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Who is Ryan Atwood? Social Mobility and the Class Chameleon in The OC

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posted on 2025-06-30, 05:00 authored by Elizabeth Bullen
In the first season of the Fox television series, The OC (2003-2004), a teenager from the wrong side of the tracks finds himself in wealthy Newport Beach, Orange County -- the OC of the title. Rescued from an implied future of juvenile delinquency, 16-year-old Ryan Atwood is at first perceived to be a threat to this world of luxury, ostentation and conspicuous consumption. Over the course of the season, Ryan is able to win the heart of rich girl-next-door, the troubled Marissa Cooper, and, it seems, transcend his class origins.

History

Journal

The Looking Glass : New Perspectives on Children's Literature

ISSN

1551-5680

Volume

11

Issue

1

Publisher

La Trobe University

Section Title

Alice's Academy

Author Biography

Elizabeth Bullen lectures in Literary Studies at Deakin University's Warrnambool campus. She is currently a co-researcher on a research project on representations of social class in recent children's literature and the implications for citizenship.

Date Created

2007-12-20

Rights Statement

Essays and articles published in The Looking Glass may be reproduced for non-profit use by any educational or public institution; letters to the editor and on-site comments made by our readers may not be used without the expressed permission of that individual. Any commercial use of this journal, in whole or in part, by any means, is prohibited. Authors of accepted articles assign to The Looking Glass the right to publish and distribute their text electronically and to archive and make it permanently available electronically. They retain the copyright and, 90 days after initial publication, may republish it in any form they wish as long as The Looking Glass is acknowledged as the original source.

Data source

OJS data migration 2025: https://ojs.latrobe.edu.au/ojs/index.php/tlg/article/view/45

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