I've lost that Gleefull feeling....

I'm sad to say that I'm now a Former Gleek.

I was one of the many who was over the moon for McKinnley High. The music was the initial draw of course, but the diverse character range and ridonk story lines gave it that little extra something that made it like no other show. (Who doesn't love a character who works at Sheets N' Things, pretends to be with child, then attempts to buy the unborn child of the knocked up teenager who is one of her husband's students in the hopes of passing it off as hers??? LOVE IT!)

While the first two seasons were great, and actually did a good job of discussing some tough topics, season 3 has fallen short and has provided a wake up call that I'd been hitting the snooze on since the beginning. I let the music and funny characters entertain me, without seeing what was actually really wrong with the picture. Glee is a singing, dancing, accepting and loving of everyone, wolf in sheeps clothing.

Too much adult content. I'm not a prude. I don't mind sex and adultery in tv/movies. I watch Grey's and Private Practice and yes I'll admit it....Californication. But in those shows the adult content is within context and viewer age appropriate. I get it. It's an issue they want to address because it does happen in real life. High schoolers do deal with sexual pressure and situations. I thought the Madonna "like a virgin," scene was risky and I was really disappointed by how they glorified teens making the choice to have sex in First Time. They negated the message they sent in the first season with Quinn's pregnancy, which was well done in my opinion. They all but throw that lesson out the window by saying, psh, go for it if you love the person. Which is all good and well and I don't disagree with completely. But whether they believe it or not, the demographic doesn't start at 18 for viewers of Glee, much younger kids, probably more girls, are watching and literally learning (but hopefully their smart parents have by now turned it off.) Glee could have done a, "I love myself and you enough to wait a little longer," ep and that would have been groundbreaking tv. Call me old fashioned, I just didn't agree with the episode and it made me wish they'd toned down the sexuality from the get go. Yes, it's ok for us adults to find it funny and even relate to it, (I did) but we're sending the wrong message to the younger crowd when we should be protecting them and teaching that sex can wait. Our culture is over sexed and so desensitized to it all, and the audience is getting younger and younger and that's not good. 

The unending gay story line has run its course. Do I hate gays? No. Do I feel that the world is going to change and get better one girl/girl or boy/boy kiss at a time? Sorry, no. I'm not bothered by gay characters (I rooted for Callie and Arizona and Will and Grace was one of my faves back in the day.) However, too much hard hitting of any one topic is never a good thing, especially when it's in something that is supposed to entertain us. Four characters in Glee are gay, one is bi. Ok. No problem. They broke the "teach acceptance," mold with Kurt in the first season I thought. But it wasn't enough apparently. Now they are branching out even more with all these other characters and their issues and it's getting too serious to enjoy anymore. There is a fine line between touching on tough real-life subject matter (remember Saved by The Bell? Full House? 7th Heaven?) and making a TV show that's nothing but agenda. For me it has become a musical PSA. Yes, the stuff that they portray does happen, yes the world should be made more aware. But for me TV is a way to escape reality for a while, live in something that is silly or fun or too good to be true (Hello X-Files?) You can still teach acceptance and have controversial subject matter in the hopes of raising awareness, but there's gotta be a way to do it without being so damn obnoxious. Which brings me to my next subject....

Glee touts acceptance. Tolerance. Individualism. Rising above hate. Rising above adversity and overcoming our insecurities. Equality. Being Kind. Being Supportive. That everyone is important and that everyone should be included despite their beliefs and backgrounds. Fabulous. If this is the case; why is the craziest character the daughter of staunch conservatives? Why isn't there a messed up kid who's parents are Democrats? Why hasn't there been a guest spot where someone like Robert Downey Jr. or Mel Gibson play's a crazy extreme liberal who comes to judge a competition? Why are there so many little "digs," at conservatism but never any towards liberalism? I recall cheap shots at Ann Coulter, Glenn Beck and Sarah Palin. Kathy Griffin's character was a complete mockery of conservatism. How 'bout when Quinn went to vote, "Just like my dad always voted for the candidate that was least ethnic, I'm gonna vote for the candidate who's most girl." Riiiight, because conservatives are the only ones with questionable voting motivation. And while "Grilled Cheezus," was cute, they didn't try very hard to give Christianity a nice little shout out and that was the ONLY episode where they said anything about Christianity at all and it was underwhelming to say the least. Yes, making fun of extreme conservatism and religious zealots has it's place, I can appreciate it and can laugh at it, we all shouldn't take ourselves too seriously. But there comes a point where one side is the clear singled out target and it's not funny anymore. To me their message is blurred, accept everyone (except conservatives.) So yeah, basically, I can't stand to watch anymore because of the hypocrisy. There I said it. What's more is you read these interviews with the writers, producers and actors and they are all drinking the koolaid! Is there not one person in cast or crew who will speak up that maybe they aren't sending the right messages???? I guess all I can do is stop watching.   

I'm sorry. This was such a long rant but I had to get it off my shoulders. I've been pretty bummed about it. I'm over it now due to how angry it eventually made me. I will miss it tho, a bit. I will miss the music and the outrageous scenarios they got themselves into, I will miss Figgins and his hilarious way of speaking ("That is my final word..let it be written!"), I will miss Brittany and her precious child-like ways, and I will really miss Sue and I know I don't have to explain that one.

So this is my lemon of the day, ending my relationship with Glee. But the positive side is that I have found some new shows I will replace it with. Mobbed, a reality Flash-Mob show where people stage a flash mob for people they love. Finder, spin off of Bones. Alcatraz, which should be another brilliant piece of work from the marvelous mind of JJ Abrahms whom I love. And....Ink Master, a reality show on tattooing, I CAN'T WAIT for that one!

Have a good night everyone and thanks again for reading.