I've only watched Glee twice - I was pleasantly disappointed. That is, I was disappointed in myself for wanting to see it the second time, but I was also disappointed in the TV show - which I was glad to find since I had expected that.
Of course, it's set in a high school, and high school students are hardly perfect. There was suggestive content - which is perhaps the only reason that immediately kept me from watching it a third time. (More about that later.) The actions of the characters make it appear as though the one biggest goal is sex - and I've found no evidence to contradict this.
The first episode was about a gay kid named Kurt (or so I remember) and his struggles as his dad fights with death in a hospital bed. Kurt doesn't believe in God, but apparently many of his friends in his club do and they attempt to bring him religion to give him hope and strength. But he wants nothing to do with that, and of course the obstacle of his homosexuality is part of his battle with God. Some of the other kids sing songs about God, hoping to convince and give him hope. But of course, this draws the hatred of one of the teachers, who enlists Kurt to help her stop the "preaching". In the end, one of the girls tell Kurt, "I know you don't believe in God, and that okay - to each his own. But you've got to believe in something...." In the end, Kurt decides he believes in the relationship between him and his dad - and his dad survives. In a beautiful turn of events, the teacher backs off and the students sing "One of Us." Although there were parts that could have been left out, I was surprised to find that they covered this fascinating topic, which is why I went back for more the next week.
The next one was about homosexuality and sex and selfishness - period. A girl that apparently swings both ways makes out with a boy in a wheelchair and hurts his feelings when he finds out that sex means nothing to her - although the step meant everything to him. A new boy transfers to their school and Kurt partners up with him to sing a duet - Kurt hopes he's gay but it turns out he's not, and that leaves hurt feelings. Girls become partners, even though they usually hate each other, in an attempt to come up with the best duet. A couple decide to sing something offensive because they "know" they'll win, but they don't want to knock the new boy out before some big competition thing that I didn't understand (probably the point of the whole show). A girl tells Kurt that even though he's lonely, he's not alone, and hey - they're going to get to the finals because of his talent - he accepts this with pride. Yes, although emotionally involving and attractive, it has no hero to speak of and so a viewer must then make one for himself, resulting in emotionally constipated and selfish and making out teenagers becoming role models for our lives. I can't and will not watch something like that.
I have the same problem with Harry Potter. While some are concerned about the cult aspects that have affected kids around the world, I am more concerned with the fact that the heroes and heroine - Harry, Ron, and Hermione - all all screwy in the head! That isn't to say that they don't have their moments, but Harry's always shooting off about the pressures and Ron's always jealous and impulsive and Hermione is proud and loud. There are great novels in which the protagonists are jerks and, through the trials of life, they change. This, so far as I can see, does not happen. Even Albus Dumbledore, the greatest wizard of all time, turned out to be whack. There isn't a hero among them! Again! an emotionally constipated and prideful young man becomes our hero - and this because he kills someone! Understandably, Lord Voldemort had it coming to him and I don't claim that Harry shouldn't have done what he did - even so, he is our hero because he seeks to kill someone. There is no other reason; he is not moral or a role model, and just because he is perhaps more level headed than his two companions at times is not enough cause for admiration. He destroys a man - an evil man, yes - but a man all the same, and that is why we idolize Harry Potter. I claim that J.K. Rowling failed in writing an epic masterpiece.
~Meggy
