Response to Millennial Musicals

The superficiality of the diversity on Glee, as pointed out in the readings, is extremely evident when viewing the program. Yes, there are minority characters, but the narrative clearly centers around the white characters. And, yes, there are moments acknowledges and tries to mock itself, but this does not seem genuine. It seem like they are just acknowledging an heavily criticized aspect of the show so critics will move on. It is easy to problematize this overt whiteness, especially in light of feeble attempts downplaying the lack of diversity. But in the context of musicals, it sort of makes sense. Musicals, for better or worse, act to reiterate the status quo. I find itĀ analogousĀ to Bollywood films. One watches Bollywood films, not to see anything new and groundbreaking, but to go on an emotional ride and see quality song-dance routines. Norms are reinforced but the entertainment is there. Glee is shaping up to be our generations touchstone musical, so this makes sense. But one important aspect of Glee that is the positive work it is doing to combat anti-gay bullying. Kurt, his story-line, and the accompanying PSA’s endorse a positive message and make up for the program’s homogeneity.

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