'Glee,' or how art exploits life

This is embarrassing. I still watch “Glee.” Trust me, I know this makes me the most basic human alive.

In the vast sea that is of all my serious television viewing, it’s a weekly reprieve to turn my brain off for an hour on Thursday nights. But this week’s episode essentially drove me to the brink.

“Glee” aired an episode unmistakably inspired by the Sandy Hook shootings. In a show that is already a beacon of unapologetic manipulation, this took it much too far. 

First of all I should say that while I did take issue with the episode’s content, I don’t believe it was “too soon” by any means. I don’t believe “too soon” is a relevant argument in any scenario.

Regardless of what the clichés say, time does not heal all wounds. So you might as well deal with the harsh realities in the here and now rather than waiting for a convenient day in the future when enough time has passed.

I can’t imagine how the families and friends of the Sandy Hook victims could feel about this “Glee” episode or even on a day-to-day basis. But whether this episode aired now or in 20 years, it will never become easier for somebody with personal ties to handle. Trauma will always exist in some form, so my issue isn’t with the timeliness. If anything, that is one of the episode’s only redeeming qualities.

For starters, the episode was titled “Shooting Star.” Really? Come on, now. “Shooting Star”? Was “Homicide Sparkle” already taken? This is just about as tasteless as it gets.

The writers took an extraordinarily hypersensitive topic and spackled over it with a glittery sheen. But God forbid “Glee” handle anything with a touch of propriety.

The show’s episodes that deal with homophobic bullying and eating disorders have been anything but sensitive, using inappropriate humor to water down the sobering subject matter.

Furthermore, the show’s producers and the FOX network did absolutely nothing to reach out to the Newtown, Conn., community or the families of the Sandy Hook victims.

A separate organization reached out to them instead of the people responsible for producing the episode. They felt the inspiration of the school shooting was in the realm of their creative rights, but a friendly phone call or email was apparently too much of a hassle. After all, exploitation can wear someone out. It must have just slipped the producers’ minds.

But just when I thought the episode’s storyline could not have been handled any more poorly, the identity of the shooter was revealed. Becky Jackson, a cheerleader with Down Syndrome, brought a gun to school because she was upset everyone would be graduating and moving on from high school. The gun accidentally went off, and this was the cause for all the panic.

That was when I couldn’t bear to keep watching. Had the writers actually decided making a girl with a mental disability bring a gun to school was a good narrative plan? Not that choosing any character to bring a gun to school is an easy decision, but Becky, who currently represents one of the only characters on television with Down Syndrome, was the choice?

Why tarnish a character that has been an overwhelmingly positive voice for people with mental disabilities? It’s obvious. Making Becky the shooter was an easy, cheap twist. No one would have expected it. Personally, what I didn’t expect was for the writers to play out a sensitive incident with such neglect for class or decorum.

While I congratulate “Glee” for tackling timely topics and giving a voice to a much needed representation for minorities of all types, I would implore the showrunner to ease up on the topical relevance if they’re going to drop the ball like this. It isn’t a sin to have art reflect life, but it is a sin when art exploits life for exploitation’s sake.

­— wdmcdona@indiana.edu