![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
There are many times when I wonder if RyanM is chortling at the audience's expense ... or if he's being intentionally sardonic or even cynical at human nature ... or if he's totally clueless and does things in a haphazard or – worse - hamfisted fashion. Well, a lot of my uncertainty showed up in "The New Rachel".
There was a WHOLE bunch of unpleasantness IMO.
1* The nature of cliques and popularity where there are only winners and losers: So ... within a couple weeks after winning Nationals (and not counting the summer vacation), the joyful exuberance has dissipated and been replaced with disdainful entitlement. The Gleeks were now ensconced at the popular kids' table along with cheerleaders and football players (the top of the hierarchy). Of course, this was something they'd probably never dreamed would have happened to them.
But what personal changes! Tina had turned into a Queen (after all, hadn't her succession been guaranteed by Queen Rachel herself) , though not only a Queen but a Bitch ... with bonus minions. Blaine – as the previously straightest gay guy in the school (even with those ever-present dorky bow ties - was turning into yet more of an apologist (can I please call him a dick?) for nonconforming queer people who dared to be themselves. Does that mean he couldn't enjoy his new status without having his insecurities showing? He felt justified to throw his newly-crowned Rachel-status (by "Director" Artie) around to pressure Wade into pushing Unique under wraps. And here Wade had probably thought that transferring to McKinley meant joining kids who weren't the soulless automatons of Vocal Adrenaline (which BTW always had amused me, in a sick way, because the portrayal was so spot-on). Had he simply replaced the surroundings but not the intolerance? Or conditional acceptance for performances only? But, probably the most shocking of all to me, Artie was incredibly cruel as a person with a disability who really should have had more grace and tact and not joined in to make cruel fat jokes – whether the target could hear them or not. I guess what RyanM's getting across is that there's a price to popularity where everybody can AND WILL act like a jerk if the status warrants adulation. Does he really think it's inevitable behaviour? Ugh. Sure makes me happy I went to high school decades ago.
2* A revelation as to how former stars are coping with age: while Carmen's achievements around the world are now behind her though her legend lives on, she appears content to focus her talent on raising the next generation of vocal stars. However, Cassandra doesn't appear to be handling the transition from performing to teaching well. Along with daytime booze (ha! I called it first, as it was just announced in spoilers that she has a booze problem), there's overt desperation to prove that she still has IT (talent, importance, and – most of all - sex appeal). Carmen rewards (or dissaproves) based on actual performances aka merit while Cassandra uses the tearing-down system. Also, is RyanM's misogyny showing because we see her being supportive of a male student who's made it to the first tier of Broadway? But she seems to focus with venomish intent on her female students and their shortcomings. "Muffin top" will certainly set that young woman on a lifetime of anorexia or bulimia. Should "What I did for Love" from A Chorus Line have new lyrics, as in "What I did to be Thin"? Of course, I also realize that singers of Carmen's stature have always had a longer and more stable career ahead of them (opera and dramatic roles) when compared to Broadway stars where the rigours of singing and dancing EVERY night do take their toll.
3* Brittany's innocent view of the world was refreshingly sweet in the past and supported by all of her friends, as in the Santa episode. But now she's just being written as the dumbest blonde of all, worse than having that 0.0 GPA (she 'd already mistaken Joe for a "girl" because of the long dreads and now can't recognize that Unique is NOT Mercedes, only with short hair). ::rolls eyes:: Gee, I wasn't aware she was BLIND, too! The lesbian joke about not being able to scissor via Skype is ridiculous. Is this the grownup humour for which RyanM likes the later time slot ... even if a lot of straight people won't get the (not so sub-) text?
4* Whoa – what a sad sack Kurt's turned out to be. Because he didn't get into his first (and it seems only) choice of school, he's hanging around Lima. It's bad enough that he's trying to prove he has a role at McKinley or ND (as a seemingly self-appointed TA to Will), but why did RyanM give him a stupid job at the Lima Bean? Talk about compounding the disappointment and depression, serving mostly students (and giving us another example of the "servant" class, well, especially where Kitty is concerned). Also, is it THAT easy to simply get into a community college? What WAS Kurt planning to study? So ... was this his strategy to at least be with Blaine and not be separated until they could both go to NYC? If so, then it's a good thing that Blaine pushed him to go. Not so good that Burt thought it was a good idea, to send his son to the whirlwind that is NYC. Did he NOT expect that Kurt would end up being a waiter while hovering for his big break? Was this RyanM's way of showing how many kids do go to New York, with a dream but no appreciable chance to achieve it? It seems to be an all-or-nothing scenario. Either you make it, or the big city will not spit you out but, instead, swallow you up into the undercurrent teeming with the unfulfilled dreams of those who never made it but remain, because they can't accept returning home as failures. It's a very sobering bookend to the fabulous audition Kurt had in front of Carmen. And, speaking of that audition, how could he NOT have been accepted? Will we ever know for sure? Be given a reason why? Or has RyanM not thought of it? ::sighs::
5* In conjunction with my comment about Kurt, we can see how being in New York is affecting Rachel. Yes, she got in, but being in is a far different story. She feels all alone and unappreciated (well, apart from new hunk Brody whose encouraging behaviour is certainly goofy enough in public). There seems to have been no matching-up process in assigning dorm rooms (do I have to bring up the most horrific RL example of incompatibility that led to a certain person committing suicide a couple years ago?), so she's miserable when she's not in singing class. The only good thing is that she was praised by Carmen, with the now-justified expectation that there will be more praise and exposure as a reward, as long as she puts the effort in. But, otherwise, the loneliness is getting to her. So what Kurt did was delightful (I already figured out what was going to happen, because it's not the first time directors have used phone calls on cells to surprise the callee ... usually from the other side of a closed door). Now all they have to do is find a reasonable place to live. ::giggles:: Oh, that'll be SO easy in NYC. I've already been spoiled for that, and it's just as much of a fantasy as becoming a star is.
6* Returning to the hopes-and-dreams and RyanM's need to hit his audience over the head, was it necessary to make Marley's mother such a figure of potential ridicule? It wouldn't be enough just for her to be the "lunch lady" (you know, belonging to the "servant" class), she had to be otherwise extremely visible in a way that she would be ridiculed. OTOH, it does point to a problem for kids growing up in small towns where there may only be one high school (but I doubt RyanM was being that subtle). I'm also wondering if RyanM subscribes to Cassandra's world view, that there are only two extremes: rail-thin and successful or morbidly obese and working as a lunch lady. Well, if you're a woman, that is.
7* RyanM has a very free'n'easy concept of Christianity. Or is he mocking fundamentalists? See, I just can't be sure. The characters who have appeared to be caring (the members of the God Squad) really do pick and choose when to be jerks and when to be nice. Of course, Quinn was the former poster child for wishy-washy Christianity (getting pregnant – duh – then trying to get Finn to believe it was his child; giving up Beth to Shelby but then being driven to try to ruin another person's happiness and reputation in order to retake what she'd lost; joining the skanks in some more nebulous rebellion; only figuring out at the last moment of high school that the superficial stuff wasn't important because how ridiculous was it to have someone, about to enter Yale on a scholarship and claiming that it was faith-?!?- that had kept her going through her troubles, still needing to be Prom Queen?). And we've seen Sam interpret sexual prohibitions to suit his circumstances and later advise Joe against rigid adherence. Now it seems that both Sam and Joe are going "Oops! I shouldn't have been mean or sat by unprotesting while others were being cruel" types of Christians. So ... they actually have to think about what the moral thing is. ::groans and holds head::
Huh. I didn't think I would rant for so long. But, despite the things I've been critical about, I can't fault the singing or the song choices. I've mentioned before that I don't ever listen to the popular music of the day, so what's on the show is IT. And I do enjoy it (and download sales prove that millions do, too, not to mention Billboard rankings, even more impressive because most radio stations REFUSE to play the songs). So, if ALL I get out of the show is some inventive mashups, then that's a good thing. But I wish there could be more consistent character development and a decreased emphasis on weird teen drama. Oy!
There was a WHOLE bunch of unpleasantness IMO.
1* The nature of cliques and popularity where there are only winners and losers: So ... within a couple weeks after winning Nationals (and not counting the summer vacation), the joyful exuberance has dissipated and been replaced with disdainful entitlement. The Gleeks were now ensconced at the popular kids' table along with cheerleaders and football players (the top of the hierarchy). Of course, this was something they'd probably never dreamed would have happened to them.
But what personal changes! Tina had turned into a Queen (after all, hadn't her succession been guaranteed by Queen Rachel herself) , though not only a Queen but a Bitch ... with bonus minions. Blaine – as the previously straightest gay guy in the school (even with those ever-present dorky bow ties - was turning into yet more of an apologist (can I please call him a dick?) for nonconforming queer people who dared to be themselves. Does that mean he couldn't enjoy his new status without having his insecurities showing? He felt justified to throw his newly-crowned Rachel-status (by "Director" Artie) around to pressure Wade into pushing Unique under wraps. And here Wade had probably thought that transferring to McKinley meant joining kids who weren't the soulless automatons of Vocal Adrenaline (which BTW always had amused me, in a sick way, because the portrayal was so spot-on). Had he simply replaced the surroundings but not the intolerance? Or conditional acceptance for performances only? But, probably the most shocking of all to me, Artie was incredibly cruel as a person with a disability who really should have had more grace and tact and not joined in to make cruel fat jokes – whether the target could hear them or not. I guess what RyanM's getting across is that there's a price to popularity where everybody can AND WILL act like a jerk if the status warrants adulation. Does he really think it's inevitable behaviour? Ugh. Sure makes me happy I went to high school decades ago.
2* A revelation as to how former stars are coping with age: while Carmen's achievements around the world are now behind her though her legend lives on, she appears content to focus her talent on raising the next generation of vocal stars. However, Cassandra doesn't appear to be handling the transition from performing to teaching well. Along with daytime booze (ha! I called it first, as it was just announced in spoilers that she has a booze problem), there's overt desperation to prove that she still has IT (talent, importance, and – most of all - sex appeal). Carmen rewards (or dissaproves) based on actual performances aka merit while Cassandra uses the tearing-down system. Also, is RyanM's misogyny showing because we see her being supportive of a male student who's made it to the first tier of Broadway? But she seems to focus with venomish intent on her female students and their shortcomings. "Muffin top" will certainly set that young woman on a lifetime of anorexia or bulimia. Should "What I did for Love" from A Chorus Line have new lyrics, as in "What I did to be Thin"? Of course, I also realize that singers of Carmen's stature have always had a longer and more stable career ahead of them (opera and dramatic roles) when compared to Broadway stars where the rigours of singing and dancing EVERY night do take their toll.
3* Brittany's innocent view of the world was refreshingly sweet in the past and supported by all of her friends, as in the Santa episode. But now she's just being written as the dumbest blonde of all, worse than having that 0.0 GPA (she 'd already mistaken Joe for a "girl" because of the long dreads and now can't recognize that Unique is NOT Mercedes, only with short hair). ::rolls eyes:: Gee, I wasn't aware she was BLIND, too! The lesbian joke about not being able to scissor via Skype is ridiculous. Is this the grownup humour for which RyanM likes the later time slot ... even if a lot of straight people won't get the (not so sub-) text?
4* Whoa – what a sad sack Kurt's turned out to be. Because he didn't get into his first (and it seems only) choice of school, he's hanging around Lima. It's bad enough that he's trying to prove he has a role at McKinley or ND (as a seemingly self-appointed TA to Will), but why did RyanM give him a stupid job at the Lima Bean? Talk about compounding the disappointment and depression, serving mostly students (and giving us another example of the "servant" class, well, especially where Kitty is concerned). Also, is it THAT easy to simply get into a community college? What WAS Kurt planning to study? So ... was this his strategy to at least be with Blaine and not be separated until they could both go to NYC? If so, then it's a good thing that Blaine pushed him to go. Not so good that Burt thought it was a good idea, to send his son to the whirlwind that is NYC. Did he NOT expect that Kurt would end up being a waiter while hovering for his big break? Was this RyanM's way of showing how many kids do go to New York, with a dream but no appreciable chance to achieve it? It seems to be an all-or-nothing scenario. Either you make it, or the big city will not spit you out but, instead, swallow you up into the undercurrent teeming with the unfulfilled dreams of those who never made it but remain, because they can't accept returning home as failures. It's a very sobering bookend to the fabulous audition Kurt had in front of Carmen. And, speaking of that audition, how could he NOT have been accepted? Will we ever know for sure? Be given a reason why? Or has RyanM not thought of it? ::sighs::
5* In conjunction with my comment about Kurt, we can see how being in New York is affecting Rachel. Yes, she got in, but being in is a far different story. She feels all alone and unappreciated (well, apart from new hunk Brody whose encouraging behaviour is certainly goofy enough in public). There seems to have been no matching-up process in assigning dorm rooms (do I have to bring up the most horrific RL example of incompatibility that led to a certain person committing suicide a couple years ago?), so she's miserable when she's not in singing class. The only good thing is that she was praised by Carmen, with the now-justified expectation that there will be more praise and exposure as a reward, as long as she puts the effort in. But, otherwise, the loneliness is getting to her. So what Kurt did was delightful (I already figured out what was going to happen, because it's not the first time directors have used phone calls on cells to surprise the callee ... usually from the other side of a closed door). Now all they have to do is find a reasonable place to live. ::giggles:: Oh, that'll be SO easy in NYC. I've already been spoiled for that, and it's just as much of a fantasy as becoming a star is.
6* Returning to the hopes-and-dreams and RyanM's need to hit his audience over the head, was it necessary to make Marley's mother such a figure of potential ridicule? It wouldn't be enough just for her to be the "lunch lady" (you know, belonging to the "servant" class), she had to be otherwise extremely visible in a way that she would be ridiculed. OTOH, it does point to a problem for kids growing up in small towns where there may only be one high school (but I doubt RyanM was being that subtle). I'm also wondering if RyanM subscribes to Cassandra's world view, that there are only two extremes: rail-thin and successful or morbidly obese and working as a lunch lady. Well, if you're a woman, that is.
7* RyanM has a very free'n'easy concept of Christianity. Or is he mocking fundamentalists? See, I just can't be sure. The characters who have appeared to be caring (the members of the God Squad) really do pick and choose when to be jerks and when to be nice. Of course, Quinn was the former poster child for wishy-washy Christianity (getting pregnant – duh – then trying to get Finn to believe it was his child; giving up Beth to Shelby but then being driven to try to ruin another person's happiness and reputation in order to retake what she'd lost; joining the skanks in some more nebulous rebellion; only figuring out at the last moment of high school that the superficial stuff wasn't important because how ridiculous was it to have someone, about to enter Yale on a scholarship and claiming that it was faith-?!?- that had kept her going through her troubles, still needing to be Prom Queen?). And we've seen Sam interpret sexual prohibitions to suit his circumstances and later advise Joe against rigid adherence. Now it seems that both Sam and Joe are going "Oops! I shouldn't have been mean or sat by unprotesting while others were being cruel" types of Christians. So ... they actually have to think about what the moral thing is. ::groans and holds head::
Huh. I didn't think I would rant for so long. But, despite the things I've been critical about, I can't fault the singing or the song choices. I've mentioned before that I don't ever listen to the popular music of the day, so what's on the show is IT. And I do enjoy it (and download sales prove that millions do, too, not to mention Billboard rankings, even more impressive because most radio stations REFUSE to play the songs). So, if ALL I get out of the show is some inventive mashups, then that's a good thing. But I wish there could be more consistent character development and a decreased emphasis on weird teen drama. Oy!
