even if you are normally not a glee fan

[dsc]

I highly recommend tonight's episode. Catch it on Hulu if need be.

[2Design]

1. I am amazed a fox channel is dealing with all these issues - great show tonight n/t

[EC]

2. It was very good in multiple ways tonight

feelings, bullying, homophobia, gender stereo-types, doing the right thing...there were many lessons covered this week...


Best one this season - I think...

[beyurslf]

3. Glee has grown on me over the first season and has become my favorite show

that I always watch. I do wish they would have had a little more closure on the bullying piece with some adult becoming involved at some point but it was still good to see it dealt with.

And we now have a running bet on who Kurt ends up with!

[TexasProgresive]

6. Get real

Adults do not get involve in bullying except to tell the victim to "man up."

[FreeState]

13. FYI - according to Chris Colfer (Kurt) this was the first episode of Glee's bullying saga

So there will be more....

http://twitter.com/#!/chriscolfer

chriscolfer
Chris Colfer
Brand new Glee tonight! It's the first episode of our bullying saga! I did lots of stunts. Still sore actually.

[Ozymanithrax]

4. My wife and I watch this every week.

And this is the most powerful show I've seen.

If it doesn't win an emmy, then the award is fixed.

[TexasObserver]

5. recommend

[WillParkinson]

7. We just watched it...

The kiss was intense, especially when he tried to go back in for seconds.

That said, I still hope he ends up with Blaine.

[racaulk]

8. I'll take your word that it was a great episode.

I tried to be open minded and I did watch a few episodes from the first season, but I just can't be into it. I don't know why Glee doesn't appeal to me, but it just doesn't. :(

That being said, however, the subject of teenage bullying is a very serious one that is finally getting the attention and discussion that it deserves. Glee, being a popular prime-time TV show set in a high school that largely centers on the social dynamics of students that are considered "outside the norm," is definitely in a unique position to critically explore this topic with a large audience. I am very thankful that they have decided to take advantage of that opportunity. Kudos to them!

K&R!

[Prism]

9. The show actually celebrates bullying

I mean, the most celebrated character - Sue Sylvester - is the biggest bully of them all, and part of the show's appeal each week is to showcase how joyfully she can torment everyone around her.

It's actually a little strange to see the disconnect. Kurt is being bullied, but the boy in the wheelchair and his delinquent attendant bully girls without much, if any, consequence. The cheerleaders are typically horrible towards people. The stuck-up character is always criticizing everyone around her. Even Kurt has a cynical, bitchy veneer he carelessly targets at just about everyone around him, warranted or not.

Apparently, in the Gleeverse, bullying only counts when someone's over-the-top physically violent towards you.

Psychological torment? A-OK. And that's unfortunate, because it's the psychological torment that does people in the most.

I've tried watching Glee. It should be my thing, but I don't find it particularly compelling. The writing's too heavy-handed and short-sighted. Here we had an episode full of bullies, but because the writers decided to make A Statement (one I strongly agree with) one kind of bullying, the most obvious kind, is highlighted for special condemnation while the other kinds are considered run of the mill, "kids today, eh?" behavior that's not worth much commentary.

The disconnect is glaring to me.

I don't find any of the characters particularly likable. They're all sort of awful if you spend too much time thinking about them and how they treat everyone around them. it's like watching Liz Lemon's memory in real time. (In an episode of 30 Rock, Tina Fey's character reflects on how she was an outcast in high school and tormented by the popular people. Then at a reunion, we learn the truth - that Liz self-isolated with caustic, hurtful remarks and a bad attitude).

These characters may be good performers, but I don't think I'd want to be friends with any of them.

[rusty fender]

10. My straight brother loves it and urged me to watch it, but

I couldn't get into it. I generally love musicals--I guiltily watched High School Musical 1 and 2--maybe I'll give it another try.:shrug:

[theHandpuppet]

11. I'm glad you posted this

Although my partner and I watch the show every week and there are many aspects to enjoy and admire, your observations about how this show portrays bullying is something that has always disturbed me. We've commented to one another that this is one glaring disappointment because the show is full of bullying, every week, that is never addressed -- whether it's getting a slurpie in your face, getting thrown in a dumpster, verbal harrassment and taunts, etc., it's ALL bully behavior and almost every character in the show commits it. Perhaps it flies under the radar only because Sue carries it to such an extreme.

[jonnyblitz]

12. I have an .avi copy of that episode on my harddrive I will watch

it soon. I always watch it though I am not it's target audience and I am not a theater/glee club type of guy or wasn't at that age. I DO find the show amusing. I can understand why it wouldn't appeal to many, I am surprised I watch it! I gave my tween niece season 1 and she DVR's the current season and has all her girlfriends over to watch it on the weekends. For them I think the show is great, it shows them kids who are different.