The six-season show Glee, is a show unlike any other. Defined by its crazy and almost unreal plots and humor, the show became a central focus of pop culture and an intensely nostalgic rewatch show. With a stacked cast of talent, including Broadway performers, Lea Michelle, Jonathan Groff, Darren Cris, and many other successful stars, Glee was not short on powerful vocals or talented dancers. Yorba Linda student Lauren Urquico says that “Glee is so funny but also represents so many important issues” (12). But what made the show so influential, is the intense and varying issues it tackled.
With complex characters like Coach Beiste, the show discussed the severity of domestic violence and how it should not be joked about. They showed Coach Beiste’s fear that no one would ever love her, which made her more dependent on her abusive partner, and how she managed to overcome it with the help of characters like Santana. Although Santana was just a highschooler, she helped Coach Beiste and Coach Beiste helped her and the other girls in Glee to realize that they shouldn’t have joked about domestic violence.
The show also tackled LGBTQ+ relationships and how these students suffer from prejudice. Kurt Hummel is an example of the extreme bullying that queer students can face, being bullied out of school and then upon return being publicly ridiculed by his peers electing him prom queen. The show also featured Santana Lopez, who is outed publicly before she is ready, and then faces the wrath of her grandmother who disowns her. These characters serve as a reminder of the complexities that LGBTQ+ people can face and discrimination that they live with.
The show also focused on a lot of issues regarding beauty standards. Rachel Berry, who is jewish, struggles to overcome her issues with her appearance, specifically with her nose. She wants so badly to look like Quinn Fabray, who is the epitome of European beauty, with a button nose, blonde hair, and blue eyes. She almost undergoes surgery to change her nose, but with the help of the glee club she discovers the uniqueness of her nose and the beauty in her features. Appearance issues go even deeper within the character of Quinn Fabray, when it turns out that wasn’t always the skinny blonde popular cheerleader. It is revealed that she used to be bullied for being fat and ugly, and she underwent surgery herself. The complexities within Quinn and Rachel and their struggles with their appearances, highlight very real issues that people feel and struggle with everyday. In the later seasons, a new member of Glee, Marley also struggles with her appearance. She starves herself, takes laxatives, and even makes herself throw up, so that she can stay skinny. Ultimately, this causes her to faint at sectionals and her glee club loses. This shows the dangers of doing these hurtful processes to your body just because you want to look differently. Glee is very good at highlighting these issues in a realistic way and bringing up the consequences of trying to achieve impossible beauty standards.
Glee covers many more issues as well like OCD, teen pregnancy, dyslexia, issues with self confidence, racism, and more. Ultimately, Glee covers such a wide range of issues, while creating an amazing soundtrack and unique and witty humor. This is what defines Glee as such an important piece of pop culture. Faith Alam (12), Yorba Linda senior says that . It has helped so many people see themselves in the media and it has portrayed and educated many about these important issues.
