Comments on: Using Its Voice: Glee Shows Us What Kind of Musical(s) It’s Made of

By: Kyra Glass

Kyra Glass — Sat, 22 May 2010 15:21:45 +0000

I love your comment and I think it entirely hits on the problems/pleasures of Glee. Part of my own discomfort came not just from loving the flash mob sequence on a pure performance number level but also how close to tears I was brought by his performance of the last song. Even as a part of me objected on political grounds I couldn’t help by getting swept away but the emotions and then feeling guilty for doing so. I suppose what we can hope for is that the tensions in the show create that kind of self-awareness for viewers to reflect on how complicated issues of representation really are.

By: Kristina Busse

Kristina Busse — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:29:11 +0000

I think that’s exactly it: parody cannot be simple repetition. That’s what got me about the Vogue video and about the general sense I’m getting in some contemporary pop culture where artists will do offensive things but frame it as ironic–as if their oh so pomo awareness of the offense suddenly makes it nonexistent.

And now I feel like I want to reread The Joke and Its relation to the Unconscious 🙂

By: Kyra Glass

Kyra Glass — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:23:21 +0000

As well as whether any individual problematic image is being used parodically or simplistically, insultingly, exploitivly, etc.

By: Kyra Glass

Kyra Glass — Sat, 22 May 2010 03:22:33 +0000

Great points here. I didn’t mean to pose it as an either/or, which of course it isn’t, although Glee sometimes frames it this way. I completely agree about the difference depending on who is writing/producing the image is important as well as genre. This may come down to the question of how parodic Glee really is.

By: Christine Becker

Christine Becker — Sat, 22 May 2010 01:43:59 +0000

You’re hitting on what ties me in knots about this show. The Safety Dance routine was viscerally wonderful — joyful, awesomely shot, delightfully choreographed, clever — but was based on a premise that I hated (particularly in retrospect after I saw where the plotline went…or didn’t go). But in line with that, the review phrasing of “get him out of his chair & dancing again” is at the very least a poor choice of words.

By: Kristina Busse

Kristina Busse — Fri, 21 May 2010 19:03:58 +0000

Great comment, and it really articulates my discomfort with the show. or rather, my discomfort with the reception of the show. Because you're totally correct to point out that it's somewhat unfair to hold the show to a higher standards because it already tries. But the trying and failing (and to my mind, the substitution of succeeding with ironic mocking thereof!) with its subsequent praise from its audiences in many cases makes it to me more toxic than other shows with huge race, gender, ability issues. [To say it differently, I'd always say I love Supernatural in spite of its race and gender issues. But I've heard too many Glee fans love the show because of its minority representation!]

By: Kristina Busse

Kristina Busse — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:56:03 +0000

Interesting question. Or rather, interesting binary of after school special and insensitive -isms, so to speak. I think there are certainly ways to walk that path without either resorting to platitudes or offenses.

Said differently, the hipster -ism that pervades Glee seems to be an attempt to avoid the after school specialness you (and they) fear. But aren’t there ways to address ‘issues’ with complexity and without belittling them? The show has a plethora of amazing characters and yet at the end of the day, it defaults them into their caricature…

As to your second more general question: the problem to me seems to be who does the talking/writing. In other words, I think there’s a real difference in representation of race depending on whether the writer/producer is white or of color. Likewise, given that we are steeped in systemic racism, I don’t think we should simply treat Sue’s stereotype the same way as “the other Asian”‘s!

Finally, however, my one big issue with the show from the beginning was its generic shifting. I think certain caricatures might be acceptable in a text where everyone is drawn in sarcastic outlines. But the shows move back and forth between melodrama and satire affects these whiplash characterizations as well. Possibly because Rachel et al end up getting enough screen time to moderate the sharp stereotyping with more complex dramatic arcs…

By: LeiLani Nishime

LeiLani Nishime — Fri, 21 May 2010 18:32:55 +0000

I agree with the above criticisms of Artie’s representation in last night’s episode, but I was also thrilled to see the final number with Tina and Mike, the Other Asian. I can’t remember another instance of seeing two Asians dancing together (unless you count _America’s Best Dance Crew_) on a television show. Even though in the narrative Mike is merely a substitute for the partner Tina really wanted, this is the first time Mike got to be front and center for an entire number. Their routine reminded me of the documentary _Forbidden City, U.S.A._ and the excitement I felt at seeing Asian Americans express a kind of physical exuberance that so rarely makes it into mass media.

Part of my discomfort with the representation of Artie comes from how much I enjoyed the flash mob sequence. It was a great number, but I wonder if there was a way to convey that same kind of joy with Artie dancing in his wheelchair. It seems to set up this dichotomy between artistic expression and being able bodied and silent resignation and being in a wheelchair.

By: amanda klein

amanda klein — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:34:34 +0000

Yes, of course it makes sense that Artie would wrestle with what it means to be in a wheelchair throughout his life–especially in high school when being like everyone else is so important. But his passion for dance seemed to come out of nowhere in last night’s episode–and seemed to work better for the episode’s theme of “Dreams” than it did for his character.

By: amanda klein

amanda klein — Fri, 21 May 2010 16:46:50 +0000

Christine, I totally agree with you re: Artie’s brief flirtation with able-bodiedness. It seemed odd that he suddenly wanted to DANCE RIGHT NOW, despite the fact that he has an irreversible spinal cord injury. In other words, one would think he had come to terms with a lot of those emotions years ago. Once again the show seemed to bend character to the needs of the evebing’s plot (i.e., what is your dream?). And surely Tina could have choreographed a better routine incorporating his wheelchair.

Nevertheless, I kind of agree with the review you quoted in that I LOVED seeing McHale dance. He has this nerdy persona on the show, with the sweater vests and horn-rimmed glasses, so his fantastic hip hop moves were even more jolting. And I found myself swept up in his joyous routine.