Glee About Glee, Mostly

I resisted the Glee phenomena for a long time.  Singing high schoolers just  didn't do it for me. Maybe because I once was a singing high-schooler. Though I tend to resist all pop-culture trends until they are are no longer trendy. I have done that with all popular book series of recent years. Twilight, The Hunger Games, The Millennium  trilogy, I came late to all of those parties. With the exception of Twilight, I was glad I did. Glee has largely been another fun discovery.

I was not totally ignorant of the innovative path Glee was breaking. I knew that the show embraced diversity. That there was a character who used a wheelchair, a character who was openly gay and another who had Down Syndrome. I did not feel compelled to watch until boredom drove me to it one day last year. Yes, it is good. Some things are a little schmaltzy. The characters with disabilities called themselves "handi-capable" which is a bit too politically correct for me. There was one episode where Artie, the guy who uses a chair got this expensive jet-pack thing that helped him sort of walk.And then there was a highly offensive storyline about open adoption. But mostly it is a good show, with decent music and good messages about accepting difference in others.

This week's epsode focused a lot on Artie and Becky Jackson, the henchman for Sue Sylvester who also has Down Syndrome. Becky sets her sights on Artie and wants to go out with him. The most interesting thing about that story line is how they approached voice-overs. She sounds like the Queen of England. She says that it's because in her head she can sound like anyone she wants. Nice thought. 

Good job Glee.