Glee

[chasingtides]

So, I made two mistakes. One, I watch another episode of Glee. (Warning: Mattress comes with unexamined domestic violence, discussion further in.)

Then I went on to make my second mistake - I tried to talk about the issues with Glee (as per what I've seen: racism, ablism, sexism, domestic violence; I have seen discussions of issues of queerness).

People seem to be using, "But it's satire!" as a way of shutting down issues with the show. I won't deny that the songs are catchy and fun, but I am having a lot of trouble seeing how the issues I'm having are satire on the show.

Will pins his wife to the wall, gripping her wrist so hard that we can see the strain in his hand, even after she tells him he's scaring her and asking him to get away. Then, while she seems near tears, he lifts up her shirt and tears the baby belly off her and starts screaming. (FYI, I think she's right that the club is an unhealthy obsession for him - example: writing the check for the yearbook ad when they obviously didn't have the money for it. Also using it as a cover for emotional cheating.) I wouldn't have as much of a problem, except we are supposed to see him as the put-upon victim.

Quinn says Puck got her drunk the night he got her pregnant - but somehow she's the cheating lying slut? And Terri's clearly scared of Will and got some mental issues, but she's the shrewish angry wife? And what's with the minority kids getting less screen time and I won't even touch the ablism?

Can someone please explain how this is satire and not really offensive crap?

[In other news: I'm apparently working extra hours and six days a week until Christmas. Oh god, I'm going to die.]

Comments

Part 2

[lfg1986.livejournal.com]

I've read a lot of your posts that deal with things of this nature, and quite frankly most of the time I don't comment because I don't want to get into it. But many times I feel like you're really too close to the issue and it clouds your ability to see things in an objective way. We all have our own issues that we are like that about. You do make many valid points, and the whole minority thing bothers me, too. And just to briefly address the Puck/Quinn thing, I don't blame Quinn sleeping with Puck and for getting pregnant (although cheating is NOT cool, but it takes two to tango and all that), but her complete bitch act toward Finn about everything afteward just makes her unlikable. Not only did she willingly lie to him about it being his baby, then she REPEATEDLY made him feel guilty for not having a job and not paying for the doctor bills when it's NOT HIS BABY and she KNOWS that. Sorry, but THAT is inexcusable, imo.

But anyway, I decided a while ago that this show is not something that is supposed to be taken seriously it's fun and silly and HIGHLY unrealistic (speaking as someone who spendt years in school choirs, there's NO WAY that they could pull off half of what they do on this show in real life), but it's entertaining anyway, or at least it is to me. YMMV. But you also have to consider that all 13 episodes were written and filmed before the show even aired (except the pilot), where most shows film a few and then it begins to air, and if there's a major problem with a plot, they have time to tweak it before it gets too far into the season. So this show was at a disadvantage here, and I've already seen interviews with some of the creators/writers who have acknowledged some of the show's major flaws and said they'd be working on fixing them in the back 9 episodes. Yes, many of the stereotypes can be annoying and borderline offensive, but I'm not going to condemn the show this early on because it hasn't had the proper opportunity to incorporate changes based on people's criticisms yet. If the season ends and not much has changed, THEN I might have to rethink my opinion. But right now, I love the music and many of the characters, and I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt that the rest of the season is going to be better story-wise now that there's been a chance for audience reaction.

Sorry for the rant, just really needed to get that out.

Re: Part 2

[chasingtides.livejournal.com]

I don't think having experience with discrimination/abuse/violence/war/bad things in the world makes a person incapable of critiquing them in media/culture - in fact, I have a problem with the idea that only the privileged and inexperienced can properly discuss the Bad Shit.

People who've experienced domestic violence/abuse watched this scene and were incapable of forming a coherent response because we're supposed to sympathise with the man who pinned his wife to the wall and demanded she remove her clothes. We can't because many of us have stood in Terri's shoes and shed her tears because that's what domestic violence (and yes, friend-date-partner assault) looks like. What was on our screen. And we were told, again, that it's our fault.

I'm not saying that Terri and Quinn aren't flawed. I'm saying that their flaws don't mean that they - in any way - deserve to be blamed for being raped and the victim of violence at the hands of a partner. (And, FYI, people do fucked up shit after experiencing trauma - especially since Quinn doesn't have any support that I've seen.)