History may speak for itself. But it’s young girls who speak for history in “Dear America,” HBO’s new series of half-hour family specials.
The series is based on Scholastic Inc.’s best-selling “Dear America” books. And these fictional diaries give voice to the ordinary girls who lived through extraordinary periods in American history.
“A Picture of Freedom,” which follows the struggles of Clotee, a 12-year-old slave girl, is the first of the show’s six installments. It debuted last week and will air throughout March, with more “Dear America” episodes coming this spring and fall — perfect timing since March is Women’s History Month.
Unveiling the new show during Women’s History Month was a natural way to make “the debut more significant,” says Deborah Forte, division head of Scholastic Entertainment Inc. and the series’ executive producer.
Women’s History Month was designed “to get people thinking about women’s contributions to American history,” says Mary Ruthsdotter, projects director for the National Women’s History Project, which founded the event. “It is meant as a beginning point. And the ultimate goal is for it not to be necessary at all, for women’s stories to be known as a simple matter of obvious course and to be spoken of as routinely as, and with as much interest as, stories of men’s accomplishments.”
The “Dear America” series, says Ruthsdotter, is a step in that direction. “I think it can heighten interest in the historical development of the United States on the part of young viewers before they form a definite opinion about women’s place in the world.”
Filmed in the Toronto area, the dramas pay attention to historical details with their period sets, props and costumes. But Forte wanted the series to give viewers both a visual and — like the books — an emotional sense of history. Historical events and figures play a part in these gripping dramas but are not the stories’ central focus.
Created for a family audience, but perhaps most appealing to young girls, the shows explore the thoughts and feelings of their “Everygirl” protagonists.
“What makes our shows so different is that they are personal stories,” Forte says. “The audience gets a very intimate window into their world. . . .
“Girls have not had an opportunity to see the emotional and personal side of history.”
Although “A Picture of Freedom” teaches about plantation life and the Underground Railroad, it is foremost a story about Clotee battling her fears. The bright slave girl has taught herself to read and write while fanning the master’s son during his lessons. Clotee worries she will be beaten, sold or killed if her secret is revealed.
In “Dreams in the Golden Country,” Zippy Feldman, a 12-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant, struggles to keep her family together as they carve out their place in turn-of-the-century New York City. The Feldmans’ problems come to a head when Zippy’s older sister marries an Irishman and is disowned by the family.
“Journey to the New World” tells the tale of Mem, a 12-year-old Separatist girl who must cope with physical hardships and emotional issues, including the death of her beloved mother and her father’s burgeoning relationship with another woman. The Indian Squanto appears and the settlers and Indians share a Thanksgiving feast, but these are merely background events in Mem’s story.
By downplaying big heroes and major events, “Dear America” is saying something different, Forte says. “This is saying we place a real value on ordinary people who do extraordinary things when they put their minds to it.”
Forte has successfully brought other popular children’s books to TV in such shows as “Scholastic’s The Magic School Bus,” “Goosebumps” and “Animorphs.” Because she “believes you have to be true to the source material,” the specials aren’t glamorized adaptations of the “Dear America” books. Refreshingly, the lead characters are played by natural-looking unknowns, not impossibly beautiful starlets, and romance and sex are essentially non-issues.
“The appeal of these stories is that these are real, believable girls. They are not glamorous or fantastic. . . .,” Forte says.
“It is so nice to present girl heroes who are appealing — not because they are glamorous, popular or glib — but because they have substance, they are intelligent and caring. And because they are caring, intelligent and have good intentions, and they are hopeful. That’s why girls like them.”
The specials deal with some gritty subject matter. Pain, cruelty, sickness and death all have their place in the “Dear America” stories. The series does not shy away from them. Perhaps in the most extreme example, Clotee witnesses the beating of a fellow slave and viewers get a closeup shot of the man’s lashes.
Forte says it was important to dramatize the harsher aspects of the stories. “To be in keeping with the books and history, to avoid or candy coat those things would not be as respectful to the material or the audience as we should be.”
To do otherwise, she says, would “diminish (the characters’) triumphs.”
Although these girls face hardships, their tales are not dark and depressing. In all cases, the heroine perseveres. Clotee ultimately uses her skills to help other slaves learn to read and write. Zippy realizes her dream of becoming an actress and sees her family reunited. Mem comes to grips with her grief and learns to love her new stepmother.
Shadia Simmons, the 12-year-old actress who plays Clotee, says her show holds an important message for young viewers: “Anything can happen if you follow your dreams.”
This upbeat message permeates the series, and it’s an important one for young women to hear, Ruthsdotter says. “There’s a lot of openness on the part of (young) girls to imagine themselves able to be or do anything. Stories like these will help keep that sense of possibility alive.”
