Glee: Can I complain about Emma?

[shipperx]

:
When Glee started, the character was an endearing kook. Then they amped up the indiosyncracies and last night they made her significantly messed-up (more than just 'OCD and insecurity' messed-up). It's one thing to give her no sexual experience and an amped degree of innocence and OCD. That goes back to idiosyncracies. But when they've written a thirty-something woman who married someone of her own free will (and under no pressure from anyone to do so), someone who she claims to love, someone who is kind, understanding, and supportive (and handsome and sexy to boot) and then they tell us that after months of marriage she is still incapable of having sex with the wholly unobjectionable guy that she chose but also incapable of even discussing sex, or even picking up blatantly obvious, well-known sexual inuendo then something is WRONG. Seriously wrong. Get thee into therapy wrong.

As with many things on Glee, they pushed this off a cliff. Where they've left her is no cutesy thing. At this point, this is sexual dysfunction. (And why are so many female characters on Glee insane? I grant you, many male characters are disturbingly stupid, but why are so many females corn flakes?)

Kurt's dad is awesome, though.

And if I want to watch women with hang-ups and issues, I'd actually prefer watching Big Love. Nicki Walker Hendrickson may be as screwed-up as they come, but she is both entertaining about it and earned her screwed-upedness in spades. (Seriously, given her history, religion, and family she couldn't be anything else... which is why it doesn't bother me nearly as much).

Comments

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

Oh wow, really? Thank goodness I stopped watching Glee. I couldn't handle that kind of character assassination.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I had suspected that they'd go there so it wasn't a shock. I was just shocked at how creepy it came off.

[cindergal.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched last night's episode yet, but I was afraid they were going to go there with this marriage. That's...not funny anymore. (And I wonder if the creator/writers even realize that most of the audience is rooting for Carl over Will, too.)

But Kurt's dad makes up for a lot. *g*

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Kurt's dad was wonderful.

The Emma/Carl/Will thing just annoys me. Coach Bieste is a better woman.

[powerofthebook.livejournal.com]

It's not just Glee - it was also a major problem on Ryan Murphy's other series, Nip/Tuck. No matter how objectionable/insane the men's behavior was, it was always the women on the show who were portrayed as batty. The show had one redeeming character in that of Liz, who generally kept her head on straight, but only because she was kind of a caretaker/mother figure to the male main characters. About the only sane female characters on Glee seem to have minor roles - Carol, Tina, Mercedes, Lauren.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, I watched Nip/Tuck too. I really wanted horrible things to happen to the characters by the end (actually well before that. I stopped watching before the end, then watched the finale). Nip/Tuck has always made me wary of Glee. Murphy has a tendency to push things too far.

[sp23.livejournal.com]

I gave up on Glee. When a show has more characters I don't like than I do, when I find the plots either stupid, annoying, or down right offensive, it's time to move on.

But, yeah, Burt Hummel is full of win

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I just find that the fact that it jumps all over the place annoys me. That plus my memory of the depths to which Nip/Tuc fell makes me very, very wary.

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

I watch it for the music, dancing, Brittany, and Burt. I assume this means they will kill off Burt in the near future.

I was bothered by Emma last night, but what bothered me more was Holly's sexy dance with 2 high school students. It triggered my very large, candy colored, "inappropriate" button.

Also, I hate Prince. I especially hate the Prince song they chose to cover.

Huh.

I guess I liked last night's episode a lot less than I thought.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Prince is too much a part of my youth so it causes me to wax nostalgia. Burt is still awesome and I like Coach Bieste, but it's astounding how many characters that make me ...just not care.

[ladypeyton.livejournal.com]

Oh, he's a part of my youth as well, but I didn't much like him then, either. I was much more a Rock Over London girl in the 80s. So much so that I spent my Senior Week in London in '85.

[eilowyn.livejournal.com]

Glee surprises me with how often they jump the shark every week by being so OTT it's simply unreasonable, then winning me back with a brilliant musical number. I wish I knew how to quit it.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I'm pretty close. Not quite as close as I am with "How I Met Your Mother" (I've grown to really hate Barney, and he used to be my fave! And with Barney hate, I can't find the love. Even Marshall has been nothing but depressing).

With Glee, it's just that the writing drives me nuts. There's no continuity. Everything seems to happen 'just 'cause'.

I'm guessing I'll drop HIMYM first, but Glee is on the short list.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I've basically stopped watching, though it's still programmed into my DVR. Rachel has gone from annoying to "want to kill" which is what did it for me, but I'm sorry to hear they've ruined Emma too. I liked her when she was just quirky.

Honestly, they need more Mercedes! And Brittany!

Word on Nikki. She is sooo screwed up, but it's it's believable, and I agreed wholeheartedly that she really couldn't be anything else. And it doesn't hurt that Chloe S (too lazy too look up her last name!) is such a great actress. Nikki wouldn't be a lot of fun to live with, but I totally buy her character!

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

Nicki is a fascinating basket-case to watch. On the one hand she's so obnoxious and selfish, on the other hand OMG look at the mess she grew up in! Bejesus. No wonder she's so broken and nuts.

And Rachel Barry frequently makes me want to punch things, and I swear there was a number she did recently that it took me several seconds to realize that it wasn't meant to be taken as a total send-up of the character.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

What I've noticed about Glee - and in this week's episode in particular - is that homosexual relationships are depicted with sensitivity and complexity, while heterosexual relationships are often satirized or reduced to stereotype. Which is rather fascinating. There's clearly a lot of anger being expressed by the writers towards "mainstream heterosexual" society.

Note: Holly sees sex as meaningless, she reduces it to jokes and come-ons and catchy songs. Will - does somewhat the same thing, with seductive song choices.
Emma - sees it as something not for polite conversation, nasty, and best to be avoided - we don't talk about such things. Sue Sylvestrie (who isn't in this episode) - sees it as a means to an end.

But from the homosexual side/lesbian: it's about love, understanding, truly connecting with another person.

Santana - is depicted a bit like Holly, sex is meaningless. Until she proclaims her love for Brittany.
Landslide is the nicest song sung - and it is about Brittany and Santana expressing their feelings.

Kurt's boyfriend goes to Kurt's Dad to request he discuss sex with his son. We don't see Brittany's parents or for that matter a discussion with any of the het kids that is similar. In most teen dramas - we'd get the stereotypical father/daughter, mother/daughter chat.

It's also satirizing the educators who parents rely on to teach these kids sex all of whom have been reduced to absurd extremes- the straight-laced/prissy Guidance Counselor (who is afraid of sex and her own feelings, and would rather not talk about it at all), the Sex Ed teacher - who reduces sex to entertainment and a joke, providing no real information. The teacher - who pushes the conversation off on the sex-ed instructor and guidance counselor, following their leads (rather realistic actually).

The only person who provides useful advice is the father...yet, he leaves out bits about protection. Holly mentions it, but is quickly shut down.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

The reversal is a fascinating phenomenon, but the 'it's satire' thing only goes so far for me as this show is largely targeted toward teens (whether or not that's intentional by the show is irrelevant when the network is promoting it as so. I know my fourteen year old neice -- Glee is her favorite show and the favorite of her friends -- doesn't pick up the satire in a sophisticated fashion, so the fact that they so often go for "the girls are crazy!" image of women tends to bother me because, satire or not, it's just occurring in too many instances. One or two women is one thing, but we have most of the women who have stories being to some degree nuts (Mercedes and Tina therefore don't count as they have virtually no story). But, again, I do realize that the show is hard on male characters as well because several are portrayed as being incredibly dimwitted and easily deceived.

I don't know. Maybe having watched Nip/Tuck made me generally wary of Murphy. God knows, Nip/Tuck had misogyny out the whazoo, so it makes me nervous.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I actually liked what lj user=roz_K said about Murphy - he's misanthropic.
I think that fits both Nip/Tuck and Glee far better. There's a lot of anger in the writer, which makes sense - because Satire is an angry form of comedy. Parody often is far lighter. Satire tends to have rage somewhere in there and often can feel harsh or cruel as a result.

I think Glee's being marketed to 18-45 year olds - that's the big demo everyone wants right now. Below 18, they don't really care about (that crowd isn't buying the products). Above 45, they don't care about either. Also keep in mind the writers are between the ages of 35-45 for most of these shows.

I'd read that Glee was originally meant to be much darker - but Murphy lightened it up.

As for whether it is suitable for people below the age of 18? Eh. I'm not the best person to judge that considering I think people were nuts for letting teens under the age of 18 watch Buffy, Dollhouse, and Supernatural - which are actually worse and sigh were marketed by Fox and WB to that age group. CW certainly markets Supernatural to 15 year olds. But hey, not a parent (thank god). ;-)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I think Glee's being marketed to 18-45 year olds - that's the big demo everyone wants right now. Below 18, they don't really care about (that crowd isn't buying the products).

It's anecdotal, I know, but the only people I know who download the MP3s and i-tunes are my neice and her friends. And Glee products are sold in Claire's (http://www.claires.com/site/style-files/Gleek-Out!/4000140?styleDetail=true&styleType=girls&id=4000140) and that zinc and mystery-metal crap is marketed to tweens. No one in my office (except me) even watches. (Which isn't really a boon to their 'taste' as several of them are huge American Idol fans, and I've never understood the point of that. )

On the one hand, I'm quite happy that Glee has such positive homosexual roll models. And I applaud their efforts at body image. I just wish they wouldn't go for "women are bitches and nuts" quite so often.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Oh, my Aunts love it - so does my mother. Most of the people I know who like it are over the age of 45. LOL!

Don't know anyone younger who watches. Flist? The younger bunch seems to have drifted away from it and has told me that it's unrealistic or does not work for them. (They prefer Community). But the older bunch seems to like it.

At the office? I think one or two did ( in their 50s), but most just watch Two and Half Men, Reality TV, and Hot in Cleveland. They rarely discuss tv and the tv shows they watch - I don't. (The average age at my work place is 48)

Had more or less a similar experience with Buffy actually. One friend told me - "you realize this show is marketed to tweens, right" and I thought, really? It's very dark for tweens and I think some of the stuff probably goes over their heads, but okay. Went online and did a tally of ages?
A good percentage of the people online watching were between the ages of
35-70. I kid you not.

Course, I admittedly don't know any teenagers. My neice is 6.

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

My mom enjoyed last season, but now she won't watch it, she was basically turned off by that Maxim pictorial that Entertainment Tonight covered to death.

My sis watches with my niece and her friends who are basically obsessed with the show. (My nephews wouldn't be caught dead watching... but then, they've always been that way about just about everything that doesn't involve gaming. LOL)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Hee. My mother on the other hand didn't discover it until this year. (She was oblivious to the Maxim pictorial.) And enjoys the show numbers. We are basically musical junkies. I have to admit I watch the thing mainly for the musical numbers. I don't take the rest of it seriously. And have been known to fast-forward through the non-musical bits at times. The character of Emma grates on my nerves...I think I like her in maybe three or four episodes (I loved her in Rocky Horror episode). In this one - I found her unwatchable. (This was not an episode I liked that much or found all that effective. I agree that Gwenyth was miscast and that they took Emma over-the-top. I'm sorry it's just not believable that she hasn't slept with John Stamos dentist yet. )

Not a lot of men I know watch it. My father wouldn't. My brother? He hates musicals, so no. My friends? No. One friend can't stand it - she really hates it. I asked her why - and it has to do with the whole show choir aspect and the fact that she wants to kick all the characters. (She also hates Lady Gaga). My flist? Half of my flist hates the show, which is why I rarely post on it. (Although they are being polite and not discussing their hate of it that often. Only read five rants this year.)

[shipperx.livejournal.com]

I've been watching it for the musical numbers as well. Those are frequently fun and what are keeping me on board. Unfortunately, I don't take any of the characters seriously... except possibly Kurt's dad.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Pretty much the same. The only characters I take seriously are Kurt, Kurt's Dad, and I think Mercedes.

It's hard to take the kids too seriously - considering they are obviously being played by people in their 20s and 30s. LOL! And I don't think we're meant to take any of the teachers seriously. Although it is interesting that the ONLY male teacher or faculty outside of Will is the prinicipal. Even the football coach is female now. This show actually has more female roles, and far more diverse female roles (both body type, age, and ethnicity) than any other tv series on. Think about it - what other tv show has that level of diversity? And on network tv?