Glee
I spent a long time trying to work out if I wanted to watch this show. Musicals can be very hit and miss with me. Set it in a highschool and the chances of me enjoying it drop dramatically. But throw in a level of self awareness, some black comedy and some quirky characters? Now things are looking better.
Glee is the story of a small town high school in the middle of nowhere. You have those at the top of the popularity spectrum – your cheerleaders and football players. And at the very bottom you have those who are in the glee club. Will these kids achieve against all odds? Will they find self esteem through performance? Is this their one and only opportunity to find satisfaction in life? Welcome to high school life Glee style.
I enjoyed this show. I didn’t expect that. I think it’s the subtle black humour that pushed me over the line. Extreme budget cuts, professional grass painters, and schools doing song and dance routines to Amy Whinehouse songs. It’s all played straight and that takes it to a new level. If you like Freaks and Geeks or Elected you’ll be able to see the influences here.
The characters are quirky and off beat. When you look at how messed up the lives of the teachers are, there’s no chance the kids are getting out of high school unscathed. Everyone has different reasons for joining the glee club. Or for wanting to tear it down. There’s a tonne of potential here for story lines and comedy gold.
The character of Rachael stands out. The over-acheiving daughter of two gay dads desperately seeks to be famous. Every night she posts a new video of her singing onto her myspace page. To her, fame is everything. “Now days, being anonymous is worse than being poor. Fame is the most important thing in our culture now.” Rachael sums up the attitude of our culture so well. Everyone wants to be famous. It doesn’t matter what for. And with youtube and facebook and twitter and everything else, it’s easier and easier to achieve that. But is that where we find fulfillment? Will becoming famous complete us, make us whole? Or will it leave us empty and wanting something greater? Fame promises much, but it is ultimately empty. We can look for meaning for our lives all over the place, but unless you look for it in Jesus you’re going to come up short. It’s through Jesus we have forgiveness of sins. It’s through Jesus we have salvation. It’s through Jesus we have eternal life. It’s through Jesus we have the love of God that we don’t deserve but he gives us anyway. Jesus says “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” (John 10:10)
What I really love about shows like Glee is the message that it’s okay to try. To express yourself. To do things that are socially risky. To be the person you want to be. This is a great message for Christian teenagers. No, I’m not telling you that you should join your schools Rock Eisteddfod group (but if you want to, go for it!). What I am saying is that being a Christian at school is hard. It can be a massive social risk to stick your neck out and let people know that you’re a Christian, that you’re different. Take this message from Glee. Stand up. Be proud of who you are. And if you take the risk, others might see who you are and want to know who Jesus is.
Pop Culture Christ 
Do you REALLY still feel this show is good for teenagers after last night’s episode?? The social engineering coming from this show is NOT a good thing. Stereotyping and desensitizing of ANY type is the furtherest thing from tolerance (which this show purports to embrace) and this show is full of it. I watched because I originally liked the premise of the show and the great music…but after last night, I’ve had enough of the social engineering this show preaches and will no longer watch it or encourage others to do so. It may be a product of the world we live in, but that doesn’t make it okay. In case you were wondering, I’ve never written in a blog like this nor have I ever publically denounced a TV show before. I’m just not willing to compromise my values over this one.
My thoughts on this show have developed since the first episode. Can I ask which episode you saw last night? In Australia we are a week behind the US, so I may not have seen the episode you are referring to. I think I understand your point, but would appreciate some clarification.
There are some things I don’t approve of in Glee. The drug use is high up there. When I watch Glee, I see a show that is about people with no future making the most of their highschool years, which are supposed to be the greatest time of their life, but really even this high point is pretty low. It’s a show about people struggling to overcome mediocrity and will possibly never do so.
The show is changing a lot each episode. Because of the long lead time in production, it’s taking longer for the creators to work out what works and what doesn’t work. I imagine we’ll see a much different show in the second season.
The episode I saw last night was the one where Quinn’s pregnancy came out to the parents. It portrayed Christians as ignorant hypocrites and spent a lot of time on gay attractions. These were overt portrayals and the “balance” to it was not. Our teens and pre-teens today, supposedly street smart as they may be, unfortunatley are not taught to look deeper than what is on the surface. The subliminal messages in this show are only getting worse, not better, as the show evolves.
We haven’t seen that episode yet. I’ll get back to you after I’ve seen it.