Let’s just make this Love The Paper Day. Joe just told you how much he loves it, leaping off of the wonderful essay at FourFour about it. And I love it, too.

I can’t really improve on what Joe and FourFour had to say, except possibly by adding that what I find so great about the show is the perspective it provides that you rarely see. Most of us were closer socially to the other kids on the paper than to Amanda, I’d guess — sort of in the middle somewhere, not friendless wads but not superstar athletes, invested in certain things with great enthusiasm but not necessarily publicly acclaimed for those things. And most kids in that position, unfortunately, fall victim at some point — not as often as these kids do with her, but at some point — to the trap of picking on somebody who’s EVEN LOWER on the totem pole than you are.

What I think the show does so well is demonstrate that these other kids aren’t really being mean to be malicious. They’re being mean socially. They’re being mean as a way of hanging out with their friends. Alex, who genuinely likes Amanda in many ways, is acting around other kids like he hates her because it’s a way to bond with them. I don’t think they’re trying to hurt her. They resent her for being in charge of them, and they find her annoying (I would, too), but mostly, they’re just indifferent to the idea that this would be legitimately hurtful.

(Oh, also hilarious? The way nerds never know they’re nerds, like when they were like, “Our incredibly cool group activity where we will mack on ladies and exclude the unclean is a Dave Matthews Band show.”)

And for kids who are in high school now, I think it’s potentially very powerful to be shown the juxtaposition of them all just hanging out and having fun, not really meaning any harm, and Amanda left at home on her own. She’s very resilient, but she’s aware of being left out. I think it’s a powerful image seeing them all having a great time together and then realizing that while they’re laughing about not answering when she calls, she’s awkwardly explaining to the camera that nobody’s answering the phone. It’s an interesting experiment in showing social consequences that usually remain hidden.

Anyway, it’s a really good show. Really good.