Pop culture is popular because it does not take any risks. Instead, pop culture conforms to cultural norms and expectations, and serves them up as something fresh and exciting. The disgustingly cliché television series “Glee” is no exception to this theory.
I have tried to like “Glee” since it began airing in 2009. Overnight, it seems, the musical comedy-drama series became a success. To date, the series has received six Emmys and four Golden Globes, among countless other awards. Who can take issue with that?
“Gleeks” proudly attest that their beloved series sticks up for the underdogs in society, and teaches people to accept their inner dorky selves, or something like that. I beg to differ.
My biggest problem with the show is its overt representation of stereotypes. Characters are cast to fill labels, such as “The Christian” and “The Cheerleader,” rather than cast as roles that are actually well-written and believable.
Murphy works closely with these labels, never straying too far from bigotry. For example: The Jewish character (Lea Michele) has a larger nose, the cheerleader (Dianna Agron) is blonde and promiscuous, the homosexual (Chris Colfer) is feminine and fashionable, the Asian (Harry Shum, Jr.) is a genius and the black woman (Amber Riley) is a diva reminiscent of “Dream Girls.”
The epitome of cultural stereotyping was evidenced in the Tuesday, Nov. 1 episode, in which “The Glee Project” winner Damian McGinty made his debut. McGinty, a heavily accented Irishman, could have expected to be written as a foreign exchange student, but his actual role was so perverse that it made me nauseous.
McGinty’s character was given the all-too Irish name “Rory Flanagan,” and began his audition for the Glee club with, “I sing at Mass every Sunday!” Most annoyingly, though, we, as the audience, are forced to play along with the idea that cheerleader Brittany (Heather Morris), a blonde, of course, is just ditsy enough to believe that Flanagan is a leprechaun whom only she can see.
Yep, that’s right, a leprechaun.
The fact that Murphy and the masterminds behind “Glee” can take such historically rich cultural identities and distort them into socially acceptable ideas of what an Irish, Jewish, Christian, black or Asian person looks like is truly outrageous. This sort of casting enforces mainstream ideas that are largely based on ignorance, and further cements these gross misportrayals into the minds of its audience.
If “Glee” truly wants to stick up for the underdogs, it should reconsider what constitutes an underdog because, in my mind, underdogs are people who look or behave exactly opposite of what is considered “culturally acceptable.” And, as currently written, the “Glee” cast looks and behaves exactly as Murphy deems that society demands they should.
Murphy toes the line between “socially acceptable” and “offensive” on a weekly basis, but when will he go too far?
Until “Glee” considers stepping outside of the rigid cultural boundaries it sets for itself, it will never achieve the social progress it so backwardly tries to promote. And until then, I will never be a “Gleek.”
Side note— While Michele’s mother is Italian-Catholic and her father is Spanish-Jewish, both of Agron’s parents are Jewish, and so is she. Think about how different the show would be if (gasp!) Michele were to play Quinn Fabray, and Agron to play Rachel Berry.
Do not worry, Mr. Murphy. I’ll never expect that kind of diversity from you. And I guess you can cover up just about anything with a little song and dance.
Erin Everett is a senior in the College of Arts & Sciences.
