Reality Pride: the turning age featuring Glee

I'm a gleek and I'll tell you why.

For the last ten years or so American audiences have been subjected to and taken part in (guilty as charged) the chaotic mindless-ness, over-the-top [questionably 'Americana'] dare devils acts, dubious characters from the depths of nowhere land, grandiose schemes and impending persons, intrigue in fake body parts defining beauty, arranged marriages (the list could go on) of reality TV. Our country's networks and media subjects have gone from an unpredictable creative haven to a dumbed down, chair-ridden group of people who watch other people lead boring lives, aka Pixar's impressions of us in Wall-E. What happened to sitcoms that would positively engage family activity and bring a group of smiles around the television set? The lesson-learning plots of "Family Matters," "Full House," "Saved By the Bell," "The Cosby Show," "Blossom" - and every other show 90s kids can think of - swiftly disappeared to be replaced by ambiguous producers where the dollar sign took place over dignity, pride and privacy. Values were suddenly determined the price of a purse, the size of a house, or how long one was able to sustain a clock around their neck. Self-impressions became a concern to many a people, and families (like Balloon Boy's) have instilled upon their children an unstable definition of entertainment.

Enter Glee: On the border of a new decade, Fox decided to hone in on various aspects of reality TV programs (American Idol, X Factor, Beauty and the Geek, Chuck) and produce a level-headed show that, apparently, brought Americans back to the good ole' days of a bona fide sitcom. The phenom known as Glee - a kick ass show where dweebs have amazing voices and minorities are the new celebrities - brings audiences what they have been missing for ten years: Fictional characters, real acting, vocals that we cannot even fathom to impersonate in our living rooms, drama, comedy, honesty, suspense, love, goals, lessons, heart-felt apologies, a set design that doesn't only feature a bed and alcohol, this list could go on forever. I say "miss" because the numbers have to mean something, right? The Associated Content reports that Glee ratings, "within the demographic of 18 to 49 year olds" have had close to 3.5 million viewers throughout most of their season. The AC says, "Overall the last two episodes of Glee passed 8 million in total viewers, putting it at some nice total numbers for the network." Though American Idol is still breaking records on TV in its 9th season, I feel a change coming and I refuse to look back.

Although, maybe it's all high school related. The days where Will Smith schemed in the hallways and Zack Morris weighed the pros and cons of playing hooky are way behind us, but maybe that nostalgia has become evident in Fox's writing den and made itself heard all the way to the Board room. It seems everyone is yearning for a little teenage drama sans vampires these days, myself included. Glee takes our former peers from our glory days and transports them into the world of now. We all knew people like Kurt Hummel, Rachel Berry or Puck, and maybe that's why we want to watch - to reminisce and nod in agreement while still maintaining the presence of booming technology, fashion statements bordering obsession and the gay uprising in political media. Also, we should consider the possibilities of how the parodies of popular culture on YouTube throughout the 00s ignited this change in programming. Maybe society's sitcom u-turn couldn't have happened without major Internet interventions and shows like "Big Brother" or "Fear Factor." The self-marketable engine took us on a roller coaster making the world much smaller. Yet smaller made us less original and motivated. Laziness had not only a physical affect of sitting in chairs staring at a computer all day, but society became complacent in imagination.

Though a sitcom, Fox hasn't become lackluster and forgotten about Glee's entertainment value. What with our pop culture line-up these days, they have to impress in the glitz and glamour, or at the very least have a little fake blood in the costume shop. Fox has combined Broadway sass with Hollywood professionalism (I'm talking about A-listers here) and created a cast that continues to impress episode after episode. The quality of the casts' singing is beyond inspiring. They give American audiences what we have been voting for via mobile phone and screaming at our TV sets since the inception of American idol. Also, the casts' genuine amazement that Glee has become so popular is heart warming and humbling. They dance on mattresses, have excellent comedic timing, are continuing to get a stellar line up of actors and singers to guest star, and, more importantly, evoke emotions in me that I haven't felt whilst watching TV in a very, very long time.

Whatever the case, I'm thankful major networks are initiating substantial changes to their evening line-up, where sitcom's can start re-inspiring kids in a healthy and educational way; like the influence Glee has had on show choirs internationally, or the positive encouragement all the minorities on the show bring into real-life homes and high schools. Maybe now we can forget about red flags and blue flags, and instead sit around the TV and laugh at the industry's creation instead of our own neuroses.