GLEE #47: Asian F

[GrayLinnorm]

It looks like this week's episode is getting a lot of good buzz. We meet the parents of Emma and Mike Chang, who gets to sing (thankfully not "She Bangs"). And the rivalry between Rachel and Mercedes continues as they both try out for the lead in West Side Story (again, why don't they have Tina try out? She doesn't even get to sing, and you'd think an episode called "Asian F" would be a good showcase for her).

The playlist:

Brittany and Santana sing "Run the World (Girls)", originally performed by Beyonce

Mercedes sings "Spotlight", originally performed by Jennifer Hudson

Mike sings "Cool", originally performed in West Side Story

Rachel and Mercedes sing "Out Here On My Own", originally performed in Fame

The glee club sings "It's All Over", originally performed in Dreamgirls

Mr. Shu and the glee club sing "Fix You", originally performed by Coldplay

 

[Thunderfoot]

Two in a row, hopefully this is a harbinger of things to come. The story is very compelling (the Mike Chang and his mother moment was really sweet), the Brittany/Kurt/ (Rachel?) story is heating up a little. And Mercedes finally mutinies, it was only a matter of time.

My bright spot for this episode was the pep rally for the Brittany character and finally letting Heather Morris take the center spotlight for a number, instead of just assisting. Its pretty clear that she has real talent and her character has stood in the way of letting her go "pedal to the floor", tonight, she did just that.

Also, Mercedes was getting the push to greatness (maybe a precursor for next season when Rachel graduates?) But the veiled references to a possible pregnancy "I'm sorry I'm late", "I feel sick" or the responses "You've been late a lot lately" and "You're always complaining about being sick or tired." is just too "lobbed softball" to be ignored. )Or course it could be a red herring)

Nice to see Donny Most in front of the camera again, even if it was as a "Ginger Nazi" father of Emma.

 

[Kzach]

Yay! Glee is back!

And by back I mean let's all just ignore the first two episodes and consider this episode it's triumphant series return

My bright spot for this episode was the pep rally for the Brittany character and finally letting Heather Morris take the center spotlight for a number, instead of just assisting. Its pretty clear that she has real talent and her character has stood in the way of letting her go "pedal to the floor", tonight, she did just that.

She was a singer and dancer for... err... Gaga? Or was it Madonna?

Anyway, I agree that she's been too often on the back seat. She's super sexy when she dances and sings in the spotlight.

The Mercedes character should lose weight. I hate how they glamourise being fat and unfit. Sure, people shouldn't be mean about it, but they also shouldn't say, "It's ok to eat crap food, overeat, never exercise, bring on heart disease, renal failure, diabetes and die young! Just, whatever you do, don't rock the politically correct apple cart!"

 

[Thunderfoot]

<SNIP>
The Mercedes character should lose weight. I hate how they glamourise being fat and unfit. Sure, people shouldn't be mean about it, but they also shouldn't say, "It's ok to eat crap food, overeat, never exercise, bring on heart disease, renal failure, diabetes and die young! Just, whatever you do, don't rock the politically correct apple cart!"

I respectfully disagree, the last thing we need in America is yet ANOTHER show where everyone is rail thin and unrealistic. (Bulimia and Anorexia are two of the leading health problems with American females between the ages of 10 and 25) Mercedes is a great example of the American teenager that is usually the target of the "popular" kids in media. I don't see a glamorization of her weight at all, in fact if anything this episode showed it as a specific detriment. But to write it out, unrealistic.

The average American kid gets less exercise and over eats more than most any other kid in any other culture (thought there are a couple of exceptions), mostly due to the indoctrination of technology, (TV video games, computer chatting, etc) even in predominantly rural areas.
So while you may not like the image, it's one that's is at least realistic. As far as the politically correct apple cart I doubt that's the reason, Kurt is more the PC darling, Mercedes is just a reflection of a cross-section of life.

 

[Kzach]

I respectfully disagree, the last thing we need in America is yet ANOTHER show where everyone is rail thin and unrealistic.

What has anorexia and bulimia have to do with being fit and eating healthy?

Take your strawmen elsewhere, there aren't any crows here.

 

[Umbran]

What has anorexia and bulimia have to do with being fit and eating healthy?

Take your strawmen elsewhere, there aren't any crows here.

I haven't watched the episode yet, but what he's saying isn't a strawman. Girls get beat over the head with "you need to be thin" pretty much constantly already - the pressure contributes mightily to the incidence of eating disorders and self-esteem issues.

To impressionable youth, drawing the line between "only thin is acceptable" and "we just want you to be healthy" is extremely difficult.

 

[fba827]

not to derail this thread even further from the current episode, but with regards to mercedes weight. i could be wrong, but i feel like season 1 had an epsiode that focused on her struggles with weight control and discussion on the health problems associated with weight. if that did in fact happen (and not just my imagination mixing up another show) then chances are high they won't revisit the issue.

 

[Kzach]

I haven't watched the episode yet, but what he's saying isn't a strawman. Girls get beat over the head with "you need to be thin" pretty much constantly already - the pressure contributes mightily to the incidence of eating disorders and self-esteem issues.

A straw man is a component of an argument and is an informal fallacy based on misrepresentation of an opponent's position.[1] To "attack a straw man" is to create the illusion of having refuted a proposition by replacing it with a superficially similar yet unequivalent proposition (the "straw man"), and refuting it, without ever having actually refuted the original position.

He created the fallacy that my argument was contributing to the problem of bulimia and anorexia when that is actually the opposite of the truth; I said that they should promote healthy eating and exercise and not condone poor nutrition and laziness. Healthy eating and exercise are the antipathy of anorexia and bulimia. If you are eating healthily and exercising, then you're not suffering from either.

In my mind it's just as bad to condone fat as being ok as it is to condone anorexia as being ok. Either are as bad as each other. Healthy does not mean thin as a rake, but neither does it mean as fat as pig.

The number 1 health problem in America is heart disease brought on by obesity which is brought on by political correct bleeding-hearts who cry, "It's ok to be overweight, it's natural, there's nothing wrong with you!" Sorry, but it's not natural at all, it's just as unnatural as anorexia or bulimia.

 

[Fast Learner]

In my mind it's just as bad to condone fat as being ok as it is to condone anorexia as being ok. Either are as bad as each other.

can't find polite words...

 

[Kzach]

can't find polite words...

Try harder.

What about that statement is in any way immoral or unethical?

I ask because the opposite of that statement, ie. encouraging obesity and anorexia, ARE immoral and unethical.

So what, exactly, are you opposed to in what I said?