So, we’re doing something a little different today. We will be speaking as one person as we co-write this article and it will be about the most serous topic we can imagine: Glee.
Glee is the show that we love to complain about and yet still we watch it. Maybe it’s the musical numbers that keep us coming back or perhaps complaining gives us as sense of self-importance like our opinions matter. Of course, if we were to write comprehensively about all the issues we have with Glee, we would have a 200-page thesis, and probably a PhD. (That’s how you get a PhD, right? By writing a really long paper?) So, for our sakes and yours, we’re going to address the one topic we take the most issue with, a single character’s story arc.
Quinn.
Now, Quinn was never the nicest person, but most people would agree that this, the third season, has seen Quinn go full “crazy bitch.” Let us look at some examples.So far she has:
- Cut and dyed her hair a rebellious color
- Joined a thuggish clique of female students who physically bully other students
- Started smoking
- Declared her life’s mission to raise her child who she gave up for adoption.
- Called Child Protective Services on the adoptive mother of Quinn’s biological child.
- Tried to initiate sex with two different ex-boyfriends solely for the purpose of getting pregnant to have her own baby
Now, taken out of context, Quinn seems a perfect candidate for any Jerry Springer-type daytime talk show. But taken in the context of the show, something else seems to be portrayed. Let us look at a list of some the things that have happened to Quinn before this season. Bullied so severely that she felt the need to move, dye her hair, get plastic surgery, lose weight and change her name
- Developed eating issues as a cheerleader (it is implied she starved herself)
- Is obsessed with remaining popular
- Was date-raped by Puck which resulted in an unplanned pregnancy
- Was kicked off the Cheerios for said pregnancy
- Was kicked out of her house by her conservative Christian father, again for said pregnancy
- Lost all of her friends
- Gave her baby up for adoption
- Her parents divorced and it is not clear if she maintains a relationship with her father
- Has been dumped repeatedly.
So, here’s the thing: this stuff actually happens to teenagers, maybe not all of this to a single person, but it does happen. And it can be pretty traumatic. However, Quinn’s mental health hasn’t really been addressed. It has only been this year, a whole season after most of these events occurred (but the less said about that second season, the better), that she is actually starting to process and deal with these things and she’s not taking it well. She’s become irrational and has been making self-destructive decisions. Now, we aren’t going to pretend that we have any training or knowledge in mental health areas, but this seems like what people call “a cry for help.”
You remember when you took Health in high school and they had the section on mental health? Where they said if you know anyone who acts like in the general manner that Quinn does, to tell an adult? Again, we aren’t exactly qualified but from our perspective as viewers, she appears depressed with low self-worth and trust issues due to everything that has happened to her. This doesn’t need to be a bad thing. Glee has tackled other teen issues before and according to the Internet, 20% of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood. Showing Quinn confronting her issues and getting help is more in line with what Glee's audience perhaps needs to see.
But this is Glee.
So how do they deal with it? By telling her that she’s crazy, immature and that she should just grow up and deal with it. Repeatedly. She’s told this by her teachers (appropriateness aside), her friends, and other minor characters. Look at that list again and pretend it wasn’t a television character, but someone you knew. Isn’t that one of the worst things you could tell them?
Frankly it’s irresponsible for Glee to portray OCD and explore the disorder seriously with Emma and then to turn around and show Quinn who clearly has some form of mental health issue as “crazy.” Because depression can be so gradual, one of the hardest parts of it can be recognizing the symptoms in your own behavior. This is why they teach kids to be aware of any changes in mood and personality in their friends so they can help them realize that a depression victim is not all right and needs help. Also, and this is probably the most important part, DEPRESSION IS NOT THE PERSON’S FAULT. They can’t just get over it, from what I remember of Psychology 101, sometimes it’s due to a chemical imbalance in the brain and unless you’re a Scientologist, you generally need medication and/or counseling to fix that kind of thing. There’s a stigma against seeing psychiatrists, just like there can be a stigma against being gay so why not address it? Glee has probably given kids the courage to come out to their parents, seeing Quinn deal with her problems might give more kids courage to tell their parents that they need to see a doctor.
Oh, wait, this past episode Quinn “got over it.” Great.
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