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it's kind of disgusting / so what does it mean?
Mostly what I do with Glee is squee about it, because a lot of other people are way more eloquent than me at a) ripping it apart for its inability to have consistent characters or decent writing after the first 13 episodes, and b) problematizing its often fucked up messages about race, ability, gender, and sexual orientation.
Anyway, just wanted to link to this Tumblr post about last night's episode.
My favorite take-down paragraph is about my favorite number, and its ableism.
So, in the episode, the character Blaine gets a rock salt-laced slushie splashed in his eye by a member of a rival glee club. (I know. This show.)
[zoom out from: Kurt's face (Kurt = Blaine's boyfriend), looking melancholy as he walks through the high school hallway into the choir room]
RACHEL: How is he, is he okay?
KURT: Ahh, it's his...right eye, ahh, the doctor says that his cornea is deeply scratched, and he has to have surgery.
[Santana and Brittany exchange a glance.]
SHUE: In all my years as a teacher and a student, I have never known a slushie to do that kind of damage.
FINN: That's because it wasn't a normal slushie, Mr. Shue. There was...stuff in it, rocks or something. He wanted to do that damage.
SHUE: Well, unless you have proof that he tampered with the slushie, the police aren't willing to get involved.
KURT [upset]: Sebastian is evil. He needs to be expelled.
SHUE: Look, Figgins and I spoke to Dalton's headmaster. They're opening up an investigation. So guys, I'm telling you, please let the system handle this one.
[cut to Artie, looking pissed]
ARTIE: No. Dalton's old school, Mr. Shue, they're not gonna turn their back on one of their own, we need payback.
MIKE: An eye for an eye.
MR. SHUE: No! I have a zero-tolerance policy for violence. Of any kind. That's not how we do things.
ARTIE: No, we sing. And that's all we ever do.
MR. SHUE: Do you want to get disqualified from Regionals?
ARTIE: I don't give a damn about Regionals!
[cut to Finn and Rachel, Finn looks shocked]
ARTIE: What do you expect from us, we're people. I know the rest of the world might not see us like that, but when they tease us, and throw stuff at us, and toss in dumpsters...
[cut to Kurt, looking upset]
ARTIE...and tell us we're nothing but losers with stupid dreams, it freaking hurts. And we're supposed to turn the other cheek? And be the bigger person by telling ourselves that those dreams and how hard we work makes us better than them? But it gets pretty damn hard to feel that way when they always win.
MR. SHUE: I get how upsetting this is for y---
ARTIE: No! [wheeling forward] You don't. And don't give me any of that "it gets better" crap because I'm not interested in it getting any better. I want it to be better. Like right now. I want to hurt them. The way they hurt us.
[cut to Mercedes, arms folded, watching Artie.]
ARTIE: No, worse. I want them to feel my pain, because frankly? That's all I have left to give.
MR. SHUE: Artie. Take a break. We'll be here when you get back.
[In sync with the first chords of "Scream," Artie's feet swing to the floor from the footrests of his wheelchair. He stands up.]
ARTIE: Who's with me?
[Mike Chang stands up, they both walk away from the choir. Scene changes into a replication of Michael & Janet Jackson's music video for "Scream."]
Here's a link to the video, which is incredibly similar to the original "Scream" except Artie smashes a wheelchair instead of a guitar.
Quote from Tumblr post not written by me: [Link]
I think I'm a little more excited about Harry Shum Jr.'s eyeliner than the author of this Tumblr post, but all of her points ring true.
And yet at the same time, the video itself was empowering to me in a righteous-anger sort of way. Both the original song and the cover are meant as expressions of anger, and they do it well. Artie smashing his wheelchair in a fantasy is similar to fantasies I've had about ripping out my own esophagus.
Media portrayals of anger and social justice are hard for me to navigate, I think. Or hard to suss out every facet of what they mean to me, what they mean to other people.
I wish the show had cast Kevin McHale as a kid who can dance, so they can use him in dance numbers if they want to, and had cast an actually disabled person to play Artie.
I also wish the writing was much better on this show. Santana's and Artie's rage over the attack on Blaine was fun to watch, but made no fucking sense. Where was this rage when Kurt received a death threat and needed to transfer schools?? No-fucking-where.
I don't want Matthew Weiner or Aaron Sorkin to write the show, just a little more consistency, a few more emotional moments that feel like they're earned.
Side note: I don't think I've mentioned this on a public post, but I"m recovering from surgery at the moment, so I've been delayed and haphazard in replying to comments. FYI!
Anyway, just wanted to link to this Tumblr post about last night's episode.
My favorite take-down paragraph is about my favorite number, and its ableism.
So, in the episode, the character Blaine gets a rock salt-laced slushie splashed in his eye by a member of a rival glee club. (I know. This show.)
[zoom out from: Kurt's face (Kurt = Blaine's boyfriend), looking melancholy as he walks through the high school hallway into the choir room]
RACHEL: How is he, is he okay?
KURT: Ahh, it's his...right eye, ahh, the doctor says that his cornea is deeply scratched, and he has to have surgery.
[Santana and Brittany exchange a glance.]
SHUE: In all my years as a teacher and a student, I have never known a slushie to do that kind of damage.
FINN: That's because it wasn't a normal slushie, Mr. Shue. There was...stuff in it, rocks or something. He wanted to do that damage.
SHUE: Well, unless you have proof that he tampered with the slushie, the police aren't willing to get involved.
KURT [upset]: Sebastian is evil. He needs to be expelled.
SHUE: Look, Figgins and I spoke to Dalton's headmaster. They're opening up an investigation. So guys, I'm telling you, please let the system handle this one.
[cut to Artie, looking pissed]
ARTIE: No. Dalton's old school, Mr. Shue, they're not gonna turn their back on one of their own, we need payback.
MIKE: An eye for an eye.
MR. SHUE: No! I have a zero-tolerance policy for violence. Of any kind. That's not how we do things.
ARTIE: No, we sing. And that's all we ever do.
MR. SHUE: Do you want to get disqualified from Regionals?
ARTIE: I don't give a damn about Regionals!
[cut to Finn and Rachel, Finn looks shocked]
ARTIE: What do you expect from us, we're people. I know the rest of the world might not see us like that, but when they tease us, and throw stuff at us, and toss in dumpsters...
[cut to Kurt, looking upset]
ARTIE...and tell us we're nothing but losers with stupid dreams, it freaking hurts. And we're supposed to turn the other cheek? And be the bigger person by telling ourselves that those dreams and how hard we work makes us better than them? But it gets pretty damn hard to feel that way when they always win.
MR. SHUE: I get how upsetting this is for y---
ARTIE: No! [wheeling forward] You don't. And don't give me any of that "it gets better" crap because I'm not interested in it getting any better. I want it to be better. Like right now. I want to hurt them. The way they hurt us.
[cut to Mercedes, arms folded, watching Artie.]
ARTIE: No, worse. I want them to feel my pain, because frankly? That's all I have left to give.
MR. SHUE: Artie. Take a break. We'll be here when you get back.
[In sync with the first chords of "Scream," Artie's feet swing to the floor from the footrests of his wheelchair. He stands up.]
ARTIE: Who's with me?
[Mike Chang stands up, they both walk away from the choir. Scene changes into a replication of Michael & Janet Jackson's music video for "Scream."]
Here's a link to the video, which is incredibly similar to the original "Scream" except Artie smashes a wheelchair instead of a guitar.
Quote from Tumblr post not written by me: [Link]
Artie: oh, Artie, you get such bad material. I loved the fact that someone angrily called Will out on his ineffectual bullshit, but I did tilt my head a little bit at the invocation of It Gets Better, and I cringed when he stepped out of the wheelchair. Glee has a gross habit of implying that Artie can only truly express himself if he can walk, which — a more nuanced show could handle (MAYBE), but this one can’t. It really, really can’t. As hardcore as Kevin McHale and Harry Shum Jr. killed it, and as much as I want Mike Chang to wear guyliner ALL THE TIME and as happy as I was about them BEING BUDS and backing each other (and Blaine) up, I couldn’t enjoy the number; the ableism sucked every last bit of delight out of it. I drank all of the whiskey when Artie threw the wheelchair. All of it. Which, again, just to be clear: I’m not saying that it’s inherently a bad thing to delve into a character’s potential frustration and anger over being paraplegic. What I’m saying is that this particular show consistently sends fucked up messages every time they make a half-assed attempt at it because they want Kevin McHale to do a dance routine.
I think I'm a little more excited about Harry Shum Jr.'s eyeliner than the author of this Tumblr post, but all of her points ring true.
And yet at the same time, the video itself was empowering to me in a righteous-anger sort of way. Both the original song and the cover are meant as expressions of anger, and they do it well. Artie smashing his wheelchair in a fantasy is similar to fantasies I've had about ripping out my own esophagus.
Media portrayals of anger and social justice are hard for me to navigate, I think. Or hard to suss out every facet of what they mean to me, what they mean to other people.
I wish the show had cast Kevin McHale as a kid who can dance, so they can use him in dance numbers if they want to, and had cast an actually disabled person to play Artie.
I also wish the writing was much better on this show. Santana's and Artie's rage over the attack on Blaine was fun to watch, but made no fucking sense. Where was this rage when Kurt received a death threat and needed to transfer schools?? No-fucking-where.
I don't want Matthew Weiner or Aaron Sorkin to write the show, just a little more consistency, a few more emotional moments that feel like they're earned.
Side note: I don't think I've mentioned this on a public post, but I"m recovering from surgery at the moment, so I've been delayed and haphazard in replying to comments. FYI!
no subject
Can I link this on
no subject
Linking = hokai. There is a comment on the LJ version of the post, too (http://mystickeeper.livejournal.com/552478.html).