Not so gleeful…

Having gotten over my initial urge to gag at the mere thought of _Glee_, I think not admitting that watching _Glee_ is similar to a forty five minute dive into a pool of candy, would be committing severe libel. It is packed full of awesome covers, ranging from mainstream rock, pop, show tunes, to an un-surprising fixation on Gaga, and coupled with a rather large side order of “issues” that shed light on many an important injustice facing today’s youth. But, that’s where my appreciation ends.

I, unlike many, do not object to the showsongs within _Glee_, because there is nothing essentially wrong with a reinterpretation of a piece of music. The argument that _Glee_ somehow forever sullies the original songs it covers has absolutely no logic or coherence to it.

For me, the most hideous part of the show is what is behind the sunshine, acceptance and candy. It first struck me in the pilot episode, five seconds after I had tuned in. Kurt is being thrown into the rubbish tip by the football team, whilst Finn comically acts like the non-participating nice guy, and Mr. Schuester obliviously strolls past. My stomach turned a bit by the way in which comedy was extracted from that situation. ‘Lighten up!’ I hear you scoff. No. This is the exact problem I have with _Glee_. This opening scene characterises the entire show. We can make light of the gay boy being bullied, or the nice, caring and progressive teacher not really grasping what is actually going on, because obviously we “know” it’s wrong and in real life we wouldn’t find it amusing. _Glee_ has no authority to handle people’s real experiences with such an astonishing lack of grace; blundering about like a two year old trying their hand at neurosurgery.

In the same way, _Glee_ handles all these so-called ‘hard hitting’ issues with appalling care. It is a sneaky devil. It pretends to be so incredibly progressive in its agenda, when in fact it uses this guise of progressiveness to be completely bigoted and get away with it; no show with it’s lead characters consisting of a person with OCD, a bullied homosexual, and an unconventionally bodied couple is going to be accused of discrimination, right? In essence, it manages to shine a light on a wide variety of issues and yet doesn’t make any effort to be part of the solution – albeit the homosexual storyline.

_Glee_ also manages to throw around some of the most appalling statements. May I draw your attention to gems like the “asian F”, or Rachel shouting ignorantly at a foreign exchange student, because obviously she wouldn’t understand normal english, and, of course, the Cohens dating “because they’re asian”? The _Glee_ producers continue to get away with it because it’s not real; as long as it’s put across ironically and purposefully, and we can all have a good chuckle, we aren’t actually doing anything wrong.

_Glee_ does occasionally venture further afield, taking on religion, teenage pregnancy and relationships, but these, predictably aren’t tackled with any discernible skill either. The most religious focused episode is, like Emily Cooper mentioned, when Kurt’s father goes to hospital. However, for me, the episode is patronizing and pitying, particularly to Kurt, the sole atheist in the ensemble.

Their handling of sex and abstinence is similarly appalling, from the first episode, in which the “abstinence club” is introduced, and again in one of the most recent episodes – “_The First Time_”. Predictably, this episode was about two couples experiencing their first time having sex. Not only are both Blaine and Rachel convinced that they need to have sex to be able to act, but in one of the most obnoxious moves seen on Glee, all principles of respect and decency are ignored, when a teacher is questioned about her sexual status by a student. This wrenching of sexual activity from the private sphere into public business is deeply worrying. Obviously, this was a ploy by the writer to allow the characters to grow, but once again, they did it in the most insane, detrimental and butter-fingered manner. This _Glee_ episode featured implausible story lines clumsily juxtaposed with an attempted positive message, but in effect de-emphasizing the fact that having sex, whatever the quantity and with whomever, is first and foremost, a personal choice.

There are of course other things that could be questioned and ranted about at length, like the fact that the writers do not seem to have any memory of their own show going back more than four episodes, or any semblance of an idea about character growth or development, but this is all secondary to the most glaring error of all. _Glee_ could have been a great way to actually make a difference in current popular culture. They have shown that they are in the position to shine a light on a lot of relevant topics, but instead of using that position, they waste airtime.

In my opinion, _Glee_ is regressive, not progressive, and is a lost opportunity.