A 'Glee' rant: Lea Michele gets bad
Zara Husaini
Issue date: 5/14/10 Section: Arts & Entertainment
The May 4 episode, "Bad Reputation" featured all our favorite characters attempting to cultivate just that: bad reputations. It's a phenomenon that will ring completely foreign to people 20 years my senior, but one that will make a strange sort of sense to my peers. In the words of the once holier-than-thou "Glee" character Quinn, "A bad reputation is better than no reputation at all."
What's essentially happening is this: Rachel, being the flawed and undeniably human character that she is, internalizes the idea that so many others have already adopted: the most effective way to attain recognition is to throw dignity to the wind. She says, "I've now realized that in today's culture of bad-boy athletes and celebrity sex tapes, a good reputation is no good at all."
This idea, along with the saying "all press is good press," is taken to heights that are, frankly, ridiculous and quite possibly dangerous. Why else would Kendra Wilkinson be shopping around her own sex tape? Of course, "Glee"'s representation of this is far more innocent; Rachel makes a music video that features her singing the atrociously fabulous retro song-story "Run, Joey, Run" alongside three male love interests - two former, one present. Is that the stuff of legendary gossip? No. Truth be told, it doesn't at all compare to the actions of real-life fame-seekers and probably wouldn't even make it into a tabloid magazine (and I should know - I work for one.) However, Rachel's actions did accomplish something incredibly profound and cautionary: they showed viewers a small-scale, self-perpetuated scandal - a microcosm, if you will - of the depths to which people sink in their quest for fame.
I know I'm in the minority here, but I do feel sad every time I hear Heidi Pratt chirp in that irritatingly peppy little voice of hers, "I just want a few more surgeries! Then I'll be done!" I truly believe that no one - not even Heidi, who comes this close to validating every dumb blonde joke I've ever heard - possesses an innate desire to ruin his or her face, relationships or whole entire life just for America's amusement. The only explanation I can fathom is that media attention and fame are quickly becoming the two most sought-after, most hypnotic and ultimately, most toxic elements of our time.
What's essentially happening is this: Rachel, being the flawed and undeniably human character that she is, internalizes the idea that so many others have already adopted: the most effective way to attain recognition is to throw dignity to the wind. She says, "I've now realized that in today's culture of bad-boy athletes and celebrity sex tapes, a good reputation is no good at all."
This idea, along with the saying "all press is good press," is taken to heights that are, frankly, ridiculous and quite possibly dangerous. Why else would Kendra Wilkinson be shopping around her own sex tape? Of course, "Glee"'s representation of this is far more innocent; Rachel makes a music video that features her singing the atrociously fabulous retro song-story "Run, Joey, Run" alongside three male love interests - two former, one present. Is that the stuff of legendary gossip? No. Truth be told, it doesn't at all compare to the actions of real-life fame-seekers and probably wouldn't even make it into a tabloid magazine (and I should know - I work for one.) However, Rachel's actions did accomplish something incredibly profound and cautionary: they showed viewers a small-scale, self-perpetuated scandal - a microcosm, if you will - of the depths to which people sink in their quest for fame.
I know I'm in the minority here, but I do feel sad every time I hear Heidi Pratt chirp in that irritatingly peppy little voice of hers, "I just want a few more surgeries! Then I'll be done!" I truly believe that no one - not even Heidi, who comes this close to validating every dumb blonde joke I've ever heard - possesses an innate desire to ruin his or her face, relationships or whole entire life just for America's amusement. The only explanation I can fathom is that media attention and fame are quickly becoming the two most sought-after, most hypnotic and ultimately, most toxic elements of our time.
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cb
posted 5/14/10 @ 10:47 PM EST
ummm...the kurt heavy episodes are a lot of fun. and every episode being about rachel would be boring (she can get super annoying) i think every episode stands on its own. (Continued…)
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