hi. my name is erin.: Glee: Santana vs It Gets Better

15:39 4th Feb 2012

Notes: 44

Tags: glee

Glee: Santana vs It Gets Better

I don’t know how I missed it when this came out, but this is basically everything I think about I Kissed A Girl and why it was actually awesome before tumblr got ahold of it.

It’s honest.

I’m really getting tired of this trend of analyzing Glee as though the writers and producers are attacking everything from the same angle that those with an interest in social justice and activism are. Because it is not what is happening.

It is evident to people who watch the show that Will Schuester is a terrible person who is a terrible teacher and probably should not be in charge of teaching kids. It is not evident to the writers and producers of Glee, who seem pretty clear on their idea (both from interviews and from the way Will’s narrative is shaped) that Will Schuester is a great teacher and a great man who sometimes loses his way because humans are fallible. Now let’s sing about it! This is a pretty broad divide.

“I Kissed a Girl” is not about the pitfalls of the It Gets Better movement. It is not about how Santana’s friends are shitty allies. Finn referencing Jamie Rodemeyer’s suicide was not the show tacitly acknowledging that just repeating “it gets better!” like a prayer is not going to make the world magically realign itself into something less homophobic around you.

In short, “I Kissed a Girl” was not a great episode of television that tumblr ruined by whining that their pretty gays weren’t making out enough.

The episode stands behind Finn’s actions — the voiceover at the start of the episode confirms that her being outed was not his fault, for one; Santana actually thanks him for singing a dismissive song that has nothing to do with what she’s actually going through, for another.

I love that everyone can watch media and come up with a totally different interpretation. We’re all shaped by our individual experiences. But this ridiculous tactic of pitting the smart, informed, mature viewers who really understandthe subtle and nuanced plan that Glee’s working with against the shrieking entitled teenies is dumb, dishonest, and frankly offensive.