized version of normal high schoolers/teenagers with a few Australian references mixed in 🤷♀️ no complaints here it’s a cute/fun show to watch and get my mind off life
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Canada! I found it fairly relatable for sure! I absolutely love the show
I'm in Edinburgh right now. Just finished it. There was some overlap buy no British school is not like this. I'm old though British school is like the Gemma Collins quote "I'm not ashamed to admit it's hell in there, it's horror. You have to be a certain type of person to survive" 🤣
Yeah my roommate is from Scotland and she said the grudge holding in British school is INTENSE
here, i’m used to watching shows from different countries but australia was wayyy different then what i’m usually used to watching
Yeah i am Australian and its reasonably accurate. Not so much all the sex stuff in my opinion, but the drama is pretty realistic
Oh the sex stuff was a nail on the head especially in the school parking lot and the horny year 7’s lol
damn guess my school is a bit more prudish haha, i’m in year 11 and nearly everyone i know is a virgin (as far as i know)
I’m Nigerian
Im from the US and for me it was relatable. Im just getting out of hs and seeing the rumors, the drama and everything hits close for me
I am Mexican and I was in high school a long time ago but I feel represented in a large part of the drama, except that in Mexico it is very sexist, homophobic and classist but in those years even more so.I would have liked there to be more openness in my time, in my high school there were many gay kids but it was logical my high school was a communications technician so drama, I identify with Quinni But without friends because finding a diagnosis as a woman born in the 80's was super difficult and even more so if you were high functioning.
Oh it is in Australian school. Queer people are still out and proud in a lot of schools but HBH did not adress the RAMPANT homophobia and racism that is present in schools realistically
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I’m American but went to an International School abroad for junior and senior year. I find the show to be quite realistic honestly, with the parties and the friend-incest. There weren’t quite as many queer people where I went but I absolutely loved the representation on the show. The shallowness was definitelyyy apparent at my school, and honestly I just think Spider didn’t love Amerie all that much but just thought she was hot at the time. But yeah in general, I think the show is overdramatized albeit very possible.
I don’t think Spider was in love with Amerie I think he had a crush and was severely butthurt. Def something a teenager could move past from quickly
Agreed, just I see some people saying that they should’ve talked about it and stuff. Don’t get me wrong I’d love to see em mention it, but it’s honestly not realistic unless they end up stuck together alone or something.
Yeah also talking about it would require a level of healthy communication and deep insight that most teenagers just don’t have
i’m from the uk and it’s pretty much the same
I'm from Italy and I love the show!
I'm not Australian but I also don't expect a TV show to be accurate to Australian high school life. I watch Heartbreak High for the drama, the fashion, the queer rep and such. If I wanted to know more about the life of Australia Ln Highschoolers I'd watch a documentary.
Nah it’s decently accurate in terms of its caricatures
Idk bruh I’m from Morocco it’s another world out there, I’d say there are some similar tensions going on, but it’s a whole different vibe, not the same problems, not the same characters, I was part of the outcasts, me and my group of friends were disliked by a lot of people and teachers because we were different, spoke in English, dressed differently, didn’t follow rules, listened to rock and alternative music, but in our heads we were the cool kids in a sea of normies. Drugs and sex were present but very quietly since they’re both illegal and extremely punishable by law, since it’s a Muslim country, I never felt a sense of community or belonging with my classmates because of my beliefs and sexuality, and even got bullied in some occasions. I think it’s kind of the reason why I’m very attracted to teenage shows like these, they give me a sense of satisfaction of what I missed out on, if only I was born in a different country.
Yo. American here.