Some have a deep resentment for Glee's simplistic portrayal of high school that stems from their own experiences, while others just hate show tunes and pop music. None of those are my problem.
Those things are intrinsic to Glee's nature. They're non-negotiable; a price of admission I was more than willing to pay in return for one other aspect of the show. For a time, it featured some of the most incisive, biting social commentary on network television. My problem, now, is that Glee seems to have abandoned its wit and sense of satire for a more genuine tone.
Know this: Glee is not a sincere show, or at least it wasn't at the beginning.... Faced with a possible hit, Murphy & Co. have made concessions to their original conceit and filed down the edges on the show's razor-sharp fangs.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
TO WIN BIG, DO YOU HAVE TO WIN STUPID? Our friend and loyal commenter Dan Suitor hits the big time with Gawker's publication of his "The Problem With Glee" essay, which you're free to discuss here along with tonight's episode. An excerpt:
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"Rather than appreciate the series for its subversive side, the 14-year old girls and their 40-something moms largely take the series at face value. Of course, those unsophisticated viewers might not be right, but they are many." Wow. Yikes. Really? Unsophisticated 14 year olds and their 40-something moms? Lots to think about in that piece by Dan but I have to call Gevalt on the age/gender dig.
ReplyDeleteSorry about that: I've already taken unspeakable shit for that passage both in the comment section and my e-mail inbox. I really didn't mean for the sexist/agist overtones there, my biggest complaint was really about the tweens/teens that make up Glee's core demographic. I probably should have kept it to "14 year olds", but I got a bit florid.
ReplyDeleteThanks Adam & Co for the link and kind words. I thought and worked pretty hard on all of it, and I'm just glad some people like it.
ReplyDeleteAs the husband of a now-40-something mom ... yeah, don't do that again.
ReplyDeleteAs a 40-something mom who is a big fan of the show but not an unsophisticated viewer (I love the subversiveness when it's there, and I see the problems in the show but I accept them because there's so much else I like about it) - please don't ever do that again. Also, my tween gets a lot of the subversiveness - they're not all unsophisticated viewers either.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm not in my 40s (...yet), but I am a mom, and I completely agree with your premise- that the show is losing some of its edge. But being over 40 or a woman or a parent doesn't mean one necessarily loses the ability to enjoy subversiveness.
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is a good lesson for you for future culture criticism- it's much easier to just refer to, "That huge segment of the American Idol audience that wouldn't know irony if it smacked them in the head." It's an article of faith that American Idol viewers aren't sophisticated, but everyone believes that isn't them. If you call out a specific demographic, you leave no doubt as to who you think are the dummies.
Note that I don't believe that article of faith about AI, lest I fall into the same trap. :-)
ReplyDeleteI have a sort of love/hate relationship with this show, and it mostly has to do with the tone. See, I LIKE the sincere moments - it helps me relate to the characters and I find it a nice balance to the more campy/cynical/broad strokes of the show and the musical numbers. When it's all happening on a too mean, too broad level (the Terri/Quinn pregnancy story line, for example), I'm turned off. I really enjoyed the most sincere moments in last night's episode, especially Quinn talking to Mercedes about eating right and loving herself, and the real pain involved in the issues for Kurt and Finn in their parents dating. I think those kinds of moments have been there from the beginning, so it's not a change for the show to involve them, and as long as it isn't every story, every episode, I like it and hope it stays.
ReplyDeleteI really liked those parts of last night's episode too, Sue. Chris Colfer in particular is so good at them, and I loved his "Guy talk? I'm a guy." And his dad pointing out that he accepts/supports what Kurt likes to do (having gone to see Riverdance with him three times) but Kurt should do this same with him and not try to change him. And the show didn't tie it all up in a neat bow -- Finn is reconciled with Kurt's dad, but Kurt is still feeling hurt and left out, and it's going to take a while for him.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we had Kristin Chenoweth getting hush money from the widow of her sugar daddy, and going to produce the first all-white "The Wiz" (which cracked me up, thinking of her in "Wicked"). And Sue complimenting Becky for entering the world of eating disorders like a regular teenage girl. And last week we had Sue blackmailing Figgins into blasting Madonna into all the classrooms, but she disabled Emma's speaker because Emma wasn't worthy of hearing Madonna.
Is it just me, or did other people think for a while that the journalist interviewing Sue was Chris Rock? Maybe it was just the way he had his beard trimmed.
I really miss the old Glee. Sure, I'm a musical theatre nerd, but I've been wondering why I'd even missed Glee since it's come back. I hadn't even remembered until this article that what I liked about it was the biting, satirical, edgy tone. My love was cemented when they featured Artie in "Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat." I'm very sad about its slide into toothless cartoonishness. It feels like the networks said we love the slushies, the music that sells like gangbusters on iTunes, and Sue insulting his hair. More of that, less of anything else that would make the show mildly controversial and thus reduce its audience. Definitely a shame.
ReplyDeleteOh, Pshaw. Why, when a journalist takes a bit of leave to stereotype a group over a trait that is entirely in the individual person's control, do the readers always think they are talking about them?
ReplyDeleteI have a long post in my head once I'm back from vacation on the theory that Fox, through its notes, is screwing up the show. It's clear they've given a "more songs!" note, and that's note has been implemented, at the expense of other elements of the show, which are necessary for the show to work--the musical numbers have largely not been integrated into the plot, and seem designed to sell iTunes and/or tickets to "Promises, Promises."
ReplyDelete<p><span>I’ve said this before. I like Glee. It’s scheduled on my DVR and I own both CDs. It’s almost always fun to watch, and, like the rest of the universe, my preferences run toward Sue Sylvester and away from fake pregnancies.</span>
ReplyDelete</p><p><span> </span>
</p><p><span>I’m glad to see these questions asked. And as an almost-40-year-old mom (though not of teens!) I don’t actually take any offense because I know whom Dan is talking about . . . there are moms and teens in the world who aren’t me. The subject of who’s consuming what culturally and the degrees of engagement with those media is something I think about daily as part of my job. And, yeah, I think a lot of people are consuming Glee (or fill-in-the-blank book/TV show/movie) differently than I do, or as the creator intends.</span>
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</p><p><span>But I also think Glee’s sense of narrative and what use it makes of a really talented cast and a really fertile subject area is woefully wasted. The storytelling is often a flat-out mess with no regard for continuity or emotional follow-through. And I actually don’t miss some of the most insane, egregious moments from early in the season that Dan mentions. Broadly swinging stories with no continuity or consequence – yuck. </span>
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</p><p><span>The problem isn’t that it’s getting warmer or fuzzier or more lowest common denominator (though, maybe, sometimes). <span> </span>The problem is they put those characters (whom I’d argue we care about 95% because of the charisma of the cast) through every variety of emotional torture and there’s never any follow through or payoff. There’s barely any continuity to the relationship struggles (heck if I have a clue what I’m supposed to be tracking on the Rachel-Finn front, or Quinn-Puck, etc.) and personal demons come and go as suits a momentary storyline (What exactly does the show think it’s telling me about Emma’s OCD? I really don’t know.). It eats away at any foundation for real emotional payoff and I tend to forget about everything in between shows—reducing my enjoyment to the same low-brow engagement that Dan is leveling at the dumb moms and teens: splashy numbers and zingers.</span>
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</p><p><span>It’s my job to help people tell stories about teens, and Glee needs some serious help. This is NOT My So-Called Life or Freaks and Geeks (but, you know, look how long those high quality shows lasted). Narratively it’s just not even close, even though I admire some of the raw topics it takes on. And if the show cannot succeed on those levels I actually think we’re doing it a disservice to pretend it’s something different.</span>
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</p><p><span><span>These problems have been present since Day 1. The show has never NOT been a mess. I’d actually argue that last night was actually a pretty impressive step in the right direction. It was coherent and sustained an actual level of emotion and story all the way through. It had a focus that the show rarely has . . . though it needed at least one fun number. </span><span><span>J</span></span></span></p>
The show is at best a cartoon, at worst uneven, but it's still a bright shiny corner of the TV world. If only my life could be a musical comedy!
ReplyDeleteJSG nailed it with the last paragraph. I really enjoy Glee, but know that it could be so much better. We need more Popular and Grosse Pointe in Glee.
ReplyDeleteThings I liked this week:
ReplyDelete-Kurt's solo. That dude rocks the mic.
-The Love That Dare Not Speak Brittany or Santana's Names
-Quinn actually got two lines
-Pretty much every second Amber Riley was on screen. She owned this episode.
Things I didn't like:
-T-Finn's bridge during Kurt's solo. So. Much. Autotune.
-Becky is great, but she's in danger of becoming this show's Emma Geller-Green.
-Quinn's plotline is about as unresolved as it gets. Where does she live now? It's not with Finn. Did her parents take her back? Did she move in with the Puckermans? (Puckermen?) How's the pregnancy going, anyway?
I thought the journalist was Michael from "LOST" and kept expecting him to yell, "WAAAAAAAAALT!"
ReplyDeleteIt may not be Freaks and Geeks, but I saw similarities between last night's storyline and "Dead Dogs and Gym Teachers."
ReplyDelete