Last Night on ‘Glee’: Michael Jackson Glorified, Marriage Dragged Through Mud
by Jenny EriksonThe following contains spoilers. You’ve been warned.
Michael Jackson!
OK, no matter how you feel about Jackson personally, the man made some awesome music in his lifetime, which is why I was uber excited for this week’s episode of “Glee”… the Michael Jackson episode!
Yup, lots of cool cover songs were there, accompanied by fantastic dance numbers, but this episode bit at me on a personal level. Do you remember the last time we watched “Glee” together (and by that I mean I watched it, and you read about it here), when Finn proposed to Rachel? Well, this week we saw her answer.
Throughout the episode, we saw Rachel hemming and hawing as she tried to make a decision as to whether or not to tie her life to one man for the remainder of her time on earth. For some reason, she decided to go to her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend Quinn for advice. Because, of course, the best place to go for relationship advice is your current boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend (insert eye roll here).
This is where my issue with tonight’s show began and ended. Quinn told Rachel that she shouldn’t marry Finn. Rachel interjected with, “I know he and I haven’t lived together or anything, but, you know, I love him, and he’s the one, I know it.”
What the heck? Why are we sending a message to young people that it’s not only acceptable but also necessary to live together before marriage? No, I’m not a prude; I’m practical. Studies show that couples that live together before marriage are more likely to get divorced than those that don’t co-habitate.
Quinn also gave Rachel such awesome advice as, “We hardly know what we’re going to want in 15 years,” and “If you really want to be happy, you’re going to have to say goodbye.”
Who the heck knows where they’re going to be in 15 years? I sure don’t. One thing I know is that I will be standing next to my husband, because no matter what this life throws at us, we are a team. We are holding hands, weathering the storms, and coming out the other side, caring for each other’s wounds.
I said yes when I was 18 years old. I said I Do seven months later, when I was 19. We’ll celebrate our 10th anniversary next July, and while it’s been quite a ride, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Do you want to know why? It’s because we don’t treat marriage as some feeling — we treat it as a commitment.
Of course there will be feelings involved, but the thing that gets you through the rough spots is that enduring commitment to one another. I hope my darling hubby doesn’t mind me sharing this, but during one pivotal fight in our relationship several years ago, he turned to me and said, “You’ve changed!”
I responded with, “You married a TEENAGER; what did you expect?”
The fact of the matter is that marriage is special, and not just about that squishy-lovey feeling. People change; they always will. I am not the same person that I was when I walked down the aisle, and my husband is not the same person who stood there waiting for me. But we’ve come to recognize that despite our differences, our shortcomings, and our successes, it’s amazing to share your life with another person.
What ticked me off about tonight’s “Glee” was that it made it seem like Rachel had to make a decision between her own life and her boyfriend. Life is what you make it, and I say that it’s much better when you face it with a partner in crime.
I adore my husband, and “Glee” made me sad that so many young people will only hear that marriage ends your dreams and ambitions. None of mine would have come true without him.
Rachel did eventually say yes to Finn when she thought she was rejected from her performance college of choice. When she got her letter saying she was a finalist, we got to see the fear in her eyes over her realization over what she had done.
Because, according to “Glee,” marriage ruins your life.
Or something.
I guess I’ll have to keep on watching and reporting back to y’all on how Glee treats the issue of teenagers getting hitched!
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40 Comments
Glad you're watching this. I can't.
What a sad and stupid frame of reference this show projects to some in the audience who have' skulls full of mush' and are easily influenced.
Statistically, cohabitating couples who eventually marry do divorce more often that couples who did not cohabitate before marriage.
The exception is for couples who were engaged when they moved in together. They stay together.
This is true in my experience. My brother and his wife were engaged when they moved in together, still married 25 years later. My wife and I were engaged when we moved in together, still married 14 years later.
I've never watched this program before but tuned in last night because I was told it was a Michael Jackson episode and I was a big fan of his pre-perv. Were these kids supposed to be high schoolers? Honestly, it doesn't matter, as I skipped through most of the dialogue just to see the music numbers and they were terrific. These folks are very talented. Good luck to the cast. Too bad the suits behind the series have insulted so many of us in flyover country or I might be a regular.
MJ did have some great songs and for some reason Glee decided not to use them. What I did realize is how great MJ sang when compared to the Glee crowd – despite his other odd questionable behavior.
To answer WWMJD as asked by Glee – Buy a Monkey, sing about a rat, have inappropriate sleep overs with boys, and hide a bunch…
Sad, but hardly surprising. Feminists and leftist loons have been saying for years that a woman's life is ruined if she doesn't have a career before having children or getting married. This seems like the natural extension to that idea.
Personally, "awesome" is not the word I would use to describe Michael Jackson's music.
Good for you Jenny.
It doesn't really matter what happens in Glee, you're still gonna complain right? She said yes so you should be happy but no, no, no. You didn't like it when they reminded the audience that you can say good bye to some of your dreams when you get married. That's just a fact.
And if you don't like the show then don't watch it.
Mickey, Mickey, Mickey…
It doesn't really matter what happens in BigHollywood, you're still gonna complain, right?
Hope you enjoy getting hoisted on your own petard.
Nice try, Mickey, but try staying on your meds so you might actually come up with a worthwhile contribution.
"The following contains spoilers."
Not for me it doesn't, cuz I don't watch and I didn't read, thanks anyway.
"For some reason, she decided to go to her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend Quinn for advice. Because, of course, the best place to go for relationship advice is your current boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend…" especially when that ex-girlfriend attempted to trick your dumb-as-a-bag-of-hammers boyfriend into marrying her by claiming that her baby, fathered by his fellow teammate on the football team, was his. It's puerile nonsense like this that turned me off to "Glee" after the first season.
" … “Glee” made me sad that so many young people will only hear that marriage ends your dreams and ambitions."
Unless, of course, we're talking about gay marriage which will always be happily-ever-after.
—
One thing I know is that I will be standing next to my husband, because no matter what this life throws at us, we are a team. We are holding hands, weathering the storms, and coming out the other side, caring for each other’s wounds.
—
Yeah, but I bet he's off in the other room when you're watching Glee! ;-D
Oy VEY!
Isn't glee tanking in the ratings? Wouldn't that mean that *not* too many young people will hear this message? heh.
Don't forget paying off families of said boys.
Not that he is guilty of anything, of course.
"You didn't like it when they reminded the audience that you can say goodbye to some of your dreams when you get married."
Wow, someone's bitter about life, aren't they?
The only problems gays have are being hunted down like animals by those mean torch-and-pitchfork carrying, bible-thumping mobs of religious people!
Seinfeld and Friends went south as soon as they started asking for million dollar episodes or something like that. Has Glee reach that stage yet? Maybe we can start their demise by convicing Lea she is the better actress on that show and deserves twice as much money as the others.
That's ignorant! Don't be ignorant! (Cookies to anyone who gets the reference.)
We can only hope.
Why are we focusing on this show?
It's just another homo promo…
You forgot "Noooo", before "That's ignorant"….
Blanket told me to tell you…
None of mine would have come true without him.
AMEN. Same here! I think I would be a very sad and lonely and bitter and frustrated person if I had not married my husband. He's been there for me 100% and I work hard to make sure I do the same. And we still like each other after 22 years…
A year after its debut I checked out the first season to see what the Glee fuss was about…and lasted an episode and a half before bringing it back to the library. Weak sugar water drama over emotionalized pablum. The music wasn't even impressive, which was supposed to be the big draw.
Jane "One-Note Harpy" Lynch is the worst of the lot-but most of the characters are unlikeable stereotypes.
I guess you could say I'm not a fan.
If you ever do come across a woman who loves her job more than her kids and family you're dealing with a narcissist or a straight up psychopath.
Like you!
That TV Guide cover is so gay
Spoken like a real step-ford roboWife lacking any real ambition and original thought. continue multiply your self and perfect the cupcakes, honey.
Anyone who doesn't think a woman can have ambition and original thought anywhere besides the 9-5 workforce is . . . I dunno. I keep trying to come up with an appropriate descriptor, and I just can't. Narrow-minded? Ignorant? Dare I say it — a little sexist? I teach part-time, I'm pretty successful at it, and I like my job. But I LOVE my family, and the moment we're in a position where I can be home full-time, I'm there. Along with my ambitions (writing, getting the rust out of my piano chops, and raising a strong, independent, creative, civilized daughter) and PLENTY of original thought.
On the other hand, as a teacher I get to see the result of parents who put their own needs before the needs of the kids. It ain't pretty. Sometimes, it's downright heartbreaking. I'd like to take some of these parents, the moms, especially, and shake them, yelling, "When kids enter the scene, the adults no longer get to be the primary consideration!" But I'm guessing that wouldn't look very good on my record, so I refrain, and just keep on giving those kids as much love and nurturing as I can in the short time I have with them.
Our families are our legacies, for good or for ill. How we raise our kids and the example we set in marriage directly influences their marriages and how they raise their kids, and that influence can go on for generations. I'd hate to squander my legacy on something as fleeting and ultimately insignificant as a job. Are there other teachers who could come in and teach as well as, if not better than I do? Absolutely. Is there anyone else who could love my kid as much or as well as I do? Not a chance. The legacy I hope to leave is one of love, with a foundation so stable my kids think they can conquer the world.
never watched it, never will
Why does this show get special treatment on BH? Are there really that many people who traffic this site who want to read wtf happens on this show on a weekly basis?
My bad.
This. Gleesucks.com does it better, anyway.
Honestly, though, I can't believe BH is wasting space on this show. Almost from the get-go, it has been engineered to deliver one sucker punch after another to conservatives and Christians. The show has never portrayed any concept of a healthy relationship between a man and a woman, so it shouldn't come as any shock that it doesn't uplift marriage as a positive, either.
Jenny, I fail to understand why you're wasting both your time and writing talents providing us reports on this crap program. I find it highly unlikely that most of the people who visit this site are even remotely interested in "Glee" in any way. I hate to say this (and don't take it personally), but when I see one of your reports on this show on the page, I make a *point* to skip over it completely.
I understand the concept of "know thine enemy", and I consider that particular program (and its creators) the "enemy," since they go out of their way to insult and denigrate many of the values I hold dear. My daughter (now 25 and about to be married) was a drama geek in high school, but I don't recall her *ever* experiencing the kind of "issues" the characters on this show do.
Maybe I'm turning into a crotchety old man, but doesn't Nolte have anything more worthwhile for you to write about? I really look forward to whatever that is.
Spoken like a real step-ford roboWife lacking any real ambition and original thought. continue multiply your self and perfect the cupcakes, honey.
Spoken like every liberal. Priorities all wrong. Money and success BEFORE people and love.
By having it all wrong to begin with you end up losing BOTH money and love. Then you can't understand the problem is all you so you blame "society" or scream "the system is against me" and you try to make the rest of us pay for all your errors.
That is your future. No success, no love, and a lifetime of trying to make gov't to force others to pay for all your own mistakes and whatever depresses you.
Your conservative neighbor will be in her happy home filled with love and enjoying her life, grateful for every day above ground and making sure she loves those she's been graced with. All of this in a world of dreams that come true every day.
I flee Glee.
Same thing with Mike Jacksoff.
Buy a monkee, sing about a rat, have inappropriate sleep overs with boys, and hide a bunch…
Classic!
'as soon as they started asking for million dollar episodes '
Huh?
That is 1 million dollar per episode. If you are on this site, then you understand the concept of greed that follows after the success of some series like Seinfeld and Friends.
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