I do not understand people who hate “Glee.” Now, I don’t begrudge their hatred. Hate away, this is a free country (even if we do now finally all get health care). I just don’t understand the inclination to hatred. Now, I could understand if you were a bible thumper or homo hater. But if you’re neither, what is it? Is it just the camp? Is it the breaking randomly into perfectly studio-produced song? Is it a debilitating fear of track suits? I really want to know.
Granted, I will happily admit that the series is not perfect. Some episodes are uneven, some characters uninspired. I despised the fake pregnancy storyline, just like everyone else. But otherwise the show delivers on something that is entirely welcome on primetime broadcast television: a super gay point of view. Not everyone on “Glee” is gay, of course. But it has two out stars (Jane Lynch and Chris Colfer), it has three to five gay characters (Kurt, Rachel’s dads and – fingers crossed we see more of them – Britanna). It has singing, dancing, jazz hands, snarkiness, pop culture zingers, cheerleaders, love, betrayal, drama, Madonna songs, Lady Gaga songs, crazy costumes, JANE FUCKING LYNCH. Come on. Super duper, duper, duper gay.
Are things in danger of getting over-hyped? Sure. Everything cool gets uncool. Everything hot gets overheated. But I for one am just enjoying the moment, surfing the zeitgeist and happy that something at once so silly and surprisingly sharp is back on my TV. In short, it makes me smile.
As Jane told USA Today:
“(Glee) tapped into part of us that lives in the shadows, that we don’t let people see, that’s wanting to lift our voice in song and make a joyful noise.”
Bring it on tonight, Glee.
p.s. To the anonymous commenter in my first Brittana post who scolded us saying “you people are ridiculous” because we were just misinterpreting the whole Santana/Brittany “Sex is not dating” exchange, please refer to Naya Rivera’s Maxim interview where she says, and I quote:
The whole relationship between Santana and her sidekick, Brittany, is hilarious. In the last episode before we went to break, I said, “Sex is not dating,” and Brittany says, “If it were, Santana and I would be dating.” I asked director, Brad Falchuk, “Are we doing this because she doesn’t know what sex means, or did we in fact hook up?” He said, “Oh, no, you hooked up!” I was like, “OK!”
So, um, yeah, suck it. Like I was saying, super duper, duper, duper, duper, duper gay.
p.p.s. Oh, and I almost forgot. This B-roll from the set gets really interesting and really touchy-feely around the 1:30 mark. Make you go hmmm about all of those Lea and Dianna’s SGALGG-y moments. I’m just saying.
I’m not even sure there are enough “dupers” anymore.
UPDATE: This. End of argument.
43 comments:
I finally feel justified to start my morning by looking into the mirror and singing:
I feel pretty
Oh so pretty
I feel pretty
And witty and GAY!
Feeling quite Gleeky right now! ;o)
- GG
P.S. Umm, yeah, Brittana was pretty obvious, but it's always good to have solid evidence for the non-believers.
And here is my inspiration for that very morning song - I simply had to share. It's just the first 20 seconds, but I can't stop after that:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkFo2_3l80E&NR=1
*sigh* I miss that show... Ellen should really make an appearance on Glee. Hmm, with her stint on American Idol and everything, it's almost meant to be. Just putting it out there. ;o)
OH, Quinn. <3333333
The jury's still out on Jenna as well. Her tattoo is very telling.
http://twitpic.com/ykmqx
"I do not understand people who hate “Glee."
What's NOT to understand? How old are you anyway that you don't realize that all Hollywood does is repackage the same ol' stuff over and over.
Maybe if I hadn't spent years watching fame, or the musical Ally McBeal segments, or "Cop Rock" I may think Glee is coool but get real!
You have no idea how much I loved the Britanna thing, because I was the cheerleader hooking up with another one of the cheerleaders when I was in high school. Ah, nostalgia!
Some of us hate it because it comes from a point of view ha is both ableist and sexist and the writing is pretty terrible.
Ok, I don't understand the hate either (also, if you hate a tv show, don't watch it! don't read posts about it. but hey, that's me).
Actually, I got a friend of mine who doesn't like musicals to watch the show and she loved it.
Can't wait for tomorrow!
well, i hate musicals. and i hate television. it's not about hating gays, so why do you have to make it about that all the time to justify yourself? the "s/he must hate me because i'm gay" thing is transparent and played out. grow up.
waiting for it!
By the way, I think that in rollingStone are not very original because it reminds me so much to...
http://img.allposters.com/6/LRG/18/1870/KJX8D00Z.jpg
Now, I could understand if you were a bible thumper or homo hater. But if you’re neither, what is it?
Well, some people are really uncomfortable with how Artie is portrayed on the show and in the promotion of the show. Some example posts:
http://disabledfeminists.com/2010/04/03/glee-poster-children-for-disabilityfail/
http://disabledfeminists.com/2010/03/22/pop-quiz-whats-wrong-with-this-promotional-still-for-glee/
I'm not disabled myself, but I think representing somebody's distress as "funny" is insensitive no matter what.
People also have problem with how the characters of color on the show are pushed aside in favor of white characters and their storyline. Here are two posts about that:
http://gnatkip.dreamwidth.org/7793.html
http://gnatkip.dreamwidth.org/9285.html
Also, I may be the only person in the world but I found it offensive when Kurt backed out from pulling off Defying Gravity flawlessly because he didn't want his father to be harassed because of his gayness. Not the fact that Kurt did it - I can sympathize with that all too well - but that his father approved this instead of telling Kurt that they shouldn't care about the haters and that it's more important for Kurt to be shamelessly himself. Maybe it would have been less realistic that way but I think lgbt kids should be actively sent the message that it's okay for them to be openly what they are, not that they should hide because they upset other people.
I honestly like Glee despite all of this and will keep on watching it, but I also think it could be even better than it is now and I hope it heads in that direction.
More like "Glee is White."
Dear Ms. Snarker,
Ever since your SGALGG Glee Edition w/ Dianna Agron and Lea Michele, I've thought the girls were a gay couple. No, not just in the fantasy land I'm-going-to-pretend-they're-a-couple-even-though-deep-down-I-know-they're-not cute thing (I think) most lesbians do. I genuinely, on par with the reality that Ellen and Portia are a couple, think they are a couple. I realize this makes me a crazy person, but I do.
So yeah, everytime you say something about Dianna Agron and Lea Michele being together, and everytime something in media confirms my belief that they are a couple, my world shines all that much brighter. You have no idea, really.
Love,
Crazy Person (who happens to be a gay lady)
I don't *hate* the show, but it is not something I care to watch anymore (hate is such a strong word) because it is overproduced.
The auto-tuned voices on the singers is ridiculous!! Plus the songs they use are boring and unimmaginitive. I really wanted to like the show, but it just ended up annoying me.
It's not just that it's campy; it's that it doesn't make up for the camp with anything brilliant.
... IMHO, of course.
I am all for kitsch, especially where musicals are concerned, but I don't think the writing (script or song) is particularly good, nor the characters altogether intriguing. I didn't like the dialogue, and I wasn't a big fan of the "let's make the only black girl in the show sing gospel because that's all they do" thing they pulled.
I am sure that there is more to it, and my opinions on most things you write about here run parallel to yours, but on this one I just simply don't get it.
Like VA above me, though, I wouldn't say hate. Glee is just not for me.
Maybe it's the sheer overexposure? I think it reached Twilight-levels of ubiquitousness after the ONE episode that aired in May and it's just gotten worse from there. And now with its four-month break, it feels like every single blog or entertainment news program I turn on is telling me how awesome Glee is and how many seconds until it comes back all. the. freaking. time.
I wouldn't care if I hadn't watched it, because I wouldn't know what people were talking about, but the few times I tried to watch it I found it annoyingly over the top, and not in a good way. The closest analogy I can come up with to describe it is that it had the level of quirkiness of Pushing Daisies but in a less fantastic setting, so it feels jarring and unrealistic, IMO. I found the dialogue cringe-worthy (I could practically see the words written on the script) and some of the performances overacted and, as a result, it was very difficult for me to invest in or root for any particular character, and that is essential for me to get hooked on a TV show.
I'm a gay girl myself, so I think boiling down dislike of Glee to "bible thumpers" or "homo haters" is REALLY simplifying it. I love the fact that there are gay characters on Glee, but that means nothing when the overall execution of the show (writing/acting/etc.) falls extremely flat and yet, the media keeps selling it to me as the second coming of television, when there are MUCH better done TV shows right now that I feel are more worthy of such exaggerated praise.
*shrug*
WOW there are a lot more thoughts on this than I'd expected! I'm in agreement with 8:03am Anon in that the ablism is off-putting, but I also just didn't get sucked into it the time I tried to watch. I'm not all that into camp, so when you combine that with the ablism actively pushing me away, I just end up not watching, even though Jane Lynch is awesome and Brittana is hilarious. (But seriously now - faking a stutter for years? A 'very special' wheelchair episode that never goes beyond wheelchair use 101? Ick.)
The only non -ism reason I can understand for the impassioned hatred is if the haters have friends/coworkers/someone who rhapsodizes about Glee ad nauseum and they can't escape. I'm not a fan of the Office (I know!), and I found myself getting ranty after I'd had to listen to one too many Office love-fests. Maybe this is the same, but I agree about just walking away in that case.
Er, actually, that cover photo you showed is a great example of reasons to hate the show. Despite being lauded for diversity left and right, the show is definitively about its white co-stars while its black and Asian (and OTHER Asian) stars are relegated to bit, stereotypical parts. Not everything else gets swept under a rug because it takes the time to celebrate white gays and lesbians.
So, I'd never heard of this Lea Michele-Dianna Agron thing before today, probably because I hadn't read the post on SGALGG, but now that I do some research, I'm thinking that audrey28 is right, these two are definitely in the GG category! I'm a GG myself, and there's a difference in the way I hold a friend and the way I hold my girlfriend, and these two are girlfriend holding...
(I don't know how to put a link in here, so copy-paste below.)
http://images2.fanpop.com/image/photos/9600000/l-d-lea-michele-and-dianna-agron-9638925-240-360.jpg
I love this show, but I'm not going to get involved in this "it's wonderful/it's awful" debate because it's just not worth arguing about. I don't understand hatred either, and the fact that I see a lot of it in these comments is, well, odd, to say the least. It's TV. What is there to be THAT passionate about on TV?? My goodness.
i hate glee, but "just" because of the singing and dancing. i'm just not into that stuff...
I saw the first episode way back in April and I hated it. Haven't watched it since. Over the top, and bad writing.
Everytime I see that cover, all I can see is Rachel's underpants. It seems completely out-of-character, not to mention unnecessary, for them to be on such prominent display.
But you have to admit...That there booty is a juicy one.
"Well, some people are really uncomfortable with how Artie is portrayed on the show."
Naah that's not it. I'm disabled and I didn't watch the show long enough to even see the "offensive" way that Artie was portrayed. I mean seriously I am an ADULT< not a tween or teen or just coming out. I don't like to always see or read items that pertain tp tweens and teens and other superfluous aditives.
Oh and um excuse me but just because she's a lesbian is not enough for me to go gaga over Jane Lynch. Dorothy, you're in the back pocket of Hollywood and Particularly AfterEllen with their virtual diaper wearing audience.
I don't like GLEE its hackneyed and trite.
Thank you for the clip, Ms Snarker. Lea and Dianna make an adorable couple, even if they are really and truly just flat mates in real life ... we can dream, can't we?
I watched the first episode way back when it was still a preview and I really liked it. I was super excited for it and showed all my friends. But then as the series went on part of me was really turned off by some of the writing. It just seemed TOO cliche. I couldn't tell if they were being meta and laughing at themselves like, Arrested Development or 30 rock, or if they were just another "One Tree Hill" and those other really shallow shows. I think the first few episodes had clunky writing and the kind of plots I would expect on an after school special. I stopped watching after that but have since heard that the writing has gotten better. I think the sly, meta references may have gotten better and a bit snarkier, which would be a good thing.
I'm thinking of giving the show another chance because Jane Lynch does make me unbelievably happy, but I do fear for the plot. I mean, there is a difference between camp and corny.
there is no sound in some part of the clip. :(
I like so much of the cover art,
looks very fresh and vital.
thanks for today's posting
u look exciting today,
so continuously~
keep going :)
Ds!!
Ds!!
yeah~~~~
kind of cheering.
see you.
Jonathan Groff ("Jesse" as of tonight, and also Lea Michelle's male lead in Spring Awakening) is also gay. And let's not forget Neil Patrick Harris, even if he IS only on one episode...
Looove it. I hope they're together.
Gotta love Dianna wearing something like this (tie and vest!):
http://29.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_kve7fi9fPR1qazf9io1_500.jpg
The Vogue Parody started out promising but we really didn't need to see the entire Madonna video re-enacted.
See Ms. Snarker it's times like this when your credibility comes into quention. Seems that you nothing but a cheerleader with a degree in Journalism.
"Selenyx said...
Don't watch TV shows that you hate"
What MORON is watching Glee and writing that they hate it? I hate Glee and gUess what? I don't watch it either D-U-H.
I swear some o0f you really think that you know what's going on HERE IN THE ETHER OF CYBERSPACE but apparently you do not. Therefore it's best to stop making assumptions as you are only embarrassing YOURSELF.
Sheesh.
glee is for queers and muppets
Yeah and this is not even a lesbian show. It's queer, but gay guy queer. SO SO many gay guys and how many lesbians?
The vitriol spouted by people is unbelievable. I don't understand attacking the author of the post - if you're going to talk about bad writing, what about intentional fallacy? Dictating what's on Ms. Snarker's mind as she writes this, or proclaiming what she is, only makes you appear arrogant...
I don't know, maybe I'm old-fashioned in thinking that if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. Just because you can hide behind a vague screenname or the name "Anonymous" doesn't mean you can be as mean as you'd like to be. Learn manners and be respectful. I'm sick of seeing rude posters on the internet who think they're riding in on some white horse proclaiming the utter truth as it must be and decapitating anyone who disagrees. It's really easy to disagree and be respectful nonetheless, so why not do it? We're all people here, even if there's a couple of computer screens in between us.
I think you're a little too invested in the show (even if you don't watch it) if you feel the need to attack a blogger because of it. Maybe that's just my opinion.
Glee is totally gay, so gay it IS that gay guy you know who is misogynistic, narcissistic, painfully ironic, emotionally stunted, yet still undeniably and gleefully talented.
GAY GAY GAY GAY.
Loved this post.
100% agree with it all, basically.
BRITTANA are CLEARLY hooking up.
How could anyone have said you we're reading too much into that? AS IF.
And lastly, Lea & Dianna are so in love. What's with all those arms round eachother? Huh? Huh?
Honestly and truly? I think it's a little uneven. I love some characters, but I despise, Despise, DESPISE Mr. Schu. He's supposed to be so damn cute and romantic and sweet and I hate him. He's a sappy character that tries too hard and ends up coming across as a douche more often than not. And we're always supposed to feel so bad for him. I don't know if it's bad writing or the actor but I cannot stand him. If he was a minor character and the show focused only on the kids (& Sue) I would like the show 1,000x more.
Alex wrote:
"The vitriol spouted by people is unbelievable. I don't understand attacking the author of the post - (it) only makes you appear arrogant [Sic]..."
You'll grow and learn to adjust.
"Just because you can hide behind a vague screenname or the name "Anonymous" doesn't mean you can be as mean as you'd like to be."
Sure it does
"I'm sick of seeing rude posters on the internet who think they're riding in on some white horse proclaiming the utter truth as it must be and decapitating anyone who disagrees."
Welcome to Reality.
"It's really easy to disagree and be respectful nonetheless, so why not do it?"
Respectful comments do not have saliency, besides are you a baby or do you expect to be babied? There is nothing wrog with the harsher comments that I can see.
"I think you're a little too invested in the show (even if you don't watch it)"
We ALL think, like I think you expect to read comments that coddle your emotionally immature nature.
Most of my anger is directed at Ms. Snarker. Nearly every week she panders to an audience that seems unable to move beyond sophmoric enterprise. Plus the fact that she's beholden to AfterEllen and ALL that site dsoes is pander to the clueless.
Glee is gay and I like it. Sometimes I just love it but sometimes it really upsets me and I SWEAR to not watch again (until next week).
Why?
1. It's ableist. Not only big chunks of the Artie story line, but also the awful representation of Deaf people (including tired and offensive Deaf jokes).
2. It's white. POC roles are background (see the cover image)
3. It's gay, not really lesbian.
I love it because it's gay, I really do. I'll watch every week and sing out loud!! But I can't overlook how hurtful it is to others who don't look like me. It might be gay, but it certainly doesn't include all gays.
Well, I don't understand how Glee is gay. Yes, it is overproduced, but is Glee gay because of it's characters? And when you say "Gay Girl" Don't you mean "lesbian"? Yeah, Brittana is kind of obvious, but it's not completely true, I believe we would need more evidence. Well, some people have different opinouns, for instance, whoever wrote this- Cleary, doesn't like Glee, what's the point of watching it if you don't enjoy. Me- I love this show! And so do some other. Your title- "Glee is Gay. Duh." Well, we need some verication for that, it's not just YOUR opinoun, it others too. The world doesn't follow what YOU say. Unless, your the President, but I don't think the President even watches Glee, or has this much HATRED toward it. But, it's the average of the vote. For Instance, there's 40 comments, so 11 say "Glee is totally Gay." And 20 say "I love this show, Im such a Gleek!" And the other 19 say "Well, I don't hate this show, it's pretty cool, but I don't really get it." Well, the percentage of the voters, is what's important, such as voting for the President!! But, in this case its not voting. May I remind you, once again, it's not your opinoun. I hope you get this straight threw your mind (No pun intended.) If you believed in witches, and nobody else did, would there still be witches? No, because nobody else but YOU believe in them. Also, you would need solid evidence.
I'm also litsening too Glee soundtrack right now. ;)
P.S Hope you take this to consideration.
P.S.S I'm only 11, and I prove a great point. :-)
This is too Cal.
I understand your hatred, but as I said before, it's not your opioun. ++++ Lea and Dianna are clearly NOT lesbians. They're just good frends. Lea is CLEARLY NOT a lesbian, and same with Dianna. Ever heard of BFFL'S? Well, that's what they are. ;-)
glee sux
pound 6 4 lyfe
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