The American society has been on a spinning wheel of
change since it began with the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The constant change is what keeps people
wanting to be a part of this culture that we have created. When turning on prime time television we are
bombarded with many different shows that will play into our need for “guilty
pleasures” or will fulfill our desire for more information on current events. We can choose a light comedy like “How I Met
Your Mother” or a risqué show that taps into our sexual inhibitions like “The
L-Word” or “Nip/Tuck”. We can choose
between real news like Fox or CNN, or we can turn on comedy central for a
lighter version of the news by watching The Colbert Report or The Daily Show
with John Daily.
With all of these shows, it seems that every arena
has been covered. But I am interested in
discuss an episode of the overnight success show called “Glee”. This show has taken on part of the
responsibility of re-socializing our upcoming generation by choosing to boldly
take on the subject matter that has been left in the background as far as prime time television. Now, this is, by no means, a political show
that was created to cater to Capitol Hill and its followers; but it has taken
the difficult subjects like spousal abuse, teenage sexuality, teen pregnancy,
stereotypes, and bullying and applied them in a way that the younger generation
can grab a
I am going to be discussing an episode of Glee titled
‘The First Time’.
In this episode, Kurt Hummel, played by Chris Colfer
and his boyfriend Blaine Anderson , played by Darren Criss, lost their
virginity with each other. The plot
followed Kurt and Blaine along with Rachel Berry, played by Lea Michele and her
boyfriend Finn Hudson, played by Cory Monteith, on their road to their first
sexual experience. The episode is primarily
focused around these two couples and followed along as they fought internally
and externally about the idea of losing their virginity. A sub-plot of this episode was about the glee
club getting ready for their play “West Side Story”. Kurt and Blaine were up against the fact that
their relationship had left the initial high and fiery stage, and was going
through a more dull and boring stage.
Kurt struggles with the idea that Blaine is thinking he is boring, and
Blaine is making sure Kurt is comfortable and feels like he isn’t being pushed
into anything.
After analyzing this show and this episode
particularly, I came to see that not only was this show promoting many different
styles and stereotypes, but it is a political platform that is ushering in a
new perspective on very hot topics. It has a character that fits almost every
stereotype imaginable to its target high school audience. There is the jock Finn, the overachiever and
star reacher Rachel, the dumb blonde Brittany, the popular Latino bitch
Santana, the brilliant and pressured Asian, the handicapped, the punk, the fat
girl that nobody likes, etc. It has also
given new portrayals of old stereotypes for teens to identify with. There is the stereotypical gay man who is
into high fashion and fits in better with the ladies, but there is also a “man’s
man” who is gay. A real Frank Sinatra
kind of guy. This is reaching out to the
gay men that don’t identify with Kurt, the more feminine gay man. The show is filmed and on a set in a
controlled environment, but has stepped outside of that to film on location in
New York. By filming on set, they really
capture the drama of the show in the control they have over the lighting and
the shots they are able to get. It adds
to the quality of the show. Glee is the
same as a lot of other shows that are aimed at the 16-24 aged audience, meaning
that it has the cast dressed in latest trends and hairstyles and includes drama
that every day teens would encounter. But it is also different in the sense
that it is trying to change the views that have traditionally been set with the
problems these teens are dealing with. Its
most powerful hook would be the fact that it uses popular songs of today and
past hits and has the cast perform these songs throughout the entire show. It’s a musical that never ends. This is a powerful draw for teens.
This show is a perfect example of how the values of society
or the desired values of society can be mirrored and expressed in the
media. The episode I am referring to,
The First Time is a representation of the ideology that a gay relationship is
no different than that of a man and woman.
It shows that there can be just as much love and intimacy in a relationship
between two men as there is within the traditional relationship. This is the opinion of many liberal and
democratic voices in the house. This past June, a new policy came into play in
the government that recognizes marriages between gay and lesbian couples. This was a decision that had been put off and
fought against over and over. Glee used
their ability to reach a young generation of voters to help sway the population
into this new way of thinking.
I read some reviews of this episode by various
critics. What struck me as odd is the
fact that not a lot of people noted this very big moment! Of course the gay and lesbian community were
happy, but the general critics didn’t have much to say. One a website called Monkeys as Critics, Ryan
McGee said, ““The First Time” is less about two couples having sex for the
first time and more about self-acceptance.”
I am wondering if this storyline was less of a shock and venture into a
new world of acceptance to critics than average Americans? Another critic named
James Poniewozik said on Times Entertainment’s web page, “Right up front, let
me say that “The First Time” was the best episode, overall, of Glee season three.” He went on to note that the romantic setting
and the music complemented the storyline and the situations perfectly. But like I said, not a lot was said as far as
the images on two men lying in bed together after having sex. It is episodes like this one that leave the viewer’s
talking about what happened in the show for days and months to come. There are weaknesses in some episodes. Sometimes the battle between Sue, the
cheer leading coach, and Will the glee club coach, can be fairly draining and downright
ridiculous. And there are moments when
the songs featured may not fit the overall tone of a particular episode. Where Glee falls short, the fact that it has
inspired young adults to embrace who they are, and that it has become a voice
that could have brought to life the reality in gay and lesbian relationships is
something to congratulate.
In my home, Glee nights are set aside every
week (mostly due to my teenage girls). I
do follow some of the stars of the show on Twitter, and I have pulled up their fan
pages on Facebook. Some may not have
heard, but one of the stars, Cory Monteith, passed away over this last
weekend. I first heard of the news on
Twitter.
Glee became an overnight sensation when it first
aired on May 19th, 2009.
There was nothing like it on cable.
“The First Time” pushed the envelope even farther, and I applaud the
directors and creator of the show for their bold take on this very controversial
issue! We, as a society, are one step
closer to ending the stigma that surround the intimacy shared between two men
who are in love.
-Advertisements-
The advertising that surrounds Glee on a regular Thursday
evening are specifically geared to the target audience and demographic the creators
and producers of the show were looking to reach. The teenage and young adult population is a
prime audience for selling all kinds of higher end, but not as expensive
products to. I will not be walking
through every ad I saw throughout this episode of Glee. Commercials are not super exciting to watch,
and even less exciting to write about. I
will, however, highlight the trends I noticed when I watched this episode.
COVER GIRL! I
saw a few different Cover Girl ads during this show; not only Cover Girl, but
also Maybelline. If you are not
familiar, these are make-up companies that are geared toward young adult
women. I also noticed that one of the
newest cover girls is Lea Michele, one of the main stars in the show Glee. Cover Girl is an inexpensive make up, but it is very popular among this age
group.
I also noticed a few commercials geared toward men,
and particularly middle aged, middle class men.
The commercial that repeated itself twice was for a car rental
company. This portrayed a white, middle
aged male in a business suit that was looking to rent a car on his business
trip. I feel like this was not aimed at
the target audience, but for the parents of the target audience. It’s a clever way to get a consumers
attention. There are Daughters out there
making her parents sit down and watch her favorite show, and the networks accounted
for this by slipping in a Progressive ad, or a Travelocity ad here and
there.
I also would like to mention that there is some advertising done on the show itself. Sue Sylvester, one of the main characters who is an older, bitter, cheer leading coach wears her Adidas track suit in EVERY EPISODE! This is no accident. It’s a clever hook that the character has, but there is also a contract between Glee and Adidas that keeps that track suit in the show. There are always small things you can notice on a television show that is known as “hidden advertisements”. Keep your eyes peeled when watching your favorite shows. A general rule is, if the label of something is showing on the show, then it’s an advertisement.
-RELATED LINKS-
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/28/us/same-sex-marriage-fast-facts
http://gleefan.com/
