In Defense of 'Glee'

Oh, “Glee”… the show that zips us right back to high school, full of all of its angst, drama, social awareness issues, and random outbursts of song. It’s no wonder America eats it up like Mercedes chows down on tots. Next Tuesday Gleeks everywhere will unite in front of their televisions to catch the newest episode, “Night of Neglect,” after the series took a short hiatus leaving us with four agonizing weeks of reruns.

In the two seasons “Glee” has been dancing into our homes, Mr. Schuester and the New Directions have brought much-needed attention to serious teen-related problems like bullying, underage drinking, and teenage pregnancy. With an 11-million member primetime audience as diverse as the glee club itself, the show seems to be doing American culture a favor. Except when it comes to the gays.

There are some on the Right in this country that would do well with a lesson in accepting the gay community and “Glee” is just the teacher for them. After all, what’s more wholesome than teenagers exploring their emotions through something as harmless as song and dance? Never mind they devoted a whole episode to the Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Kurt Hummel is arguably the most lovable, well-developed character in the cast and Chris Colfer rightfully earned himself a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the bullied gay teen. Fans everywhere have pulled for Kurt from day one and for reasons totally outside of his sexual orientation; whether it’s cultivating a relationship with his father, standing up to homophobic bully Karofsky, or hitting that high F in “Defying Gravity’s” wicked aria (no pun intended – okay, maybe just a little one) we’ve wanted him to thrive. Yup, everyone was on the Kurt Train until he and Blaine sucked face. Then lots of conservative audience members located their nearest exit noting it may be behind them and jumped right off, without even waiting for a slow down.

There are right and wrong ways to spread tolerance and the in-your-face approach is certainly one of the latter. Sure, there are times the Shock & Awe approach works: walking a philanthropist through a shantytown, starving children on television commercials asking for a sponsor, seeing dramatic pictures of an earthquake-ravaged country. Have you noticed a pattern here? This method works best with charity and I’ll be the first to tell you that the gay community doesn’t want your charity, thank you very much. They just want some R-E-S-P-E-C-T. >

Believe it or not, there is more to being gay than one’s sexuality and just because someone is gay doesn’t mean the only issue they are concerned about is gay marriage. There’s more to being straight, isn’t there? Ryan Murphy, creator of “Glee” who also happens to be gay, has done a fantastic job giving Kurt a tremendous amount of depth, heart, and complexity; he showed that, yes, there is a person behind that “homosexual” label. That, Mr. Murphy, is absolutely the best way to reach out to those who aren’t down with the kids – take away the label and all of the judgment that comes with it and replace it with humanity. Throwing overt teenage sexual activity all over the screen doesn’t spread awareness – it doesn’t matter what genders the parties involved are. While some Gleeks cheered Kurt’s long-awaited arrival at first base, others cringed muttering phrases of disbelief under their breath. For some reason, I’m led to believe this is how the last generation felt about 90210 and before them, “General Hospital.” It begs to ask if television is keeping up with our culture, or is television guiding it, but that’s another blog for another day.

“Glee’s” second season undoubtedly has a more sexually-charged theme. After all, leading up to Regionals Brittany and Santana sought clarification on their “sweet lady kisses” and teacher Holly Holiday (played by Gwyneth Paltrow) seemed to have a grand time singing Gary Glitter’s “Do You Wanna Touch Me” to supposed high school students. So who knows, maybe the Kurt/Blaine make-out session wouldn’t have been as shocking if parents weren’t already on edge about what their kids were watching.

These new episodes will continue following the developing relationships between the kids (and teachers – Mr. Shue/Ms. Holiday/Mrs. Pillsbury-Howell, anyone?) so viewers are sure to be in for more lip-locking moments. Blaine and Kurt’s relationship has been described by the show as “in the honeymoon phase,” so it seems as though Blurt is here to stay (hey, it’s better than Klaine, isn’t it?), at least for the time being.

So, sorry kids of parents who have a problem with gay going primetime: it looks like you’ll be resorting to online message boards, lunchroom gossip, and the show’s promo ads to get you through until you can go over to a friend’s house and watch the DVR’d episodes.

Is there a “Glee” couple combination they haven’t come up with? Don’t answer that.