Glee - Theatricality

Theatricality featured music and costumes inspired by Lady Gaga--all entertaining and fun to watch--but the sub-plot dealt with the subject of bullying. The source of the bullying came from two school jocks, who threaten both Kurt and Finn. Playing into stereotypes of school bullying, the two football players threaten to beat Kurt up because, as they explain to him, "We're not Gaga for Gaga...You dress all freaky, and then you rub it in everybody's faces." When Kurt defends himself (and by extension the other Glee Club members), they tell him that the next time he "expresses" himself, they will beat him up. The jocks aren't just targeting Kurt, but also threaten Finn. Although Finn is their teammate, they disapprove of his participation in Glee Club. At one point, Finn verbally attacks Kurt, giving in to the pressure of his peers. Finn redeems himself when he stands up for Kurt, just before the jocks attack him in the school bathroom.

While the bullying aspects of the show definitely took a back seat to the Gaga "theatricality" of the rest of the episode, it does raise an important issue in elementary and secondary schools. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) released a report in 2009 on school crime, which includes statistics on school bullying. Nearly 1/3 of junior high and high school students reported being bullied at some point during 2007, including 23 percent who reported that the bullying occurred on school grounds. Of those who reported being bullied, 7 percent reported being bullied almost daily. Although the bullying portrayed in Glee occurred between males, a higher percentage of females reported being bullied. The report disaggregates the information by gender and race/ethnicity, but not by sexuality, which appeared to be a critical catalyst in the Glee storyline.

In addition, cyber-bullying is a new phenomenon that is occurring with the rise of online activity and the number of social networks available to students. Four percent of students reported being bullied online, and some schools have even begun to set policies to reduce cyber-bullying. It will be interesting to see if the writers of Glee incorporate cyber-bullying into a future episode.