Review of “Awake”

The new NBC show, Awake, has a unique storyline that revolves around one man’s struggle for the truth.   The show begins with a major car crash, the main character Michael was behind the wheel and his wife, Hannah, and son, Rex, are also in the car.   When Michael wakes up he is in his house and his wife is alive and son is dead.  He is carrying forth his duties as a detective and is currently working on a case involving a cab shooter.  When it is time for Michael to close his eyes and go to bed, he wakes up and his son is alive and his wife is dead.  In this reality, he is a detective with a different partner, and he sees a different psychologist.

The psychologists who both tell him that he is dreaming affirm Michael’s confusion throughout the show.  Michael determines which reality he is in by who is alive and the color rubber band he is wearing on his wrist, red rubber band signifies he is in Hannah’s world, and green signifies he is in Rex’s world.

Throughout the show, Michael is working on two different cases at one time.  The ironic piece to both of the cases is that they are linked by the clue “611 Waverly”.   Through using both realities, Michael is able to solve both crimes.   Michael attends several psychology appointments throughout the episode and each psychologist is advising him to cope with the loss and acknowledge that the reality his is in is the correct one.

Michael told his wife about his dreams and how he sees his son every time he “sleeps”, the news is a lot for her to take in at first and does not believe him.  By the end of the episode Hannah asks Michael if he is going to see Rex before he closes his eyes and when he responds “yes”, she asks Michael to tell Rex that she loves him.  This acceptance from Hannah comes very early on in the series.

Awake does a commendable job setting up conflict and a storyline that can be carried out.  The story sets up opportunity for the writers to take it in a direction that could extend the life of the show.   The writers should craft a story that is not two dimensional between the two worlds, the story would become boring and uninteresting if the viewers have to decide with reality is true.  If every show is an intricate and interesting as the first, the viewers will have to watch religiously in order to understand the plot.

The production values of Awake are decent.  The lighting of Awake serves as a clue into which reality he is experiencing.  There is a warmer, orange tint to the reality with Hannah, and a colder blue tint to the reality with Rex.  These different lighting techniques pose the question to the viewer, is the warmer tint representing happiness or a dream like reality?  The sets and costuming is well put together.  They are believable and add to the drama of the show.

From watching the pilot alone, Awake appears to be a show that has a lot of potential.  There is potential for the show to be a hit or to flop, which will be determined by the writers and the depth of the show.   The pilot was effective in setting up the show, I will continue to watch and hope that the plot thickens into a dimensional show.

The beat sheet of this show would look as follows:

1. Graphic car crash

2. Funeral of Hannah and Rex

3.  Wakes up with Hannah alive

4. Wakes up with Rex alive

5. Street crime scene

6. Parking lot crime scene

7. Back and forth action between Hannah and Rex, different counseling sessions

8.  611 Waverly connect the dreams

9. Counselors proving to him that he is not dreaming in both dreams

10. Wife’s acceptance

11. Realization that he would rather not know

 

 

Blog 4: “Express Christmas”= Express Fail

It makes sense for certain television shows to write and execute holiday themed shows.  Holiday shows are often cheesy, predictable shows that do not do much for the story of the show.  Modern Family is one of the shows that make sense to have holiday shows.  The mockumentary style of the show allows for clever plot lines that gain meaning as the show progresses. Modern Family did an excellent job with the Thanksgiving episode titled “Punkin Chunkin”, the story line was clever and the end was heartwarming.  Since the Thanksgiving episode was so well put together I had high hopes for the Christmas episode.  Unfortunately, “Express Christmas”, was not what I had expected.

The episode begins with the three families laying and playing by the pool on a warm sunny day.   As they are discussing Christmas and the holidays Claire and Mitchell are alerted that their mother will not be at Christmas.   As the children become upset realizing that their family will not be fully together for Christmas, other member’s start speaking up about where they will be on Christmas, and that Christmas will not be the same if all three families are not celebrating together.  Phil Dunphy jumps into the conversation with a game changing comment, he suggests that the families celebrate Christmas that day, and have an “Express Christmas” together.

The families scramble to hand out to-do lists in order to make “Express Christmas” as perfect as they possibly can.  Mitchell agrees to get the tree with Alex and Lily, Phil and Manny are in charge of the turkey and groceries, Cam and Jay decide to tackle the wrapping, Gloria and Luke are in responsible for finding the sacred tree-topping angel, and Claire and Hayley are tackling the shopping.

As the four short hours of preparation unfold for “Express Christmas”, everything and anything is not going right.   The “perfect” tree is run over by Gloria’s car, the angel is destroyed, the turkey is purchased off of Craig’s List, Cam annoys Jay to no end by analyzing his wrapping skills, and the families begin to fall a part.The cheesy ending comes into play, when the families disheveled and exhausted, after a failed meal, Jay offers to take everyone out for Chinese food to make amends.  As the families are practically shoved out of the house, Jay reveals his surprise, a snow machine in the front yard.  As the families play in the snow, Jay’s “hard” exterior is softened just a little bit.

This story was an exciting fast moving episode.  However, I felt that the format was a repeat of “Punkin Chunkin”, there was a lot going on that led to conflict and then the families realize what is really important and a sappy ending commences. The story could have had more depth, while the character development was clever; the ending and “typical” holiday episode was a safe option.  Modern Family is usually infused with character development, quirky scenes, and interesting endings.  They can only pull off the sappy holiday episodes so many times, and “Express Christmas” was one too many times.   The holiday’s are for appreciating loved ones, what you have, and sharing but this episode, in my opinion, was a cop-out and could have had a better storyline.

The production quality of this episode was not lacking.  The mockumentary style held true through the one on one sessions and casual shaky scenes.   The production worked for this episode as it does for the show as a whole, the story could have been more conducive to an audience who isn’t looking for a predictable, shallow show.  Since this holiday show format has been over-used, I hope to see more exciting interesting storyline for holiday shows, with more interesting concepts and as always character development.

Blog 3: Opening and Closing Credits

Every episode of Modern Family begins with a scene that sets up the episode, during that scene the names of the actors are credited at the bottom in the following order: Ed O’Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, Ty Burrell, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Eric Stonestreet, Sarah Hyland, Ariel Winter, Nolan Gould, Rico Rodriguez, and Aubrey Anderson-Emmons. This aspect of the opening credits, not including the names of the actors and actresses in the opening credits, is similar to Amanda Whalen’s show that she is blogging about, Breaking Bad as well as Katie Chase‘s show that she is researching, House.   Breaking Bad and House begin similar to Modern Family, in that there is a scene that sets the tone of the rest of the episode that launches into the opening credits.  The end of the scene pauses and the music commences; it is loud, fast instrumental music that compliments the busy families.  The theme song is original, composed by Gabriel Mann.  The song is mostly instrumental with the word “hey, hey” throughout it.  The lyrics shout “hey, hey” every time a new family appears.  It makes the opening credits seem like a quick meet and greet with the families.

The beginning credits of Modern Family highlight each of the three families.   The first shot is of the Dunphy family, they are all dressed according to their character and as a family they are holding a picture frame with a still frame of the scene before. The photograph expands into the next shot of Mitchell, Cam, and Lily holding a picture of the previous shot of the Dunphy’s.  The shot switches to the Pritchitt family, and shows Jay, Gloria, and Manny holding another picture frame with a picture of the Pritchitt-Tucker family.  The final shot is a long shot of all three families standing in their clusters in front of a white background.  Alex Dunphy is holding a picture frame and turns the picture frame over and it reads Modern Family.   At the end of the introduction, on a black screen in white and orange font, it reads: “created by: Christopher Lloyd & Steven Levitan”.

Within the title sequence of Modern Family, the bumpers and transitions are zoom outs of the still frame picture that is captured in the frame.  They are quick and eye catching.  However, in the episodes of Modern Family, most of the transitions are straight cuts and usually happen at awkward moments for the family members.

The closing credits include every person that worked on the show.  It includes the actors and actresses, the crew, the producers, music credits, etc.  The end credits have the same original music as the opening credits.

Modern Family, has an interesting take on the opening credits, it is very different from Weeds, the show that Nicholette Simonelli is analyzing.  Weeds sets the scene in a different way, the credits are longer and the images set the tone for the show.  It focuses on the setting of the show instead of the characters.

Modern Family’s opening credits show the family dynamics right away with the characters style and immediate interactions with each other, thus proving the point that this show relies on character development instead of plot.

Modern Family Stays True To Pilot

The pilot episode of Modern Family is filled with conflict and character development.  The episode jumps right into the family dynamic, it begins in the Dunphy household, the Dunphy kids are arguing, Phil and Claire are struggling to calm everyone down and meanwhile fighting themselves.  The viewer automatically sees conflict and that the Dunphy household is full of excitement and interesting experiences.   Phil and Claire are introduced in the one on one session, and it gives depth to the show, it allows the viewer to experience Phil and Claire’s personalities and focus on their insecurities, their quirks, and their dynamic relationship.  This episode has an interesting plot line that highlights the character’s inner conflicts right off the bat.  This pilot does a good job throwing the audience into the plot of the show.  The only difficulty with the pilot is that the audience does not know that the three families are actually related until the end.  The writers did a commendable job writing in cues for the audience to know who was related to whom.

Evan Smith’s chapter on premise-driven comedy includes the idea of universal truths.  Universal truths are everyday situations that happen to the characters in humorous ways.  They allow the viewer to pull from personal experiences and relate to the characters.   Modern Family captures universal truths in that the family members are always struggling with problems that families would encounter.   For example, Mitchell’s insecurity of his relationship with Cameron, Phil struggling to be the cool dad, and Gloria trying to support her son no matter the awkward situations he puts himself in.   The universal truths revolve around relationships; the struggle between the parents, the struggle with the children, and the characters inner struggle.

Modern Family is mainly shot on a sound stage.  The main set includes the three houses of the families.  The on location set in this episode is at a soccer field where Manny is playing soccer.  It is shot in a single-camera format.  The single-camera format gives the show the documentary feel; the shots go back and forth without cuts making the show appear as if someone is holding a camcorder recording the conflicts.  Some of the shots when arguing is taking place appear to be shot with a handheld camera, the other shots are level and less shaky.

The shot compositions are versatile.  They include establishing shots when entering a new family’s house, medium shots of conflict, and long shots of important moments (ie. Long shot of Haley’s “risqué” outfit).   The lighting is very good as well, it is not dark and there are no shadows.  The house is pretty consistently well-lit and the outside shots are not too bright.

This first episode is full of conflicts; each family has their own main conflicts.  The main conflict between Gloria and Jay, is their age difference and their parenting style differences.  Gloria and Jay are both attending Manny’s soccer game and as Gloria is yelling at Manny to step it up a notch, another younger man approaches Gloria.   The game turns sour when the other man asks Gloria if Jay is her father, Jay immediately becomes defensive and self-conscience about his appearance, thus, emerging the insecurities of Jay and the dynamic of their relationship.

The Dunphy’s main conflict is created by Phil, who is struggling to be viewed as the “cool dad”.  Phil puts himself in compromising positions where he decides to act like a best friend instead of a parent.  This behavior irks Claire and creates an interesting atmosphere in the household.  This conflict spins out of control when Hayley decides to have a boy from school over.  Claire becomes over dramatic and worried about the teens and Phil stands by and tries to win over the couple.   This theme of Phil acting like a “cool dad” carries through with the show.   The conflict of Hayley being with an older boy is resolved when Phil accidentally shoots him with a BB gun.  It is a humorous and humiliating moment for Haley when she can bask in the classic, “It’s so hard being me”, teenager story line.

The conflict between Cam and Mitchell is the main conflict of the show.  Cam and Mitchell traveled to Vietnam to adopt a daughter, without Mitchell telling his family.  Mitchell’s insecurities about people not accepting his sexuality and relationship are prevalent in this episode.  Mitchell is so insecure that he begins to yell at innocent passengers on the flight he is on.   Once Mitchell and Cam have safely landed and are settled in their house, Cam springs news on Mitchell that he has invited his family over to break the news that they have adopted Lily.  Mitchell, upset and scared of what his family thinks greets his family at the door.  This is the first indication that these three families are related.  Claire refers to Jay as dad and warns Mitchell that “dad is behind us”, insinuating that Claire is Mitchell’s sister and Jay is Mitchell’s father.   Jay is not completely accepting of Mitchell’s sexuality and most of the time announces his presence before entering a room to avoid any awkward walk-ins.  Mitchell begins trying to announce his news and his family begins insulting him and putting him down, proving that this family is anything but normal.  Finally, after a dramatic entrance to a Lion King song, Mitchell and Cam introduce Lily to the family.  The family immediate stops insulting Mitchell and they are automatically captivated by Lily, seizing their opinions of the couple.  The family accepts Lily, Mitchell, and Cam as a happy family and the episode ends.  The themes of these conflicts are carried through the series and their insecurities are constantly played up, creating a depth and personal connection to the show.

The actors are well-dressed for their parts.  Gloria is usually in a tight fitting dress or sweater, showing off her young bombshell body.  Jay is usually dressed like an elderly man, playing up his age insecurities.  The Dunphy’s are usually dressed casually, except for Haley who tends to wear more revealing clothing, which plays into her “rebel” attitude.  Cam and Mitchell’s clothes are the most important to the show.  Mitchell’s clothes are very crisp and preppy, they represent his perfectionist attitude.  Cam’s style is much more flamboyant which aids his character’s dramatic flamboyant personality.

The elements of Modern Family aid the show’s goals of reflecting a mockumentary style.  The character’s personalities are big and have depth which creates the conflict and humorous one-liners and situations. Modern Family stays true to its pilot and the development of the show continues to build.

Get To Know Modern Family

Modern Family, aired on ABC, is a show that follows an extended family through their daily routines.  The family is full of quirky, strong characters that add humor to their everyday trials and tribulations.  The story is told in a single camera format, including personal “confession” or “commenting” sessions with the characters.  The family tree beings with the patriarch Jay Pritchitt and his two adult married children Claire and Mitchell.  Claire is married to Phil Dunphy who live with their three eccentric children. Mitchell Pritchitt, is married to Cameron Tucker, the homosexual couple adopted their daughter Lily Tucker-Pritchitt from Vietnam.  Jay Pritchitt is remarried to Gloria, a young Spanish woman, who has a son of her own.  These different families all come together to provide a comical take on the modern American family.

Modern Family has been on the air for three years producing three seasons with a total of 60 episodes.  The showrunners are Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan.  This show has won 11 Emmy’s including, Outstanding Comedy Series two years in a row. They recently took home a Golden Globe for Best Television Series of a musical or comedy. Modern family can be classified as a comedy sitcom, as well as a mockumentary.  A mockumentary is a type of show that takes fictional events and delivers them in a documentary format. The show provides times for the characters to have a monologue to explain how they feel about what is going on.  Phil Dunphy mostly narrates the show and gives his feedback.  In my opinion Modern Family could be closely compared to The Office, the style of the shows are alike even though the content is different.   Modern Family takes a different approach to depicting a family sitcom; they push the limits on the characters and really work to represent a lot of different situations.

The characters in Modern Family for the most part are believable.  I think that Modern Family does a good job in portraying a diverse cast as well as a diverse family dynamic.  The show has a great group of characters that have time to show their imperfections, character flaws, and insecurities.  The show includes a mixed family, a gay family, and a “typical American family”.   It portrays the effects of divorce, adoption, sibling rivalries, and a struggle to make decisions as a large family.

The Pritchitts Family: Jay Pritchitt, played by Ed O’Neil is an elderly man, he is the man of the family, and tends to like competition as well as telling “it” like “it” is.  His second wife, Gloria, played by Sophia Vergara is a beautiful and vibrant character who is driven by passion and works to increase her son’s confidence every chance she gets.  Gloria struggles with her accent, and is often misunderstood because of it. Gloria’s son, Manny, played by Rico Rodriguez is a self-conscious artistic boy who has a funny unique relationship with his step father, Jay.

The Dunphy Family:  Claire, played by Julie Bowen, is the mother of the Dunphy household and often struggles with her need to be “the best”.   Claire’s sarcasm and attitude melts well with her husband, Phil, played by Ty Burnell, constant need to be the “cool dad”.  Phil is always struggling to gain the approval of Jay and his kids, and will do whatever it takes for his respect.  His stories of his time on the cheerleading squad in college and about work leave the kids as well as Jay speechless. Their three children represent very different personalities.  Their oldest daughter, Haley, played by Sarah Hyland, is the daredevil of the group; she tends to be more worried about the social aspects of high school then going to college.  Her younger sister, Alex, played by Ariel Winter, is the complete opposite.  Alex is a perfectionist, good student, and at times a snob.  Their little brother, Luke, played by Nolan Gould, is the airhead of the group; he always gears Manny to make poor decisions that usually result in a comical mess.

The Pritchitt-Tucker Family: Mitchell Pritchitt, son of Jay Pritchitt, is smart and always on his game, he struggles with his perfectionist qualities.  Cameron Tucker, Mitchell’s husband is the eccentric, flamboyant, and emotional partner of the marriage.  Their daughter Lily, adopted from Vietnam is learning to talk and has taken on Cameron’s sass and delivers hilarious one-liners that make the audience fall in love with her character.

It is important for Modern Family to have believable characters.  The show works hard to use the characters to develop their story line.  If it weren’t for the issues of each of the characters, the show would lose its comical value.  The delivery of this show is perfect for the audience that it works to  capture.

Kurt Hummel: Makes ‘Teenage Dream’ Possible

Television can serve as a portal into the culture and issues of the time it is depicting. An issue that has been brought to the surface in the past decade is lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered (LGBT) rights. A television show that is infusing the culture with the struggles of the LGBT community is Glee, through the character portrayal of Kurt Hummel. The trials and tribulations of Kurt Hummel’s character provide support to the LGBT community and are shedding light on the effects of bullying and coming out. Through the research of gay teens that has been conducted the effects of bullying and coming out will prove Hummel’s impact on society.

Glee is the story of a glee club, “New Directions”, and their struggles to achieve success and respect in their school. New Directions is lead by the main character Will Scheuster, a talented teacher, who encourages his students to express themselves and come out of their shell (“Fox”). Kurt Hummel is one of these students. Hummel is a flamboyant gay teen who is bullied for a majority of the show because of his orientation. Along with bullying at school, Hummel also deals with struggles at home, trying to make his father understand his way of life.

Kurt Hummel’s orientation is released early in the season. Within the fourth episode of the first season, Hummel “comes out” to his father. The episode revolves around Hummel trying out for the football team in order to re-brand himself as a jock to win the acceptance of his father. By the end of the episode an emotional Hummel comes out to his father. His father responds with shock and acceptance. (“Preggers”)

Hummel’s coming out ends in a positive way. However Kurt’s internal struggle with coming out to his father is effectively depicted making it relatable to gay teens. According to a study, conducted by Sue Sharpe, homophobia among teens specifically teen boys is a growing issue. More than two out of five boys considered homosexuality to “always be wrong” (Sharpe 264-276).Young people allow homophobia to exist because they are ignorant and do not directly know anyone that identifies as gay. Therefore, the study suggests that the portrayal of gay people in the media aids the acceptance of homosexuality (Sharpe 264-276). The character, Kurt Hummel, allows people to work through their homophobia by vicariously getting to know Hummel. Through this connection to the character they are able to invest in the character and eventually develop empathy for the character. With strong feelings of homophobia among teens, it is not a mystery why teens struggle with coming out.

Coming out is a large issue among gay teens, the proclamation of their orientation can cause many mixed emotions. According to an article, “Gay Teens on TV”, in the 80’s the average age of teens coming out was 19-23, however since then the age has lowered to 16 (Armstrong, Ram, Stack, and Stransky 34-41) . Teens are becoming more comfortable with their orientation and the status quo is changing. Jason Galisatus, a student ambassador for Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), states “I think that Kurt will become a historical figure.” Galisatus continues to talk about his coming out experience and says, “Well hey, if Kurt can do it, we can’t we?” (Armstrong, Ram, Stack, and Stransky 34-41) . Hummel is clearly sparking conversations and providing support for gay teens that struggle with self-acceptance.

 Kurt Hummel’s father also provides a good example for family members. Mr. Hummel handles the news in a realistic, yet supportive way. At first he appears to be in shock but after a minute, he responds by saying, “I guess I’m not totally in love with the idea but if that’s who you are then there’s nothing I can really do about it. And I love you just as much. Thanks for telling me Kurt.” (“Preggers”) This scene is very powerful and captures many emotions. It sets an example for families to be sensitive and accepting of their loved ones who may identify as gay.

Along with the struggle to come out to his father, Kurt Hummel also deals with constant bullying throughout the seasons. However, the bullying is brought to an extreme in the Never Been Kissed episode from season two. In this episode, a football player specifically targets Kurt harassing him for being gay. The football player calls him several names and often physical abuses Kurt. Hummel struggles with the abuse and is reluctant to report the abuse. Kurt visited a local all boys school and finds inspiration in Blaine, a gay teen. Blaine encourages Kurt to defend himself against the bully and educate people in his school about being gay. Blaine says to Kurt: “Refuse to be the victim. Prejudice is just ignorance and you have a chance to teach them, confront them, and call them out.” These words give Kurt the courage he needed to stand up for himself (“Never Been Kissed”).

Towards the end of the episode, Hummel stands up to the football player he responds to the bully by saying: “Hit me cause it’s not going to change who I am. You can’t punch the gay out of me anymore than I can punch the ignoramus out of you”. The shocked football player reacts by kissing Hummel, showing that he was bullying Kurt due to his own insecurities surrounding his orientation (“Never Been Kissed”).

These powerful words give gay teens an example of defending themselves. This episode of Glee depicts a common bullying situation for gay teens. Many gay teens much like Kurt Hummel are enduring abuse every day in the school atmosphere. According to the article “Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers”, a study found that “9 out of 10 LGBT middle and high school students suffered physical or verbal harassment in 2009, ranging from taunts to outright beatings” (Viadero 11). This alarming statistic sheds light on the abuse that gay teens are suffering in schools. According to the article “Most Teen Students Bullied, Survey Finds”, 33 percent of the respondents said that they have been bullied because their peers think that they identify LGBT (Viadero 11).

The teens are not only suffering at school, this abuse is leading to bigger problems. According to the article, “ Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers”, Seth Walsh, Tyler Clementi, Billy Lucas, and Asher Brown are only a few names to the statistics of gay teens who commit suicide due to harassment in schools (McKinley). These are extremes of bullying, but these effects cannot be ignored. According to the “Gay Teens on TV” article, teens rejected by their families are 8 times more likely to commit suicide (McKinley). These statistics and stories are all indications that there need to be several support systems for teens.

 Kurt Hummel’s character serves once again as an example for these teens that feel alone. The way he handles his bullying shows that he is a typical teen through not wanting to report the abuse. After overcoming the fright of the bully, Kurt’s reaction to the bully shows gay teens that it is possible to defend themselves. According to the article: “Teenage Dreams and Nightmares: Talking ‘Never Been Kissed with Ryan Murphy of ‘Glee’”, the author Dave Itzkoff interviews Ryan Murphy a creator and executive producer of Glee. Iztkoff asks Murphy if the idea of Kurt finding another male who is gay, a male student Blaine from another high school, is an easy way out of a storyline because it does not depict Kurt as the lone gay anymore. Murphy responds by saying in regards to Blaine, “But I also think he’s tormented because, as he says to Kurt in the storyline ‘I ran.’ I put my tail between my legs and I left my situation and I regret it” (Murphy). This idea of Blaine showing that he regretted running away from who he is, is a struggle that a lot of gay teens could also identify with.

According to the article, “Gay Teens on TV”, Jarret Barrios the president of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), said “The increasing number of story lines makes it impossible to assume that there are no gay people around you. It makes it uncool to bully” (Armstrong, Ram, Stack, and Stransky 34-41). Barrios make a good point that the more exposure gay teens the more accepting future generations can become to the topic.

Glee was not the first television show to feature a gay character. According to the article, “Gay Teens on TV”, My So-Called Life also featured a gay teen that came out to his parents. The difference between My So-Called Life and Glee is that My So-Called Life took a different outcome for the gay character. At the end of the episode the character laid there bruised and bloodied and abandoned. This approach did not give teens hope or inspiration to be who they are. My So- Called Life only aired for one season before being cancelled and five years later Glee premiered with the first gay teen since (Armstrong, Ram, Stack, and Stransky 34-41). Although there was an extended period of time without a gay teen on TV there were other featured gay roles on television. According to “Gay Teens on TV” some of these shows included the “Ellen DeGenereus show” and “Will and Grace” (Armstrong, Ram, Stack, and Stransky 34-41). These two shows depicted adults comfortable with their sexual orientation, however for that span of five years there lacked anything for teens.

Kurt Hummel has had a significant impact not only on the LGBT community but the nation as well. Hummel has provided gay teens with examples of how to deal with issues that they will deal with. Kurt has broken down barriers and shocked audiences with the cutting edge material and realistic episodes. Through Kurt’s experiences with bulling and his coming out, Kurt serves as an inspiration for gay teens as become comfortable with who they are.

Works Cited:

Armstrong, Jennifer, Archana Ram, Tim Stack, and Tanner Stransky. “Gay Teens on TV.” Entertainment Weekly. 28 Jan 2011: 34-41. Print.

“Glee: About the Show.” Fox . Fox , n.d. Web. 07 Mar 2011. 

 McKinley, Jesse. “Suicides Put Light on Pressures of Gay Teenagers.” New York Times 03 Oct 2010, Print.

Murphy, Ryan. New York Times. Intervew by Dave Itzkoff . 10 Nov 2010. Print. 06 Mar 2011.

“Never Been Kissed.” Glee. Fox: 09 Nov 2010. Television. 08 Mar 2011.

“Preggers.” Glee. Fox: 23 Sep 2010. Television. 08 Mar 2011.

Sharpe, Sue. “‘It’s Just Really Hard to Come to Terms With’: young people’s views on homosexuality.” Sex Education. 2. (2002): 264- 276. Print.

Viadero, Debra. “Most Teen Students Bullied, Survery Finds.” Education Week. 25.8 (2005): 11. Print.

What’s not to ‘like’?

Go out into the Academic circle during class changes and I can guarantee that at least half of the students will be texting on their phones.  Walk through the library during finals. Students will be sitting there, phones glued to their sides, as if the texting conversations are saving them from their work load.  Sound normal? Probably.  But what about attending a football game, looking around and seeing fans attached to their phones?  Whether they are checking their facebook, twitter, or texting they are engaged in another world separating them from the live game that is happening in front of them.

Social networking- we’ve heard it a million times: “It’s the new way to communicate” or “The new way to stay connected”.  It seems as if social networking hasn’t stopped growing and now it’s growing into a new market.

Take the super bowl for example: it seemed as if every Facebook user was updating their statuses.  My mini feed was filled with statuses saying “green and yellow” or “black and yellow” showing my friends’ support for either the Packers or Steelers.  After the half time show, people were posting their reactions about the quality of Black Eyed Peas performance.

David King, a freelance sports writer, discusses the art of Facebook and sports in his article: Click this Button if You ‘Like’ Sports on Facebook. King states that the ‘like’ button enables the users of Facebook to control what they want on Facebook, as well as it showing a fan base.  All of those statuses that were revolving around the super bowl were creating controversy and receiving a lot of ‘likes’.

Football is not the only sport where the shift is happening.  King compares Facebook to minorleaguesource.com.  The minor league source website provides a substantial amount of information about the minor league.  The website does not have flashy advertisements or colors; it is a very basic website that distributes a wealth of information about minor league baseball.  The website created by Mike McCann is made for all baseball lovers.  What is his main competition? Facebook. In the Facebook day and age a fan of a certain minor league team can show their support and receive updates on Facebook.   Is social networking taking over smaller niche websites?  Is this a good direction for the industry to be moving?

Jerry Del Colliano, a reporter for Inside Music Media, puts this phenomenon into perspective.  Del Colliano states, “During the hockey playoffs, every time a player crashed into the glass smashing an opponents face, there was often a fan on the other side of the glass texting. Hey, they’re not going to let two huge hockey players skating right at them at top speed stop them from texting.”

This statement leaves me with a few questions.   How far will social networking go in sports?  What is the future of sports and the online world? How connected is too connected?