The art of cynicism

Remember Daria? Was it just me or was she the coolest female cartoon character of the late 1990s? I have taken issue with the fact that the darkest, most appealing show on the once-dominant MTV lineup has not been released on DVD. So, I did the best thing I could do given the circumstances and recently purchased a VHS copy of the first three episodes for $25 on eBay.\n In the first episode of the series, “Esteemers,” Daria Morgendorffer and her family, consisting of her yuppie parents and her fashion-obsessed younger sister Quinn, move to the suburban town of Lawndale. Because of her cynical nature and negative reception, Daria is required to attend after-school sessions on self-esteem, where she meets equally-disillusioned Jane Lane. The very first episode introduces us to a large ensemble cast of dislikeable characters, from \n Sandy, obnoxious president of \nthe Fashion Club, to Kevin, the dimwitted quarterback of the football team.“Daria” attracted a huge following, produced two made-for-TV movies, and even led to rumors that the title character’s voice was delivered by similarly cynical comedian and ‘90s superstar Janeane\nGarofalo. Following its lead, other comedy series at the time picked up on the subversive tone, from “Strangers with Candy” to the televised productions of chaotic improvisers “Upright Citizens’ Brigade,” many of which attracted a cult following from the post Gen-X subculture that popped up at the time.\n“Daria” became quite a phenomenon in its time, partly because of the terrible state of youth culture in the years prior to the new millennium. Was it hard to be so dark and cynical when songs like Cher’s “Believe” and Backstreet Boys’ “Backstreet’s Back” were reaching top spots on the music charts? Wasn’t it so easy to look at what the mass media was producing and feeding directly to our generation and hate it?\n “Daria” faded out with its final made-for-TV movie, “Is it College Yet?” in late 2002, and that’s about the time I got into my much-regretted Dashboard Confessional phase. Tracy Grandstaff, the voice of Daria, went on to be a writer for VH1 and MTV but hasn’t had as much success in the real world as she had in the animated one. The series is now third on the list of most wanted unreleased DVDs, which are not due out any time soon because of a lack of potential distributors. Like the times that bore her, Daria faded out as we grew into our high school years, and the much-needed cult-spawning cynical hero in pop culture has yet to come back in these necessary times.