Gregg Araki Calls ‘Euphoria’ a ‘Miserable’ Depiction of Teen Life: ‘There’s No Joy’

New restorations of Gregg Araki’s “Nowhere” and “The Doom Generation” have generated renewed interest in the director’s filmography and contribution to the teenage indie film canon. While teen movies are often distinct products of their time, Araki’s punk-infused coming-of-age sagas continue to enchant large audiences of film geeks who are drawn to his distinct vision.

In a conversation with Richard Linklater for Interview Magazine, Araki reflected on the frenetic energy that allows the films to feel so fresh nearly 30 years after their original releases.

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“We’ve been talking about this a lot on this ‘Nowhere’ press tour,” Araki said. “One of the things that makes ‘Nowhere’ and ‘Doom’ special is they do have that angst and that anger and that fucking confusion of being young and all that. But because of the influence of punk rock, new wave music, there’s a level of fun and joy.”

Araki drew a contrast between his early works and contemporary teen dramas like “Euphoria,” which he sees as placing too much emphasis on the dark aspects of adolescence and ignoring the joy that comes with it.

“There’s fun and there’s joy and there’s exhilaration the same way of going to a punk rock or new wave show,” he said. “It’s a fun time as opposed to something like ‘Euphoria,’ which is the sex and the drugs and the nihilism and all that, but it’s miserable. There’s no joy.”

In a 2022 conversation with Andrew Ahn for IndieWire, Araki explained that his joyful punk aesthetic was shaped by the fact that he began making movies at a unique moment in American history.

“I always feel like I was born at the exact right moment,” Araki said. “I was born in ’59, which made me in high school when punk rock music was happening. Then went to film school in the early ’80s, and I’m so influenced by punk rock music and new wave music and that whole DIY culture and not being interested in the mainstream and the corporate and what’s super popular and just being OK to be obscure and artsy and marching to your own drummer.”

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