Glee: My First and Last Rant
Right now, I am out for creator Ryan Murphy's blood. I'll explain in a minute. But please, flist, please tell me you have at least sensed what is wrong with our dear musical television program. I know that I'm not supposed to take it seriously, but let's be real here - every so often, Glee has asked us to take it seriously. And yet it
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Here's the thing: I love Glee to pieces in theory. I love the story of social outcasts finding a home due to a shared passion, I love the musical numbers, I love the sense of humor, I love Quinn's character development, I love everything Puck says or does, ever, I love Rachel's line about how being a part of something special makes you special juxtaposed with Will's line to Finn that sometimes being special sucks, because yeah, it does, and yeah, it does. But, Glee, love, having all these awesome things doesn't mean you're exempt from 1) having any semblance of consistency and 2) making sense. Because when Degrassi's relationship flip-flops make more sense than yours do, you know you're doing something wrong.
I think Sue is kind of a prime example of this-- I hear a lot about how Sue's little sister is so ~touching~ and I just don't get it. Sue Sylvester isn't anything but a ridiculous caricature of concentrated evil, and that was established from day one. Taking a ridiculous character and giving them a dramatic backstory doesn't make them deep; it just makes you look like a hack.
And I guess my main problem with the Kurt plotline is its compulsive need to insert drama into everything. There are obviously times where drama is necessary for Kurt, but parts of this season just seems determined to create arbitrary problems. Like the episode where he actually decides to leave for Dalton; there was that actually sweet moment where Sue said she was going to quit being principal to help protect him (although, yes, issues with Sue mentioned above), and the whole club is so supportive of him, and then he just leaves, and it feels so completely unnecessary.
Someone is going to hate me for this, but I honestly feel like Ryan Murphy could benefit from having a chat with Scott Fellows. BTR is goofy and ridiculous, but BTR *knows* it's goofy and ridiculous, and it's not afraid to amp it up and maybe get some genuinely sweet moments in on the side; and it never, ever neglects past character development. I think what Ryan Murphy needs to learn is that if your characters are sharply defined it doesn't mean they're boring, or stereotypical-- it just means they're understandable and consistent. This weird nebulous thing Glee is doing isn't working for anyone.
And I feel kind of guilty, because I know this may not all be Ryan Murphy's fault; with a show this popular and with Fox being Fox, it's entirely likely the network has some unseen influence, and artistic integrity is a hard thing to come by nowadays. But it's also possible that this *is* Ryan Murphy's fault, and that? That's not really forgivable.
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I have surprisingly high standards for cracky TV shows, it seems.
(Despicable Me <3333 I want to see that again so much.)
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The other thing that really bothers me about the Kurt/Blaine storyline is the insanely mixed messages you get from it as a viewer. BE YOURSELF! No, wait, we mean SACRIFICE YOUR INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY TO BECOME PART OF THE TEAM! No, wait, we want you to BE YOURSELF again. I mean, what is this - a metaphor for hormonal mood swings? I don't even. Then, entertainment magazines jump up and down and squee about how fantastic the Kurt/Blaine ship is for being visible and inspiring and blah blah blah blah blah, never mentioning that there are far superior, both in terms of narrative and characterization, media representations of queer teens! It has been a good couple years for gay media, we're not THAT hungry. Honestly.
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