That Gay Kid On Glee

HellsKitchenmanNYC

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OK I know everyone in the world seems to love this show. I admit I've only seen maybe 4 or 5 episodes. Even as a gay man in NYC I have to admit you'd have to go to Mars to find a gayer man, let alone a teenager. This character is so annoying. He's constantly upset that his father doesn't love him even tho his father practically felches him to convince him otherwise in every episode I've seen. He (and the father) get upset when he redecorates his and Finn's new shared bedroom and they're both surprised a straight teenage guy doesn't want to live in Marlene Dietricks budoir even if he disses the 'faggy curtains'. His character does long for Finn, at least in the episodes I've seen.
I hate this character. If they really want to create a positive gay character they should make this kid a bit more self aware and less self pitying. The only people that don't like him on the show are two other football guys.
The kid doesn't get that his father loves him, he can't understand why a str8 guy wouldn't. He's lucky he didn't go to my high school.
After all the hype I finally watched the show. I have to say that the writers don't do this character any justice. He's irritating and clueless and and an empty well except for his monologues about why he is great and ok and should be accepted. IMHO.
 

HellsKitchenmanNYC

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Well I'm pretty sure many of us would probably not love our teenage selves that much. I think they're writing him better for not having made him perfect.

Sorry I disagree. They've pretty made him a 1 note character. OK 2 note he's also extremely self absorbed and even having seen 4 or 5 episodes he's more self obsessed than the other characters and that, so far, is a tall order!
 

SpeedoMike

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they cast various character roles in order to get people interested and become regular viewers. that means you might hate one or more characters and unwittingly keep tuning into the show.
 

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I tend to agree. I watch the show and he is self-absorbed to the point of you just want to smack him up side the head. Season One, fine, whine and pine over Finn but it ain't gonna happen so look around you for someone else.
 

HellsKitchenmanNYC

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they cast various character roles in order to get people interested and become regular viewers. that means you might hate one or more characters and unwittingly keep tuning into the show.

I think what I'm saying is his character makes no sense. His father tells him endlessly and shows him why he loves him. IMHO his character is poorly written by people who think that this will make him appear sympathetic and he just comes of as narcacisstic and clueless unless it's about his wardrobe.
 

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Sorry I disagree. They've pretty made him a 1 note character. OK 2 note he's also extremely self absorbed and even having seen 4 or 5 episodes he's more self obsessed than the other characters and that, so far, is a tall order!


Well in fact we don't disagree, as I said, he's not a perfect character. I happen to think that's better than pretending that gay people are always great just because they're gay, it's more honest and it's more real.

And if you can find me many teenagers who aren't self absorbed and obsessed I'd be surprised. In fact almost all of the teen characters in Glee are totally self absorbed. In any event, they do this on TV shows, start off having you think a character is an arsehole and then develop them over time, showing you how they change and realise their errors. It's called story telling.
 
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HellsKitchenmanNYC

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Well in fact we don't disagree, as I said, he's not a perfect character. I happen to think that's better than pretending that gay people are always great just because they're gay, it's more honest and it's more real.

And if you can find me many teenagers who aren't self absorbed and obsessed I'd be surprised. In fact almost all of the teen characters in Glee are totally self absorbed. In any event, they do this on TV shows, start of having you think a character is an arsehole and then develop them over time, showing you how they change and realise their errors. It's called story telling.

I said they are all self absorbed. The point I was trying to make is that his character makes no sense. At least the other kids as self absorbed as they are react in an (even if the was Dynasty) semi believable way. Even Jane Lynch's character is believable. This character isn't even true to himself even in the surge of teenage hormones. If he believed half of what he says as the writers write his lines....I'm sorry for me and as I said before I M H O. I don't like this character and he's not at all believable. I'll add that yes I know it's a tv show and just a character before someone adds that lol!
 

D_Tim McGnaw

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I said they are all self absorbed. The point I was trying to make is that his character makes no sense. At least the other kids as self absorbed as they are react in an (even if the was Dynasty) semi believable way. Even Jane Lynch's character is believable. This character isn't even true to himself even in the surge of teenage hormones. If he believed half of what he says as the writers write his lines....I'm sorry for me and as I said before I M H O. I don't like this character and he's not at all believable. I'll add that yes I know it's a tv show and just a character before someone adds that lol!


I don't think any of the characters are strictly believable, but I do think portraying them as flawed, and inconsistent, perhaps even totally self contradictory is more entertaining.

I can sympathise with him to an extent, I grew up in a home which was incredibly accepting of homosexuality, so much so I never even had to come out really. Everyone just knew and accepted who I was. Despite that there were a couple of years around 13-14 when my own mixed up teenage feelings made it difficult to be comfortable around my family and I think I made a bigger deal of being a gay than was necessary, considering my mum would never have done anything but give me support and love. I can imagine I would have been as annoyed with myself as you are with the character on Glee, and wondered what the hell my problem was if I met teenage me now. :wink:
 

HellsKitchenmanNYC

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I don't think any of the characters are strictly believable, but I do think portraying them as flawed, and inconsistent, perhaps even totally self contradictory is more entertaining.

.. I can imagine I would have been as annoyed with myself as you are with the character on Glee, and wondered what the hell my problem was if I met teenage me now. :wink:

I hear you and totally understand what you mean. We're also talking about a tv show where all there characters aren't necessarily lovable. I just think this kids character is poorly written and I'm guessing the writers and producers might be a tad gay and that's upsetting. If this kids was the character in a John Waters movie you'd REALLY want him to get killed. ON this show the way he's written kinda makes no sense. At least to me.
 

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I hear you and totally understand what you mean. We're also talking about a tv show where all there characters aren't necessarily lovable. I just think this kids character is poorly written and I'm guessing the writers and producers might be a tad gay and that's upsetting. If this kids was the character in a John Waters movie you'd REALLY want him to get killed. ON this show the way he's written kinda makes no sense. At least to me.


I agree in as much as he's not my favourite character by any means, that's Sue Sylvester :biggrin1:. But I think they probably intend to draw out more of him in series 3.

I also sort of find the notion that Glee is a Queer affirmative program a bit annoying too (not that you've said it is mind you, just musing), I think it's just about some kids who happen to like singing and dancing. One character is gay, I don't think there are any others, so to me it's not a Queer show, more of a mixed bag.

I think people see the singing and dancing, the Lady Gaga and Madonna episodes and presume "Queer Show". I think that's a bit annoying and it's my major issue with how people approach it. It's just fluffy entertainment with some vague soap-opera style issues thrown in for good measure.
 

HellsKitchenmanNYC

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I don't think Glee is a "Queer" show buy any means. It's really just a reworking of the old Fame tv series based on the movie. I think the movie and old tv series actually were much better than Glee. The reason I started this thread was about this character. He's just a stand out amongst the others as making no sense. Glee IMHO in comparison to the old Fame tv series is seriously lacking in character study. It's really just a cheesy sitcom.
 

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I don't think Glee is a "Queer" show buy any means. It's really just a reworking of the old Fame tv series based on the movie. I think the movie and old tv series actually were much better than Glee. The reason I started this thread was about this character. He's just a stand out amongst the others as making no sense. Glee IMHO in comparison to the old Fame tv series is seriously lacking in character study. It's really just a cheesy sitcom.


Well the reason I mention that impression some people seem to have is it then makes them place undue focus on the one gay character, leading to comments like Pye's above about the character not being good example, and tbh if every gay character on TV has to be a good example then every gay character on TV is going to be really boring.


I totally agree with you about Fame being better, and about Glee being basically a sitcom, it's a sitcom with singing and dancing, so lots of the characters are pretty 1 dimensional. But once I realised that I stopped looking for much more than that and really just enjoyed it for the harmless fun and the singing, I find myself singing along to it at the top of my lungs fairly frequently. How gay is that? :biggrin1:
 

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Society is still not comfortable portraying gay boys and men as totally "normal". We still think that gay men MUST be feminine in some regard compared to their straight counterparts. The idea pervades that gay men cannot be football players, Nascar drivers and burly construction workers (even though we know there are plenty of them). And it's 2010 and we're still in denial about these things. :mad:
 

HellsKitchenmanNYC

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Society is still not comfortable portraying gay boys and men as totally "normal". We still think that gay men MUST be feminine in some regard compared to their straight counterparts. The idea pervades that gay men cannot be football players, Nascar drivers and burly construction workers (even though we know there are plenty of them). And it's 2010 and we're still in denial about these things. :mad:

Bull baby I loves ya but ...and I don't want to turn this into a societal study it's just a comment on this show.
 

D_Tim McGnaw

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Society is still not comfortable portraying gay boys and men as totally "normal". We still think that gay men MUST be feminine in some regard compared to their straight counterparts. The idea pervades that gay men cannot be football players, Nascar drivers and burly construction workers (even though we know there are plenty of them). And it's 2010 and we're still in denial about these things. :mad:


Wow. Off topic and a load of horseshit. Kudos. :rolleyes:
 

Brick7

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I agree in as much as he's not my favourite character by any means, that's Sue Sylvester :biggrin1:. But I think they probably intend to draw out more of him in series 3.
Season 2 is about to start, not season 3.
Season One seemed like two seasons because it had a huge break in the middle. They had filmed only 13 or so episodes and didn't know if they'd be renewed by Fox. Once they were, they had to scramble to finish the rest of the season's show. That's why there was such a gap between episodes in the first season.
OK I know everyone in the world seems to love this show. I admit I've only seen maybe 4 or 5 episodes. Even as a gay man in NYC I have to admit you'd have to go to Mars to find a gayer man, let alone a teenager. This character is so annoying. He's constantly upset that his father doesn't love him even tho his father practically felches him to convince him otherwise in every episode I've seen. He (and the father) get upset when he redecorates his and Finn's new shared bedroom and they're both surprised a straight teenage guy doesn't want to live in Marlene Dietricks budoir even if he disses the 'faggy curtains'. His character does long for Finn, at least in the episodes I've seen.
I hate this character. If they really want to create a positive gay character they should make this kid a bit more self aware and less self pitying. The only people that don't like him on the show are two other football guys.
The kid doesn't get that his father loves him, he can't understand why a str8 guy wouldn't. He's lucky he didn't go to my high school.
After all the hype I finally watched the show. I have to say that the writers don't do this character any justice. He's irritating and clueless and and an empty well except for his monologues about why he is great and ok and should be accepted. IMHO.
One of the reasons why he's so pompous, so full of himself and dresses to the Nines, is that he's growing up in the middle of Bumfuck, Ohio, where it's not exactly the best thing in the world to be gay. It's just his way of coping with his life and giving himself self-worth.
You don't have to like the character...but it helps to understand why he is the way he is.
The idea pervades that gay men cannot be football players, Nascar drivers and burly construction workers (even though we know there are plenty of them). And it's 2010 and we're still in denial about these things. :mad:
SPOILER:
This issue will be addressed in the season 2.:biggrin1: