History Analysis / Glee

** In "Prom Queen," Blaine reveals that he got ''beat up'' at his old school for taking another openly gay boy to a Sadie Hawkins dance. At prom, the camera explicitly focuses on how Kurt and Blaine ''aren't'' acting like a couple--avoiding slow dances, standing about a foot away from each other, and constantly watching the other students. The only time they show their usual level of intimacy is in the hallway, where Kurt goes [[spoiler: after he's voted Prom ''[[DudeNotFunny Queen]]'' as a malicious joke]]. Karofsky [[spoiler: the Prom King]] cannot dance with Kurt because he's so terrified of what the other students will think, and when Blaine asks Kurt to dance with him instead, everyone apart from [[{{Nakama}} the New Directions]] [[DeathGlare are quietly glaring daggers at them.]]

* Kurt is a {{Deconstruction}} of the stereotypical CampGay--his flamboyance makes him the most frequent target of bullying, which clearly takes a toll on him, and eventually he's forced to transfer schools when the bullying from one person goes UpToEleven--namely, when Karofsky's antics [[spoiler: gain a VillainousCrush edge, and especially the ForcefulKiss that borderline traumatizes Kurt.]] Also, while he and his father have one of the most heartwarming relationships on the show, for a while he was so terrified of losing his father's love that he did ''very'' questionable things to keep it. [[ButNotTooGay The lack of anything resembling kissing or sex scenes]] [[spoiler: until "Original Songs"]] is explained by Kurt's genuine discomfort and lack of information regarding sex, which isn't hard to believe for someone who is/was the only openly-gay kid in his high school[[hottip:*: note that most American public high schools have '''500-1000 students''']].

* Born This Way takes on both CookieCutterCuties and BeautifulAllAlong. Tina and Rachel worry about not fitting the CookieCutterCuties molds because of their race and it is shown that even white women cannot hold up to this standard without surgery. [[spoiler: Quinn]] had to lose 70 pounds, go on acne treament, wear contacts, dye her hair, always wear make up and get a nose job to look perfect.
* And finally, the finale deconstructs ThePowerOfFriendship and ThePowerOfLove, as well as TechnicianVersusPerformer. Writing songs at literally the last minute, having absolutely nothing planned in favor of goofing off in NY, and not caring about practicing for the last three weeks (instead taking time to sort out their personal issues and band together like the normally do) does ''not'' help their chances at all on a ''truly'' competitive stage, and [[spoiler: they place in 12th place, just shy of qualifying.]] Vocal Adrenaline, who has been drilling non-stop and is not afraid to have more complex dances and songs, [[spoiler: once again proves superior]]. The judges obviously did ''not'' care for the Finchel kiss, because while passionate, it was unplanned and impulsive and had no technical place... but neither that nor the Rachel-Sunshine pep talk were the only factors. Personally, I'm surprised they didn't place ''lower.''

* Kurt is a subtle {{Deconstruction}} of the stereotypical CampGay--his flamboyance makes him the most frequent target of bullying, which clearly takes a toll on him, and eventually he's forced to transfer schools when the bullying from one person goes UpToEleven--namely, when Karofsky's antics [[spoiler: gain a VillainousCrush edge, and especially the ForcefulKiss that borderline traumatizes Kurt.]] Also, while he and his father have one of the most heartwarming relationships on the show, for a while he was so terrified of losing his father's love that he did ''very'' questionable things to keep it. [[ButNotTooGay The lack of anything resembling kissing or sex scenes]] [[spoiler: until "Original Songs"]] is explained by Kurt's genuine discomfort and lack of information regarding sex, which isn't hard to believe for someone who is/was the only openly-gay kid in his high school[[hottip:*: note that most American public high schools have '''500-1000 students''']].

* Born This Way takes on both CookieCutterCuties and BeautifulAllAlong. Tina and Rachel worry about not fitting the CookieCutterCuties molds because of their race and it is shown that even white women cannot hold up to this standard without surgery. [[spoiler: Quin]] had to lose 70 pounds, go on acne treament, wear contacts, dye her hair, always wear make up and get a nose job to look perfect.

** And the fact that Sue didn't even invite her own mother to her [[spoiler:sisters funeral]] made it even worse.

** And the fact that Sue didn't even invite her own mother to her [[spoiler]]sisters funeral[[spoiler]] made it even worse.

** Correspondingly, he's also a {{Reconstruction}} of the CampGay: his flamboyant fashion sense is a way of asserting his individuality because he'd rather do that than try to hide all the ways in which he's different from the other boys, and any minor-to-moderate cross-dressing seems to spring from his genuine belief that "fashion has no gender". His haughty, catty demeanor is largely a [[JerkassFacade front]], as flinging insults is the only way he can retaliate against his bullies, and as he gains more friends and stops fearing for his safety he becomes much warmer and less bitchy. He gets on with the girls better than the boys (at first) because the girls aren't afraid to be seen with him, and when the boys warm up to him later he gets on just as well with them. And not only does he get a real, on-screen romance, but the show averts ButNotTooGay ''hard'' and the relationship is treated like every other one.

**** She didn't even consider aborting it either. (Though that me be caused by her religious background.)

** Rachel's mother manipulated another teenager into getting Rachel to contact her, dumped her when meeting her daughter did not live up to her expectations, and then adopts Beth right out of the blue without having made any preparations or learning anything about how to take care of a baby.

* Much of the show can be seen as a deconstruction of traditional musicals, but especially Episode 10 "Ballads" which seemed intent on showing how singing your feelings doesn't work so well in real life. Kurt's advice for Finn to sing while thinking of "his" unborn daughter causes his mother to find out that Quinn is pregnant. Also, Kurt tells Finn to tell Quinn's parents through song about her pregnancy, resulting in a painfully awkward rendition of "You're Having My Baby." Finally, when Will is trying to shake Rachel's crush on him, Emma gives him the idea of letting her know through song that he's not available to her, resulting in a rendition of a mash-up of "Young Girl" and "Don't Stand So Close to Me..." which is so animated and sexy that it only makes Rachel (and Emma) swoon even more.

!{{Deconstruction}} in ''Glee''

* Kurt is a subtle {{Deconstruction}} of the stereotypical CampGay--his flamboyance makes him the most frequent target of bullying, which clearly takes a toll on him, and eventually he's forced to transfer schools when the bullying from one person goes UpToEleven--namely, when Karofsky's antics [[spoiler: gain a VillainousCrush edge, and especially the ForcefulKiss that borderline traumatizes Kurt.]] Also, while he and his father have one of the most heartwarming relationships on the show, for a while he was so terrified of losing his father's love that he did ''very'' questionable things to keep it. [[ButNotTooGay The lack of anything resembling kissing or sex scenes]] [[spoiler: until "Original Songs"]] is explained by Kurt's genuine discomfort with sex, which isn't hard to believe for someone who is/was the only openly-gay kid in his high school[[hottip:*: note that most American public high schools have '''500-1000 students''']].

* Brittany can be seen as a {{Deconstruction}} of the DumbBlonde stereotype, making her a source of tragedy rather than comedy. Her intelligence seems to be low enough to suggest that she would be unable to cope in the outside world by herself. The faculty, save for Will, look the other way because of her position as a Cheerio, meaning that she never gets any help and no alarm bells go off for an underlying health condition. Plus, in a school where the average students think that a head of broccoli is a toilet brush or that women have prostates, are Britt's non-sequiturs really going to stand out? However, we do seem to be seeing the beginnings of {{Reconstruction}} - Although Brittany's continued belief in Santa Claus throws up some challenges for the rest of the club, it does help the other gleeks to get together to do something selfless. Also, her refusal to leave Artie for Santana demonstrates that she sees things in a very black and white, almost childlike way. She does what she thinks is right without falling prey to the brattier, more selfish instincts that virtually everyone else in the shows displays in romantic relationships.

* Brittany can be seen as a {{Deconstruction}} of the DumbBlonde stereotype, making her a source of tragedy rather than comedy. Her intelligence seems to be low enough to suggest that she would be unable to cope in the outside world by herself. The faculty, save for Will, look the other way because of her position as a Cheerio, meaning that she never gets any help and no alarm bells go off for an underlying health condition. Plus, in a school where the average students think that a head of broccoli is a toilet brush or that women have prostates, are Britt's non-sequiturs really going to stand out? However, we do seem to be seeing the beginnings of {{Reconstruction}} - Although Brittany's continued belief in Santa Claus throws up some challenges for the rest of the club, it does help the other gleeks to get together to do something selfless. Also, her refusal to leave Artie for Santana demonstrates that she sees things in a very black and white, almost childlike way. She does what she thinks is right without falling prey to the brattier instincts that virtually everyone else in the shows displays in romantic relationships. While Britt may have the intelligence of a five-year-old, she has the morals of one too - she tries to be a good girl and do right by Artie even though she loves Santana too - which can result her behaviour being a lot more mature than that of her peers.

* Brittany can be seen as a {{Deconstruction}} of the DumbBlonde stereotype, making her a source of tragedy rather than comedy. Her intelligence seems to be low enough to suggest that she would be unable to cope in the outside world by herself. The faculty, save for Will, look the other way because of her position as a Cheerio, meaning that she never gets any help and no alarm bells go off for an underlying health condition. Plus, in a school where the average students think that a head of broccoli is a toilet brush or that women have prostates, are Britt's non-sequiturs really going to stand out? However, we do seem to be seeing the beginnings of {{Reconstruction}} - Although Brittany's continued belief in Santa Claus throws up some challenges for the rest of the club, it does help the other gleeks to get together to do something selfless. Also, her refusal to leave Artie for Santana demonstrates that she sees things in a very black and white, almost childlike way. She does what she thinks is right without falling prey to the brattier instincts that virtually everyone else in the shows displays in romantic relationships. While Britt may have the intelligence of a five-year-old, she has the morals of one too - she tries to be a good girl and do right by Artie even though she loves Santana too - which can result her behaviour being a lot more maturely than her peers.

** Will's mum is an alcoholic.
** Quinn's mum goes into denial about her being pregnant and doesn't do anything to defend her daughter while her dad kicks her out of the house, only showing up at the last minute to try and make things right.

** Finn's mum has some issues with letting go of her grief for her husband.
** What about Kurt's mom? She doesn't seem to have any prob- [[MissingMom Oh]] [[DeadParents wait...]]

* The mothers in Glee that we've seen so far are inadequate in one way or another:

** Kurt's mum, although remembered as being loving and supportive, can't be there to comfort her son when he needs her the most.

The only exception we've seen so far seems to be Finn's mum, although she's been shown to have some issues with letting go of her grief for her husband.
** Honestly, I think that her "problem" is that she is a single mother and can't be there all the time for her son.
** Cut Kurt's mom some slack, she's dead. Plus, Shelby went through some character development so it wasn't that Rachel didn't "live up to her expectations" but that she was already a full-grown woman (or teen, as the case may be) and she was longing for a baby.
** About Quinn, she probably didn't know but, even if she did, would you be okay with leaving a baby with a guy who thinks "Jack Daniels" is a good name for a baby girl (ok, he redeems himself on that account by the end of the episode), sexts while babysitting, is a regular bully and his range of interests could pretty much be narrowed down to his dick? Puck's not a ''bad'' guy but he's not winning the Father of the Year anytime soon, much less single.