he people of
Lawndale just didn't get Daria Morgendorffer, but she was cool
with that. Daria was born alienated and was just
trying to make it through high school with as little human
contact as possible. Popularity, friends, activities . . .
whatever. Daria lacked enthusiasm, but made up for it with
sarcasm. Representing everything Daria abhorred, her sister Quinn was
shallow,
good-looking, popular and unfailingly bubbly. She
belonged to a fashion club and helped foster the misconception
that Daria was her cousin. But Daria wasn't completely without
friends; her
artsy friend Jane Lane shared her outlook and the two suffered
through high school the best they could. Although
she would never admit it, Daria had a secret crush on Jane's
brother, Trent. Through everything, Daria and Jane took solace
in their conviction that most people were sheep, conforming to
society and expressing little individuality.
During the serie's five season run, many of the episodes
focused on tackling teen issues, albeit through the cynical
eyes of Daria. In one episode “Art and Crass,” Jane and Daria
collaborated on a piece of artwork commenting on body image
and anorexia. Their teachers considered the message too
downbeat and morbid to represent teenage life and altered the
work into an inane piece celebrating what Daria and Jane were
criticizing. In the end, the two heroines ended up destroying
their tainted work.
Daria was the spin-off of MTV's successful cartoon series,
Beavis and Butt-Head.
