How "Laguna Beach" Taught the World to Be Basic

You might not have realized it, but "Laguna Beach" is responsible for your basicness.

Sep 28, 2014
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Complex Original

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County was smarter than you think. The show, which premiered in Sept. 2004, was an overt move by MTV to capitalize off the massive success of The O.C., which had premiered on FOX about a year earlier. Get it? That's why there's that subtitle, "The Real Orange County."

You'd think it came off a little too heavy-handed, that everyone would reject the confident clarification. But juxtaposing Laguna Beach with the definitely fictional O.C. made young people (read: dumb people) think that high schoolers in California actually lived like this. And those youthful teenagers set out to emulate the show, because it looked awesome at the time.

Laguna Beach sparked a generation of adolescent TV-watchers who grabbed coffee, tried to hook up in hot tubs, and thirsted for drama.

Ten years later, all those teens are in their twenties, and there isn't a more common insult thrown around than the term "basic," which Kreayshawn defined as "liking what's typical to like," and to which I'd add, "having a prevailing sense of whiteness." Do you think it's a coincidence that basicness blew up at the same time everyone who watched Laguna Beach grew up? It isn't.

So 10 years after the premiere of The Real Orange County, it feels necessary to pay homage, and really examine the ways the show turned us all into a generation of basic bitches. Here's How Laguna Beach Taught the World to Be Basic.

Andrew Gruttadaro is the Pop Culture news editor. He still loves Jessica even though she let herself get walked on by every guy in Orange Country. He also tweets here.

Themed Parties

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Just inviting a bunch of friends over to have a good time is what poor people do. The Laguna Beach cast's parties had purpose, like their shitty fashion shows or the time in the series premiere when LC threw a “Black and White” party. Holy shit kill me. You know zero Black people got invited to that so-called Black and White party.

Cabo

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God Cabo is so basic. Piña coladas, guys swimming in trucker hats, girls dancing on cabana bars, and guys slut-shaming said girls for said dancing. And these Laguna kids LOVED the place.

Prom Proposals

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Dear Laguna Beach, thank you for making girls think that a guy is worthless unless he spray paints, “Will You Go To Prom With Me?” on a girl's face or puts a kiddie pool full of goldfishes in her room because, “She's the only fish in the sea.” And when I say thank you, I actually mean I hate your guts for this.

The WTF Names

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Let me just run back a list of people who were on this show: Talan, Lo, Dieter, Rocky, Trey, Kyndra, Cami, Kelan. Peak basicness.

The Horrible, God-Awful Style

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The '90s gets a bad rap for its style, but the mid-2000s was honestly a collection of some of the strangest, most offensive fashion ever. Nothing showcased that more than Laguna Beach. Kristin rocked chokers made out of pantyhose, the girls wore jean skirts to the clubs, and everyone wore trucker hats and screen tees. I'm shuddering just thinking about this.

Bonfires

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“Bro, you know what would be gnarly? If we lit a big fire on the beach and then chugged beers and cuddled with chicks.” — every episode of Laguna Beach

Saying Goodbye Is So Hard to Do

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Dramatic goodbyes were Laguna Beach's bread and butter. The girls cried so fucking much at the end of every season when summer was over and people went off to college. Chill out, guys! You know everyone's going to be back in town in like three months for Thanksgiving (or in Steven and LC's case, even earlier for the filming of season two), right? But now I'm the asshole if I don't have an emotional goodbye with my girlfriend before she visits her parents for 48 hours.

Hilary Duff

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No explanation necessary.

How to Blast “Since U Been Gone” in Cars

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The only thing more basic than Hilary Duff is Kelly Clarkson. And the only thing more basic than Kelly Clarkson is singing Kelly Clarkson's “Since U Been Gone” at the top of your lungs while riding in a limo with your best girlfriends. And yet, this moment in the second season premiere was recreated at a million slumber parties across the globe. (It also feels like it inspired this very basic TV moment.)

Those Surf Shops

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See the above slide on style. All that horrible fashion? It was purchased here.

Coffee Dates

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I swear going to Starbucks to “chat about life”—a go-to in the basic bitch's repertoire—wasn't a thing until this show. Thanks I guess?

Texting

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There were times on this show when two people would go out to eat and there would be no dialogue for minutes on end because one or both people were texting. Sound familiar? THIS IS EVERY PERSON ON EARTH NOW. Hail to your basic ancestors, people.

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