Here's what you missed on Glee

I might be intellectually lynched, but let’s go. This is why “Glee” is one of the best shows on TV nowadays: on a superficial level, it’s just another series about American teenagers, and many people are really sick of them. I understand that, and I also usually find this kind of TV show tedious at times. Also, critics say they destroy great pieces of music which would be better off untouched. It might be, and it is the case sometimes. But there is much more to it.  

            The narrative is peculiar, the rhythm is fast and there is too much information at the same time, so when we first watch it, it is easy to get tired. The teenage characters are not all likeable at a first impression, they need their time to seduce us. The grown ups are just wonderful: Sue Silvester is one of the most memorable characters in American TV nowadays, and Mr. Shue does it well enough.

            When I was a teenager the stereotypes were not so strong. People mingled with each other in the classrooms without much labeling or segregation. That was post-dictatorship Brazil. Nowadays things are getting different, and we are becoming more like the Americans. Once you get a label you have to stick to it or suffer the consequences. High school for many people is basically hell. Bullying is not something people discuss vaguely on TV, it’s a brutal reality. This is the world of Glee. This is becoming our world too.

            In spite of that, the tone is not dramatic. It is ironic, sarcastic, with no concessions to self-pity. There is music, and more: there are great dialogues about pop music, about its influence in society and its great achievements and disasters. (from The Beatles to Justin Bieber, for example). The development of the characters is brilliant, and usually deludes you. When you think a cliché is about to come, they twist the narrative in a way that makes you curious and interested again. They discuss sexuality, religion, ethics and music in ways that rarely appear on TV, and with the advantage of humour. And the music itself is not only pop. They visit jazz classics, rock’n’roll, hip hop, soul and others that are part of the great tradition of American music.

Got some spare time? Take a look at two or three episodes, try to catch the tone and feel the mood. And, of course, “don’t stop believing”!