Crossing the culture

This year any children preparing to belt out ‘O Holy Night’ at the annual carol concert or nativity play have got a high standard to meet, thanks to hit TV-show Glee.

Following the trials of a fictional show choir called New Directions, Glee is now in its third season and has a huge following of ‘Gleeks’ hooked on the catchy sing-along numbers and cutting humour.

Glee showcases a group of ‘misfit’ teenagers with incredible singing talent who help each other through the daily dramas of life in an American high school with a healthy dose of music. Supported by their teacher, Will Schuster, they have already faced teenage pregnancy, alcohol, bullying, homophobia and blackmail, but they take it all in their immaculately-timed stride. By the end of each episode the characters have learnt another important lesson about life and they usually celebrate by bouncing around to a show tune together. Everyone goes home feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

Anti-Christian?

It came as some surprise, then, when Time magazine published an article asking whether the show was ‘anti-Christian’. With the growing inclusion of questionable storylines, increasingly explicit dance-routines, and a bold approach to issues of sexuality, the question has become even more poignant. The characters variously commit adultery, disrespect their parents and get themselves involved in lust-triangles. Quinn Fabray, the only explicitly Christian character, is the president of the Celibacy Club, but becomes pregnant and entangles herself in a web of lies trying to cover up the truth.

Then there was the scandal back in November 2010: when three of the most conventionally attractive stars posed for an almost pornographic photo shoot with the men’s magazine GQ, the internet exploded with accusations. Critics were riled that Glee was undermining its own core mantra: that you don’t have to be a beautiful cheerleader or a womanising jock to be accepted.

Moral relativism

Unfortunately, the appealing alternative it offers is nothing more than the deeply individualistic message of moral relativism: be yourself, follow your own dreams and don’t let anyone put you down. The song ‘Loser Like Me’ takes a sticks-and-stones attitude, warning the bullies that nothing they can say will puncture the balloon of self-assurance:

Just go ahead and hate on me and run your mouth
So everyone can hear
Hit me with the worst you got and knock me down
Baby, I don't care.

Redemptive message

But hidden behind the bravado lies the potentially redemptive message of a self-acceptance that leads to a loving approach to others. Time and time again, members of the club learn the hard way that they have to learn to love themselves to genuinely love others despite their differences, to stand together as a community and to celebrate their uniqueness. As character Brittany puts it, New Directions is like a family and, ‘Family is a place where everyone loves you no matter what and they accept you for who you are’. Whether you are disabled, suffer from OCD, wear glasses, have got a big nose or a low IQ, you’re welcomed in. Together as a family the characters move beyond the stereotypes of traditional all-American movies and to promote inclusion and tolerance.

Where does this genuine self-love stem from? Glee points to music, and inspirational teaching, as the source. However, their rendition of ‘O Holy Night’ in the 2010 Christmas special reminded viewers that true love, both of the self and of others, needs to stem from something other than finding confidence in your own individual moral code. By singing of the one ‘born to be our friend’, New Directions hinted at the true model for self-acceptance and genuine community. It’s a message that they, and we, cannot live or love without, for ‘truly he taught us to love one another’.

Rachel Thorpe works as an events planner and freelance writer in Cambridge. More of her articles are available at http://www.rachelthorpe.com

Relatively easy love?

Anti-Christian?

Moral relativism

Redemptive message

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