I didn’t watch Glee until late in the week, but saw this post to the Huffinton past prior to my viewing. In fact, I almost didn’t watch the show after reading Libresco’s thoughts. The last thing I needed was another let down. But, I’m glad I watched it anyway, and in opinion, Libresco was either watching some other show, or just wasn’t able to take the show for what it was, and if she had been the writer, would have written a different show.
Libresco’s main point I believe, is that the adults in a situation must become responsible to sticking up for the youth. I can’t say I disagree in theory with that, but I also don’t think that was either the intended story line, or a valuable one. Â Libresco writes:
When Mr. Schuester, the glee club advisor, sees Kurt being hit by a member of the football team, the teacher does not discipline the bully himself or go to the principal’s office to make sure the bullying is resolved.
If she honestly thinks that taking the issue to the principal’s office would have resolved the problem, she is either living in some altered reality or thoroughly naive. She also misses a very valuable part of the story. The bullying youth is doing so out of envy, anger and frustration for he himself is a self-hating gay youth who can’t come to terms with his own identity. Now, the principal on Glee isn’t any less dysfunctional than the teachers, and so I hold no hope that he would have adequately resolved the problem, and what would it have done to the self-hating closet case? Pushed him further into denial and aggression. What would have been his next level of acting out?
Without a doubt our youth need the adults all around to be acting responsibly for them. I utterly agree with that, but I also agree there is real value in having strong kids like Kurt come to recognize how they themselves must find within themselves the power they need to be authentic and assertive individuals. Shuester has never demonstrated any ability to be more than a wounded grown up boy, so how or why would be act differently in this case?
Instead what we got was an amazing story about Kurt finding strength, a mentor, hope, and potentially love, and in that- truly a story of how it does get better.
The issues of bullying, violence, Â gay teen isolation, depression and suicide are not simple cookie cutter problems, that a single trip to the principal’s office is going to solve, and in this episode we saw parts of a far more important mix of the complexities and elements that make up the whole. Additionally, the story didn’t end, just because the episode only lasts 50-something minutes. I grew up on stupid sit-coms where real world problems, always seemed to find resolution before the end of the episode, but life is never like that.
To Libresco I’d say, if the show isn’t telling the story you feel needs to be told, then by all means tell it yourself. I agree that your idea of strong teachers and administration is an important part of the full solution. But please don’t miss all the good stuff that was in the story that was actually told simply because it wasn’t the script you would have written. A link to Libresco’s full post is below, after the video clip from the show.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E46BhMIRujI[/youtube]
Leah Anthony Libresco: Glee’s Gay Suicide PSA: It Got Worse.
Link to the It Get’s Better Project
Merci for the pronoun switch. You’re not the first to make that mistake.
No problem. Thanks for commenting and having some dialogue about this.
I certainly agree that a visit to the principal’s office would not have permanently resolved the problem. However, I think the actions that Kurt took are extremely dangerous and a poor model for at risk gay teens. He followed a jock who had previously threatened him with physical violence into the locker room, alone, and tried to confront him.
You spoke about concern about the football players next level of acting out if he were confronted by the school. I worry about what he might have done to act out after Kurt rebuffed him, since he was so much bigger and there was no one around to intervene. Kurt put himself in severe danger, and I don’t want to see people following his example.
–Leah
P.S. I’m a girl. Change the pronouns in this post, pls?
Thanks for the comment, and sorry for the misrepresentation. I’m not sure if I agree that the actions were either highly dangerous, nor do I believe the purpose of the show is to be about being a model for youth. Remember this is a show with a guy in a wheel chair on the football team? This isn’t reality TV in any way, shape or form. As for an extremely dangerous move for Kurt, that one is good for discussion. On the one hand, yes, potentially very dangerous, and on the other hand not so much so. Kurt was (and maybe still is?) on the football team. The locker room isn’t the domain only of the jock, but was Kurt’s domain too. In fact the only game they won in the first season was because of Kurt.
I don’t worry about what he might have done to kurt, given the reality of Glee. There is so little about how the show operates as real school, I think real worry for what could have happened to Kurt is a real stretch.
I value that Kurt is a strong character, willing to be who he is, even in the face of everything. Even strong (and smart) people can sometimes do less-than the safest things, but I don’t think Kurt is, nor is the show, set to be role modeling specific behaviors. Like, I wonder how many losing football teams added a play using Beyonce after Kurt did that last season? Right! Artie, in a wheelchair on the football field is also highly dangerous. Did you also write about that?
Again, I think you are wanting a storyline that is just a different one from the one the show writers wrote. And, by not getting the story line you want, you are sure that it gets worse. I can’t agree with that. There was so much more to the show, and I’m sorry that all went right by you.