The Shining Stars of Raw Teenage Torture

MTV has a new show that airs in the lucky slot after The Hills on Monday nights. It's called The Paper and it follows the leaders of the high school newspaper at the largest high school in America, Cypress Bay High School. It's kinda the anti-Laguna Beach in theory. A group of high school kids centered around an academic focus who clearly aren't the traditional popular kids who spend 85% of their time at the beach (like the Laguna kids).

The Cypress Bay Circuit's first issue of this school year in PDF

The show does a pretty good job dealing with the mechanics of the paper and that is somewhat interesting. Where the show really succeeds is portraying the painful cruelties that exist in all levels of high school/teen culture. I think we tend to think that is reserved for just the "shallow" popular kids.

The star of the show is Amanda Lorber, who is chosen Editor in Chief in a stiff competition in the first episode. She is a intense overachiever possible goody two-shoes. She is a real life Tracy Flick (Reese Witherspoon's character from Election), but the thing about Amanda that makes her such a star is she is not just a overachieving goody three shoes she is absolutely bursting with personality. Amanda is unabashedly a ham, dorky in very joyful ways, and neurotic is hilarious ways (writing self motivating post it notes, picking her outfits for the next week).

Amanda is also the target of the vast majority of the cruelty of The Paper. She's a total outcast from the main social crew. They are always always always talking crap about her. It has to be because of her overachieving and they seem to simply think they are cooler than her. It's a real shame because Amanda is the real deal. She's not trying to hide who she is and she is being punished for it. She actually seems to deal with it pretty well consider.

Amanda and her BFF singing The Facebook Song. I actually found them singing a different Facebook somewhere else on the internet! TWO FACEBOOK SONGS!

Some more Amanda Lorber love:
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Videogum

Here's one from her personal youtube channel where Amanda parodies youtube talking heads: