Oh, sure; adolescence and college are two of contemporary American culture's most socially-sanctioned opportunities for the reinvention of self, and we see some of that on Glee, mostly in the changes in the characters' clothing -- Tina and Kurt especially, but also Rachel and Mercedes. God bless the wardrobe department. I would argue, though, that there's a difference between changes and inconsistencies grounded in adolescent explorations of the self and changes and inconsistencies imposed by the needs of an external narrative.
Granted, teenagers do frequently adjust their self-presentation and behavior to better conform to their perceptions of established social and sexual narratives, including narratives of rebellion. But most of us, as far as I know, don't actually have external forces manipulating our lives to match up with pre-determined intersections of plot threads. I find the term character assassination unnecessarily overwrought, but I do think it's possible, when watching serial TV, to identify moments in which the arcs of individual characters have been subordinated to the demands of (which is to say the writers' preferences about) the narrative as a whole.
Granted, teenagers do frequently adjust their self-presentation and behavior to better conform to their perceptions of established social and sexual narratives, including narratives of rebellion. But most of us, as far as I know, don't actually have external forces manipulating our lives to match up with pre-determined intersections of plot threads. I find the term character assassination unnecessarily overwrought, but I do think it's possible, when watching serial TV, to identify moments in which the arcs of individual characters have been subordinated to the demands of (which is to say the writers' preferences about) the narrative as a whole.
Reply
Leave a comment