Glee-less
I have been a fan of the Fox television comedy Glee for a while now. I like it for a lot of reasons, not the least of which has been the inclusion of the character of Becky, a member of the McKinley High Cheer Squad who has Down syndrome. It’s a portrayal which puts a person with a disability in a socially valued role (even if it is just on television).
I have applauded their mostly sensitive (if not sometimes one dimensional portrayal) of GLBT teens navigating the social pariah pool that can be high school.
Heck I have even loved the music (although secretly I’m hoping they would bring back a little more Journey!) Seriously who has not belted out a little “Don’t Stop Believing” in the car while driving?
However lately I have found myself feeling altogether glum about Glee. Between the portrayal of the character of Artie, the talented singer who uses a wheel-chair, being played by an actor who DOES NOT use a wheel chair, and the tired old plot line of high school senior falls for hot teacher, Glee had lost it’s glisten for me.
Most dismaying for me is how the creators of this hugely successful program have relegated Becky Jackson (portrayed by Lauren Potter) to a couple of lines per episode. The character’s only lines seems to be “Yes, Coach, No Coach, I’ll get right on that Coach”. Where is Becky’s story line? Where is her angst about whether or not to have teenage sex with a boy she thinks she loves? Where is her familial struggle for acceptance? Where is her plot line about trying fit in to the “Barbie Doll” body image?
For crying out loud the only thing worse than leaving out people with disabilities, is including them to make a political correct statement about the creators heightened sense of enlightenment.
Bleck.
Tokenism Sucks.
As a person with a disability I stopped watching Glee once I learned that Artie was not disabled. It disgusted me. There are plenty people with disabilities who are actors they could do the job. Same old story