Off the Press: Artie of Glee, Why the Pitiful Victim?

I didn’t really think about it that way. I guess I was seeing it that way and never really thought about it, any other way. I’ve never really seen the show until tonight and I guess it wasn’t a great episode to start on.

You know, I remember when I was in high school and I went through all sorts of roller coasters. I changed, quite a few times depending on who I was with. Being a teenager means being flippy floppy and Artie, he’s only human so he’s going to have good days and he’s going to have bad days where he feels sorry for himself. We all have those day. I know I have them quite a few times. The fact is he picked himself up in the end, it was a small stray from his path and being a teenager, one that is beleivable.

But that final scene indicates he hasn’t really picked himself up in the end: he’s looking upon Tina and her dance partner with a measure of despair. As a result, rather than leaving me happy that he was fulfilling his apparent new dream of becoming a singing star, I was left sad that he still hadn’t gotten over his old one of dancing with Tina. So the ending is fundamentally about what he lacks, not what he has. Besides which, what he has could have been much better characterized (again, why not wheelchair dancing? The idea that someone in a wheelchair can’t dance is crap). That said, you’re right about how this show likes to portray a dark undercurrent to high school life and identity. The idea that most of these kids will be stuck in dead-end lives in Lima, OH, for decades recurs repeatedly (as it did tonight through Bryan Ryan). But fitting Artie into that kind of scheme needs to be tackled in a much more nuanced way than this episode did.

LOL Adam!!! That’s OK, we can’t do _everything_ can we? For example, I don’t watch “American Idol” and a bunch of other pop stuff. I appreciate your honesty.

I’ve been thinking lately that for a high school kid Artie handles is disability all too well, actually, though of course I have no frame of reference.

I imagine that any high school kid whose restricted to a wheelchair has his or her up and down days, so I wasn’t so put off by the “leaving him on the floor” moment (though I didn’t see it as that so much as I saw it as him not wanting her help at the moment).

About Artie’s choosing dancing as his dream, I think we were meant to understand that Artie dreams big.

I can’t obviously look at the show through your eyes in the same why that you can’t look at the show, particularly Kurt’s story, through mine. I don’t ever see Kurt as a victim, I actually applaud the ballsiness with which the role is written.

Very insightful article Adam! I feel the same way, glee let me down this week, I hope that can change, I miss the Artie we all know and love

I fully agree Adam, this episode was quite distasteful. I’m giving the writers the benefit of a doubt that their intentions were good; however they missed their target completely. As a Rehabilitation Counselor that works with individuals with mobility-related disabilities (such as SCIs, MD, MS, etc.); I would never suggest that someone to give up their dream just because they are in a wheelchair. Sure, the dream might have a few changes to it, but anything is possible. In Artie’s case, Chris is so very right to say that they could have, and should have, emphasized on wheelchair dancing instead. I just hated how they gave him a sad/unhopeful ending with a lovely pat on the back from the hot ex-cheerleader. While I give prompts for shows starting to include individuals with a disability as part of their cast, it has to be done in a way that yes, educates society about some of their barriers, but at the same time, educates the capability of this individual to overcome these barriers and succeed. Although others shows such as Lost (Terry O’Quinn as John Locke) and Supernatural (Jim Beaver as Bobby Singer) have introduced characters in wheelchairs, it is Private Practice (Michael Patrick Thornton as Dr. Gabriel Fife) who gets my loudest applaud since they actually show hired an actor who has a disability to play the role. I think that more shows are going to be introducing individuals with disabilities into their programs as to ensure diversity, however they will have to be cautious as not give them the ‘token guy in a wheelchair’ role.

+1

I have to agree with the previous comment.

It’s high school man. High school kids are fickle. They’re still trying to figure out who they are and what their dreams are, which sometimes changes on a daily basis. Yeah, Artie is strong sometimes, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with showing his weak side – We all have one. Is it so unrealistic to depict a character who has an impossible dream? How about the guy who’s always wanted to fly airplanes, but doesn’t have the eyesight for it? The kid who loves football, but suffers an injury that means he’ll never be able to play again? What happens when a musician suffers from severe carpal tunnel? I wish to God I could belt out a tune like Whitney Houston, but I just wasn’t born with it. It’s tragic, but that’s reality for a lot of people. This episode gives everyone who has ever dreamed the impossible something to relate to.

I really think you’re taking it the wrong way. It’s not about pity; it’s about the journey from feeling like a victim to finding strength through maturity. Artie really is one of my favorite characters in the show and I think Kevin McHale is doing a wonderful job playing that role.

I agree with you.

When that episode came out a bunch of my friends were like “Oh, you must have been excited about that whole plot line” because they know I freaking love Artie. I am affectionate towards dorks, alright? Dorks with rockstar voices and epic one-liners. Anyway, they expected me to be happy about the whole thing, and I was just sort of like “Meh.” I mean… the Dance Sequence was super fun to watch, well done, etc. But a lot of the actually plot line that surrounded it felt kind of squirmy to me. And it took me a while to realize why. Basically, for exactly the reasons you just outlined.

Artie defining character trait was that he was incredibly self assured and reasonably well adjusted, more so than most of the other kids, for sure. Whats up with angst? Where did that come from?

Basically, and I didn’t really want to go into this with my friends, the reason I wasn’t “so excited” that he was walking was because the whole reason I fell in love with the little dork in the first place was that he was completely, amazingly OK with the wheelchair, and sure as hell wasn’t going to let it stop him fro doing whatever the hell he wanted.

Both random out of character-ness and pointless, uncomfortable “pity this character” feeling achieved, all in one episode, writers. Well done.