Kurt and McKinley
Mar. 18th, 2011 01:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selene_13So I have some reservations about the current storyline of Glee, bullying and what would happen if Kurt would return to McKinley. Mostly mention of past Glee eps, but there are spoilers included. I am speculating on what might happen in the final 6 eps.
With Kurt’s return to McKinley, I am anxious about the way it will be handled; what reason will be given. We know that the Glee club would welcome Kurt back with open arms, but if you look at New Directions from an outsiders perspective, they are actually better off and have more status in the school than they had with him.
Relations between Glee and the football team/bullies was always bad, but it worsened because of Kurt who usually got the worst of it. In Theatricality Finn was targeted because Kurt was dressing like Gaga and Finn was taunted by association, because he and the club appeared “gay”. Tina wasn’t physically bullied until she walked down the hall in costume with Kurt. We didn’t see any of the other Gaga gleeks targeted. The bullying got worse and worse for Kurt as season 2 progressed, and to the Glee club as well though not to the same extent (due to Karofsky’s targeting of him specifically). When Kurt was driven away, relations between Glee and the bullies were at the worst, Glee now hating the bullies and verbally accusing them for the loss of Kurt. Puck, by mentioning Kurt as his boy, received one of the worst treatments and Artie received the worst slushy assault in McKinley history.
Only after Kurt left did Shue step up to try and improve the atmosphere in school. While he basically told Kurt to suck it up (“you used to not let it get to you”), he now actually steps in by forcing the football team to become members of New Directions. This, I think, could never have worked if Kurt had still been there: I don’t believe that Karofsky and Azimio would ever have stepped into the music room with Kurt there (not do I hope that Kurt would have stayed in that room with them there). After Thriller and the two teams working together, relations are better and less strained. Someone (Rachel) mentions that the bullying is nothing like it used to be.
I find it sad that New Directions’ life in school is much improved with Kurt’s absence. Santana didn’t want to come out because she saw what it meant for Kurt to do so. We already know that Santana is going to receive flack for coming out (will the rest of Glee too?). What will happen when Kurt comes back? Will the football team pick its bullying back up? (it should even without Karofsky, he was never the only bully of Kurt). New Directions have never done better: They won Regionals and have a truce with the football team. Their life in the school seems pretty okay at this stage.
In retrospect I really hate SS Bowl Shuffle episode. I didn’t care for the football team at all and I hate that they got to be part of Glee after driving Kurt away. I hate that New Directions was eventually okay with this. I hate that Shue never stepped up and tried to actively do anything until after Kurt left. Though I think the kids do not deserve to be bullied at all, I hate that they are so much better off without Kurt within the storyline (even though I do believe that they would insist that they would gladly go through it for Kurt). The kids singing as underdogs in Freak Like Me was more directed at Sue Sylvester than the bullying atmosphere in school when they conceived of the song, probably because the bullying isn’t very prominent at this stage (have we seen any instance at all that didn’t involve Sue?).
I just wish we never had the football team in that choir room, and I wish New Directions had stood up against Shue for forcing them to work together. I know team building is a good thing, as is the end of conflict etc, but New Directions were never the ones who had to change in this regard. The only reason it worked was because Kurt wasn’t there: the football team has likely not gotten over their homophobia because of Shue’s exercise. When Kurt comes back, will life go back to being miserable for everyone by proxy? Poor Kurt is bad for the Glee status quo, but that wouldn’t be so if Glee hadn’t gotten a storyline in which they “befriend” the football team, who only needed an opportunity to interact with the acceptable straight kids (as far as they know) of the club. I wish we’d seen the bullying actually continue as it was in season 1, or, if it is going to be better at McKinley, then the bullies must be confronted with their behaviour of Kurt when he returns am improve similarly as they did by interacting with Glee in Bowl Shuffle.
I know we are going to a sort of climax in this storyline by Santana now coming out and Kurt coming back. I’m just worried by how it will be handled. At Dalton, Kurt is accepted and we have not seen a hint of bullying. When he goes back to McKinley, will the situation improve on what it was, or will he go back to being perceived as "toxic" (basically Finn's accusation in Duets about Kurt singing with Sam).
With Kurt’s return to McKinley, I am anxious about the way it will be handled; what reason will be given. We know that the Glee club would welcome Kurt back with open arms, but if you look at New Directions from an outsiders perspective, they are actually better off and have more status in the school than they had with him.
Relations between Glee and the football team/bullies was always bad, but it worsened because of Kurt who usually got the worst of it. In Theatricality Finn was targeted because Kurt was dressing like Gaga and Finn was taunted by association, because he and the club appeared “gay”. Tina wasn’t physically bullied until she walked down the hall in costume with Kurt. We didn’t see any of the other Gaga gleeks targeted. The bullying got worse and worse for Kurt as season 2 progressed, and to the Glee club as well though not to the same extent (due to Karofsky’s targeting of him specifically). When Kurt was driven away, relations between Glee and the bullies were at the worst, Glee now hating the bullies and verbally accusing them for the loss of Kurt. Puck, by mentioning Kurt as his boy, received one of the worst treatments and Artie received the worst slushy assault in McKinley history.
Only after Kurt left did Shue step up to try and improve the atmosphere in school. While he basically told Kurt to suck it up (“you used to not let it get to you”), he now actually steps in by forcing the football team to become members of New Directions. This, I think, could never have worked if Kurt had still been there: I don’t believe that Karofsky and Azimio would ever have stepped into the music room with Kurt there (not do I hope that Kurt would have stayed in that room with them there). After Thriller and the two teams working together, relations are better and less strained. Someone (Rachel) mentions that the bullying is nothing like it used to be.
I find it sad that New Directions’ life in school is much improved with Kurt’s absence. Santana didn’t want to come out because she saw what it meant for Kurt to do so. We already know that Santana is going to receive flack for coming out (will the rest of Glee too?). What will happen when Kurt comes back? Will the football team pick its bullying back up? (it should even without Karofsky, he was never the only bully of Kurt). New Directions have never done better: They won Regionals and have a truce with the football team. Their life in the school seems pretty okay at this stage.
In retrospect I really hate SS Bowl Shuffle episode. I didn’t care for the football team at all and I hate that they got to be part of Glee after driving Kurt away. I hate that New Directions was eventually okay with this. I hate that Shue never stepped up and tried to actively do anything until after Kurt left. Though I think the kids do not deserve to be bullied at all, I hate that they are so much better off without Kurt within the storyline (even though I do believe that they would insist that they would gladly go through it for Kurt). The kids singing as underdogs in Freak Like Me was more directed at Sue Sylvester than the bullying atmosphere in school when they conceived of the song, probably because the bullying isn’t very prominent at this stage (have we seen any instance at all that didn’t involve Sue?).
I just wish we never had the football team in that choir room, and I wish New Directions had stood up against Shue for forcing them to work together. I know team building is a good thing, as is the end of conflict etc, but New Directions were never the ones who had to change in this regard. The only reason it worked was because Kurt wasn’t there: the football team has likely not gotten over their homophobia because of Shue’s exercise. When Kurt comes back, will life go back to being miserable for everyone by proxy? Poor Kurt is bad for the Glee status quo, but that wouldn’t be so if Glee hadn’t gotten a storyline in which they “befriend” the football team, who only needed an opportunity to interact with the acceptable straight kids (as far as they know) of the club. I wish we’d seen the bullying actually continue as it was in season 1, or, if it is going to be better at McKinley, then the bullies must be confronted with their behaviour of Kurt when he returns am improve similarly as they did by interacting with Glee in Bowl Shuffle.
I know we are going to a sort of climax in this storyline by Santana now coming out and Kurt coming back. I’m just worried by how it will be handled. At Dalton, Kurt is accepted and we have not seen a hint of bullying. When he goes back to McKinley, will the situation improve on what it was, or will he go back to being perceived as "toxic" (basically Finn's accusation in Duets about Kurt singing with Sam).
