Glee is a one-hour series, which focuses on an optimistic high school teacher who tries to return the school’s Glee club to its former glory. McKinley High School’s Glee Club used to be a successful musical group, but in the past few years, it has been hit by a series of scandals such as the former teacher who ran the club after having been dismissing for inappropriate contact with a male student. The Glee club consists of a group of students that are considered as school misfits (Murphy, Falchuk and Brennan). They use the club to escape the harsh realities of high school i.e. having to deal with the issue of ‘not being cool.’ In the group, they find strength, acceptance, and their voice as they pursue their dreams.
Glee gives the audience a good representation of handling disabilities and awareness that there is active discrimination against people with disabilities. It uses actors and actresses, who are disabled, in hopes to raise awareness and acceptance that individuals with disabilities are capable of becoming actors and actresses, just like anyone else.
In most television shows, television directors hardly feature characters that have Developmental Disabilities. In the hit show, Glee producers are not afraid or uncomfortable with the disabled community. Lauren Elizabeth Potter is cast to portray Becky Jackson, a cheerleader co-captain. By being featured on the show, it gives the audience awareness of what is like to live with developmental disabilities and the challenges she goes through to be accepted. Also, it helps people to be able to perceive them as people with unique characteristics rather than viewing them as disabled people (Call 1). The directors’ intention is not to make Becky come across as an outcast, but as a girl who simply wants to fit in and be treated just like everyone else in the school. Throughout the show, Becky is treated by her peers and teachers like any other teenager, despite her disabilities. She is put through a rigorous audition process by Sue, to prove that she is capable of making the cheerleading squad. To many viewers, this may seem cruel and an act of bullying. However, it is later revealed that Sue’s intentions were to treat Becky just like everyone else in the squad for this is what Becky wanted. Also, Becky reminds Sue of her sister Jean, who also had Down syndrome.
Furthermore, the show also embraces the fact that others often discriminate people with disability. For instance, Santana is mean to everyone, and she does not spare Becky from her meanness when she found out that she was going to be her co-captain for the Cheerios i.e. the school’s cheerleading team. It shows that a person with Down syndrome can try out for the school’s cheerleading team (one of the school’s most coveted group especially for girls) and be successful i.e. be a co-captain. In one of the scenes in the show when she is arguing with Santana, Santana states that even though she has a condition, it will not save her from the wrath that she normally dishes out (Murphy, Falchuk and Brennan). Nevertheless, Santana’s constant bullying does not threaten Becky, for she responds back with an attitude towards the remark made by Santana. In doing this, the shows successfully proves to its audience that people with Down syndrome are not weak and can defend themselves. The show also portrays the character of Becky as being both sarcastic and funny. When the Cheerio Head Coach Sue states that she needs something to hate, Becky responds by telling her that she should hate toast. Sue responds to Becky’s statement by telling her that her twisted, and imaginative thinking excited her.
By having a character that has a disability on the show, the Glee directors sought of demystifying this group of people. First it gives audience with disabilities hope that anything is possible. In having Becky join in sports, and sharing the experiences of other teenagers, it exemplifies that having Down syndrome does not matter, for they undergo the same challenges in life as other people especially in this stage of life (being a teenager). The show does an excellent job in dealing with disability realistically. The fact that Becky is not giving a free pass because of her disability portrays her as an ordinary teenager.
