I came to the thread to say the same exact thing.
Finally, getting back to the basics instead of star du jour.
Not at my school. The only people with offices were the administrators & guidence counselors. Well, the PE teachers also had offices like Sue does except located inside the lockerrooms and with a wall of windows overlooking the lockers & shower. Come to think of it; couldn’t Will have just been borrowing Emma’s office? It looked like hers, but I didn’t see any posters or pamphlets.
That will return next week with Gwyneth Paltrow…
Will: Let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater…
Brittany: I’ve totally done that.
Also loved Sue’s reference to Sam as “Macauley Culkin’s stunt double”. And the fact that Finn and Sam were shirtless in the opening scenes seemed almost a wink.
I think the reason for the focus on Kurt’s ‘gayngst’ (love that term) that seems to some people like it’s beating you over the head with it is to demonstrate just how never ending that shit is for gays in general and gay teens in particular. I’m middle aged and get tired of dealing with it in places and comments that many straight people just don’t even notice or whatever- one blessing of the bad economy was it dominated the midterm election more than gay crap did. It may definitely seem heavy handed, but I think it’s intentional- the bullying and not just bullying but stupid comments/passive prejudice/“sympathy without caring”/etc. are at least that omnipresent.
That said I agree that the Dalton School totally revolves around human sacrifice to an entity who must have human blood to make the crops grow. Though Kurt’s new boyfriend to be (the one at the school, not the closet jock) is cute. I think that just as the performances are clearly fantasy “how the students see it” the way Dalton School is portrayed to Kurt is probably also as much Kurt’s mind as reality.
When I read a spoiler about a closeted jock/bully coming onto Kurt I sort of :rolleyes: and thought “that’s original… not”, but I was surprised at how realistically they handled it. For starters the jock isn’t gorgeous, then you can understand why they kiss (they’re alone and Kurt is heated and in his face and in close contact) and it doesn’t have a happy ending of jock coming out ala Finn in the glam dress a while back. I could actually see it happening.
It seemed so afterschool special to me, though. It’s like they said, “Oh, antigay bullying in schools is the big issue now. Let’s do an episode about how terrible it is.” I watch tv to have a good time, not to have my consciousness raised, and so whenever shows do something like that, it comes off really heavy handed.
Remedy: Watch a show that doesn’t have a gay kid in high school as one of its main characters.
I disagree. 
I don’t think Will kissing Bieste was a pity kiss. I think he really saw her as beautiful in that moment. I think it was still a friendship kiss, but there was genuine affection.
I think it’s interesting that the show plays things up for comedy (like Bieste in lingerie), makes you laugh at them, and then makes you feel bad for laughing at them.
I thought the episode was too light on music and didn’t care for the numbers they did play. The mashups were lame. I would say the episode was mostly mediocre with a handful of excellent scenes and phenomenal acting. I was surprised when the jock kissed Kurt, but that dynamic was all too real in high school. Kurt’s portrayal in this ep was spot-on. I think he’s the most well-fleshed out character of all of them. I just hope other characters can eventually reach that same depth.
When I think that gay teens have a show to watch, that honors their experience and their unique brand of oppression, it makes me happy.
Character’s been gay for a season and a half. Gay bullying wasn’t a major theme of any episode until this one.
What about the Lady GaGa episode? Or the slushie episode? (Was that the same episode?)
One of the first scenes of the first episode featured him being thrown into a dumpster.
Kurt: Is everyone here gay?
Blaine: I’m gay but these two are [del]in denial[/del] have girlfriends.
Regarding Kurt again: he’s been slushied and picked on constantly ever since the first episode. This is if anything a very understated version of actual bullying; in real life he’d have probably been called faggot and knocked around a lot more. Kurt is a major reason that the show is tremendously popular with gay kids and other bullying victims- while he is to some extent, as a gay friend of mine calls him, a “homo Stepin Fetchit” due to the stereotypes of fashion diva and the like, his character resonates with audiences so it’s a good business decision to have him among the forefront players. As seen above, he also starts a dialogue and reaches a demographic that needs to be reached regarding homophobia. To the extent that anything on GLEE is believable his storyline is not only believable but seriously sugarcoated from what happens everyday in thousands of high schools.
That said the focus of the show will change a bit soon. Jonathan Groff has been filming movies and will return as Jesse in January and (real life Filipina sensation & emerging international superstar) Charice will be returning for an arc with her character, Sunshine Corazon, along with her coach played by Cheyenne Jackson (who like Groff is openly gay but whose presence may actually tone down the gay a bit). Plus the regulars who aren’t Kurt will certainly have storylines, so it’s not going to be an entire season of Kurt being bullied, which I agree would get old. (Also they’re obviously setting him up for a romance.)
No kidding. There have been many episodes that depict the opression and obstacles that Kurt (and most gay teens) face. From peers, to family to crushes.
I loved the episode and I cant get enough of Kurt and his evolution. I truly believe that if it can give hope to even one struggling teen, gay or not, then keep it coming!
Also, I loved Gay Hogwarts! Their uniforms were delicious.
Right, but he wasn’t the only one to be thrown into a dumpster. Almost all the Glee people get picked on. Almost all the non-cool people get picked on.
Which was also the point of this episode. Bieste isn’t gay, but she was clearly a subject of ridicule for not fitting in. The show is meant to focus on those who feel like outsiders, who are harassed or otherwise excluded. While I have no doubt the episode was written to respond to the whole anti-bullying thing, this episode really wasn’t much of a deviation from previous episodes and probably would have come up eventually anyway.
The fact is ‘Gay Bullying’ IS a huge issue right now… and this show happens to have a voice that reaches alot of different teens right now. A voice that could positively effect an exceedingly terrible situation. Good for them for using it. Good for them for spreading the awareness. If you dont want your “consciousness raised” (:rolleyes:) then go watch reruns of Becker or something.
I know gay bulling is an issue right now. That’s what I’m complaining about. You know as well as I do that this isn’t going to make a good goddamn bit of difference to the issue of gay bullying, any more than Nancy Reagan appearing on Different Strokes got kids to say No to Drugs. When sitcoms do this, when they frame the story around The Issue of the Day and shoehorn it in, whatever that issue is, it’s done at the expense of the show. As was said, the issue very well could have come up naturally. They didn’t have to do it in the heavy handed manner they did it this episode. And I’m complaining because I like Glee. I like the show. Because I like the show, I don’t like it when they show bad episodes, and I think this was a bad episode.
False. I dont know that. In fact i believe the opposite. I believe it made many kids stop and think about the issue, and maybe they’ll think twice when they’re presented with an opportunity to stop it. To me, that’s worth GLEE taking the time to broach the subject when they clearly had the voice to do so. Plus it further spun the wheel of evolution for Kurt to become stronger in his struggle, and since he’s my favorite character I was glad to see it.
It did come up naturally in this episode. They’ve shown Kurt being bullied since the pilot. And not just for beeing in Glee; alot has been for being gay or general nonconformity to “gender roles”. Including by this same exact football player. The only thing that came out of the blue was his kissing Kurt and even that was handled fairly realisticly.