Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Geeked About Glee...Mostly

I was turned onto this show about halfway through the first installment of the first season. It's funny and clever, the characters are over the top, and the performances are first rate. One of my favorite things about the show is how well they are able to write the songs into the storyline of the show. I loved when Finn did Jessie's Girl. Good stuff.

This is what I don't like...

It was showcased extensively in last night's episode, but I do not like Kurt's storyline with his father, and now Finn and his mom moving in with his family. There was some discussion of this last night with some of the people I watched. I get Kurt's father wanting to protect his son, and wanting to make sure that no one tramples over him. The part about the whole thing that I find somewhat disturbing, however, is that while there has to be so much respect accorded to Kurt and his choice in lifestyle, that somehow obligates everyone else to acquiesce to his tastes, namely, his extreme flamboyance.

I can understand the need to be respectful and not hateful towards another person, because as a simple matter of humanity, that is how all people should be treated, but shouldn't Finn also receive an appropriate amount of respect from Kurt as well when it comes to respecting his own beliefs and preferences. At the end of last night's episode, Finn capitulated and ended up putting on an extremely loud and gay costume that was supportive of Kurt, but completely negating himself and his own beliefs, when the whole premise of the episode was about expressing who you really are. Why is it okay for Kurt to be so flamboyant and grossly feminine and not okay for Finn to want to be masculine and conservative in his own right?

I think this is one of the fundamental problems with the gay debate. The homosexual community just wants to be "respected" and "left alone," but this comes at the expense of those who oppose that lifestyle who want to have their own freedom of expression and belief. What ends up happening is what occurred in the show last night - in order for a straight person to be tolerant and accepting of another person, he must reject himself in the process. People on the other side of the debate do not realize this one point. It's a fundamental difference that loses its expression in the argument for either side. The two camps have two different systems of belief that do not reconcile well with one another. And the answer isn't as simple as just being more loving/accepting/tolerant, and anyone who pretends it is that way is denying the other side its validity as a point of contention.

Besides that I think Glee is really fun.

4 comments:

Caitlin said...

Could not agree more. I really don't care for any story line involving Kurt, period. It's like the Lisa episodes on The Simpsons. No thanks!

cropstar said...

Exactly!

Shelli said...

My friend and I were totally having this exact discussion last night. I loved Kurt's dad up until last night when he completely bashed poor Finn for wanting a little space and a little privacy. Why is Kurt allowed to throw himself onto Finn, and then Finn is considered a bad guy for rejecting him? We were both pretty angry by the end of the show. But I still love it.

The Meesh said...

I have to admit the Glee story line as a whole bugs. While I love the music (mostly), I wish the show didn't revolved around all the teenage sexual energy that evidently is what TV is supposed to be about. I can't think of one episode lately that it hasn't basically rotated around.

Also, I recently found out one of my teenage nieces has been watching it and I was horrified. I wanted to guard her from the onslaught and then I realized how hypocritical it was for me to be watching it too.