Aaron Taylor

Glee Rewrites the Rules For Hollywood Adultery



Posted: Thursday, December 10, 2009

by Aaron Taylor
Aaron Taylor

I'm a sucker for show tunes, which is why I watch Glee, though for the sake of keeping my man card, I must add the caveat of occasionally. I did catch the season finale last night though. I'm not sure why I was surprised at the ending, but I was. It looks like the main character has left his wife for another woman. Granted the wife was a piece of work, but I still found myself rooting for her, especially when she made her final appeal for him to stay with her. Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but but by the end of the show, when the Glee club director ran to the other woman after an emotional song by his students, I was left confused. Perhaps I got the memo too late, but I couldn't help asking myself "Were the writers of the show expecting me to root for the other woman?"

If so, then that's a shift even for Hollywood morality. Yes, I know that I shouldn't expect much from Hollywood these days, especially when matching it up to Biblical morality which limits sexual relationships to heterosexual monogamous marriage; but for the past two decades the Hollywood moral standards for its leading male characters has been as follows:

Multiple sex partners before marriage = okay

Fooling around with other women after marriage = you're a scum bag

Apparently the second option is now okay, as long as the wife is neurotic.

I'm not sure if Hollywood is catching up with culture on this point or if the culture will eventually catch up to Hollywood on this point. Either way, it's not looking good.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)
» left by Lorrie Davids
 2 years 151 days ago.
96 fans.
Aaron, my husband and I thought the same thing. I thought it might just be a way to guarantee viewers for next season. Then they flashed Shue and Pillsbury on the screen at the same time they mentioned new relationships. We were shocked at the direction they are taking the show....but then, why should we be? I love the a capella segues and all the music, but have to wonder why am I still watching? Especially since we are usually so very careful what we watch.
» left by Marijo Phelps
 2 years 150 days ago.
142 fans.
Thanks... and am I wrong or is seeing it over and over on TV making things numb for the viewer and pretty soon you find yourself thinking "well that's just how things are now days" TV seems to be dumbing down and numbing down our social morals - especially scary to think about what the children are absorbing. thanks for writing this article. Marijo
» left by Anonymous 2 years 125 days ago.
Well, he had just left her and about to file for divorce. Plus, she wasn't simply neurotic, she was a full blown sociopath.
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