Oh, fuck you very much Ryan Murphy
So, I've been watching the Glee Project. Anyone else?
It seemed to be a nice show for getting all the musical numbers and none of the failtastic plots. At first.
See, it's become increasingly clear to me that this show is not about finding someone with unmistakable talent and writing to them (like, say, Murphy is said to have done for Chris Colfer), but basically being the casting call Murphy was already planning to do for what he already wants in mind, and then just turning it into yet another show (media empire woot!) Let me explain.
The way the show is set up, Glee's casting director, voice coach, and choreographer work with the kids, and Murphy doesn't show up until the end, where he only sees the "bottom three" who perform solos for him. Then he cuts someone. It's framed as a committee decision, but inevitably, they cut whomever it is that Murphy wants to see cut. And it became clear to me pretty early on that he was just not interested in casting a girl with this show. Whenever there was an opportunity to do so, a girl was cut, even if, as he keeps saying, but not doing, it was a girl who gave an "underdog" impression--what he says he wants to write for.
When Marissa was cut, for example. It was the very first time she was even in the bottom three, and she had been doing fantastic up to that point. And she did well for the solo, and the week previously she had come out about her anorexia, which frankly is a story Glee needs to tell more honestly than they've dealt with eating disorders in the past. But she's another pretty girl, and he's already got lots of those. The show claims diversity, but what they do is just another kind of tokenism. We've got the fabulous, talented underdog type, and the Queen Bee type, and the blonde airhead type, and the bitchy ethnic type, and the ethnic goth type...they're all types. That he couldn't think of how to write another pretty girl is not her problem; it's his.
But this week. Ooooooooh, this week. He cut the one person on the stage that was actually a vulnerable underdog type. I knew he wasn't going to cut Samuel, even though he was least overwhelmed by his performance because, look, he's a guy, and he's got dreadlocks, and he's Christian, and that's something he can use! Honestly, I really expected Lindsey to go because he's already got a Rachel. But he said in the end that Lea's going to move on and leave the show (though that appears up in the air right now, hmm?), so he's going to need a new Rachel, and Lindsey could possibly be that. So what does he do? He drops the one performer up there who would actually be a perfect Gleek, and I'm left with one conclusion as to why.
He's already got not one, but two fat girls. Why would he possibly need another?
Bah.
Here's my prediction: unless he really messes up going forward, Alex has it in the bag. It's pretty clear that Murphy likes best the character(s) who are most like him. Kurt gets the best stories and the most love, let's be honest. And as much as Glee fails at not being tokenistic, I'm sure they're unaware that they're doing it. So they'll be falling all over themselves to not only have another flamboyantly gay character, but now a black one. Which isn't to say that Alex isn't awesome and doesn't deserve it. It's just that the whole show is smacking of them already having made their minds up about what they want a while ago. And it definitely wasn't another girl (unless she can replace the girl they've already got and will be losing--because that's the only one who is left.) They'll cut Lindsey next if they can get away with it, and if it's not her, it will be Damian. Actually, they'll probably cut Damian next, because he's not what they want either. They want Alex, Lindsey, or Samuel, and they've already figured out who they'd be and how they fit what they perceive as the needs of the show. Again, regardless of how they actually perform any given week. They could use the performances early on when there were plenty of kids (and plenty of bad performances), but now it's all about who fits in what slot, which feels really slimy, to be honest. And again, doesn't fit with what they claimed they were doing-- finding a kid they could write to, regardless of who that kid is. They already know what they want to write, and they're looking for the kid that fits it.
Also posted at http://kouredios.dreamwidth.org/197901.html ; feel free to comment there if you so choose: add comment/
comments.
It seemed to be a nice show for getting all the musical numbers and none of the failtastic plots. At first.
See, it's become increasingly clear to me that this show is not about finding someone with unmistakable talent and writing to them (like, say, Murphy is said to have done for Chris Colfer), but basically being the casting call Murphy was already planning to do for what he already wants in mind, and then just turning it into yet another show (media empire woot!) Let me explain.
The way the show is set up, Glee's casting director, voice coach, and choreographer work with the kids, and Murphy doesn't show up until the end, where he only sees the "bottom three" who perform solos for him. Then he cuts someone. It's framed as a committee decision, but inevitably, they cut whomever it is that Murphy wants to see cut. And it became clear to me pretty early on that he was just not interested in casting a girl with this show. Whenever there was an opportunity to do so, a girl was cut, even if, as he keeps saying, but not doing, it was a girl who gave an "underdog" impression--what he says he wants to write for.
When Marissa was cut, for example. It was the very first time she was even in the bottom three, and she had been doing fantastic up to that point. And she did well for the solo, and the week previously she had come out about her anorexia, which frankly is a story Glee needs to tell more honestly than they've dealt with eating disorders in the past. But she's another pretty girl, and he's already got lots of those. The show claims diversity, but what they do is just another kind of tokenism. We've got the fabulous, talented underdog type, and the Queen Bee type, and the blonde airhead type, and the bitchy ethnic type, and the ethnic goth type...they're all types. That he couldn't think of how to write another pretty girl is not her problem; it's his.
But this week. Ooooooooh, this week. He cut the one person on the stage that was actually a vulnerable underdog type. I knew he wasn't going to cut Samuel, even though he was least overwhelmed by his performance because, look, he's a guy, and he's got dreadlocks, and he's Christian, and that's something he can use! Honestly, I really expected Lindsey to go because he's already got a Rachel. But he said in the end that Lea's going to move on and leave the show (though that appears up in the air right now, hmm?), so he's going to need a new Rachel, and Lindsey could possibly be that. So what does he do? He drops the one performer up there who would actually be a perfect Gleek, and I'm left with one conclusion as to why.
He's already got not one, but two fat girls. Why would he possibly need another?
Bah.
Here's my prediction: unless he really messes up going forward, Alex has it in the bag. It's pretty clear that Murphy likes best the character(s) who are most like him. Kurt gets the best stories and the most love, let's be honest. And as much as Glee fails at not being tokenistic, I'm sure they're unaware that they're doing it. So they'll be falling all over themselves to not only have another flamboyantly gay character, but now a black one. Which isn't to say that Alex isn't awesome and doesn't deserve it. It's just that the whole show is smacking of them already having made their minds up about what they want a while ago. And it definitely wasn't another girl (unless she can replace the girl they've already got and will be losing--because that's the only one who is left.) They'll cut Lindsey next if they can get away with it, and if it's not her, it will be Damian. Actually, they'll probably cut Damian next, because he's not what they want either. They want Alex, Lindsey, or Samuel, and they've already figured out who they'd be and how they fit what they perceive as the needs of the show. Again, regardless of how they actually perform any given week. They could use the performances early on when there were plenty of kids (and plenty of bad performances), but now it's all about who fits in what slot, which feels really slimy, to be honest. And again, doesn't fit with what they claimed they were doing-- finding a kid they could write to, regardless of who that kid is. They already know what they want to write, and they're looking for the kid that fits it.
Also posted at http://kouredios.dreamwidth.org/197901.html ; feel free to comment there if you so choose: add comment/
comments.