The Pilot episode of Glee uses camera cuts and scene sequencing in order to create and highlight the differences between each character. This serves to emphasize their depiction of high school as a war zone where different groups vie for popularity against one another. However, these boundaries are continuously undermined with the use of props and music, which serve to bring the characters together on an emotional level. The songs also define the individual characters; bring them together in a physical space, and giving each one a common interest with which they can begin to connect. The dueling tensions that run through the episode focus on the characters’ lives and the impediments to forming a Glee Club. The overarching argument within this episode is that the real and important boundaries, as well as social identities, that segregate high school kids can be overcome by a common passion for singing; which the text accomplishes by reinforcing a series of dualities with the screen cuts, while subverting these clear demarcations with the use of select props and songs.
The pilot episode was chosen for this analysis because of the production factors that went into it. This episode was on air long before the season began, and it was pushed heavily on the internet. This episode was meant to draw people in and give them a strong forecast for the rest of the season. For this reason, the themes that run throughout the season are concentrated in this episode, which makes it a perfect candidate for this analysis.
The dualities in this episode are pushed heavily by the cuts between scenes that the camera makes, along with the sequencing of scenes. By presenting one situation and immediately displaying its antithesis, the camera not only creates the potential for tensions, but also invites the audience to imagine how a situation may have otherwise been handled. This editing practice begins with the opening scene where the camera shows us cheerleaders who are floating through the air with giant grins on their faces, only to quickly switch to the misery that the soon-to-be glee members are facing. This tactic is used throughout the episode, but is best utilized during the first performance that the audience sees from the Glee Club. This mediocre performance is met with optimism and determination from the teacher, Mr. Schuester, only to immediately cut to the cheerleading instructor, couch Sylvester, who berates her pupils for a sloppy performance, and hounds them for showing their agony and tears.
This editing process serves to set each social group outside of the other and allows us to juxtapose the two teachers. It also reinforces a duality between the cheerleaders who belong in the “penthouse” and the members of the Glee Club, who belong in the “subbasement.” The quick cuts between the two educators serve to intensify the differences between the teachers, as well as the differences between the clubs.
The next most important tension that the camera pushes is the difference between home and school for the Mr. Schuester. Home is cut to right before the auditions, after the second rehearsal, and after a large performance. In each case the dramatic change in noise and color make the home life more muted and less exciting. The hard switch from a successful performance of “You’re The One That I Want,” to making a puzzle at home intensifies the difference between the scenes and the alienation that Schuester experiences in his home. This plot is intensified by the financial problems that he has to balance in both spheres. This forces Schuester to make a hard choice between his commitments at home and his passion at school.
This same plot line is carried out with the high school quarterback, Finn Hudson. The constant screen cuts of his personal life, which is always at tension with his present identity, are used to highlight the two tensions that are pulling at him. Hudson’s membership as a football player all but excludes his identity as a singer, while is identity as a Glee Club member brews resentment and divisions in his life as a football player. Like with Schuester, these tensions begin to pull at each other throughout the episode until they coalesce near the end where both characters must choose between Glee Club and their entrenched identities within minutes of each other.
Unsurprisingly, props and musical performance is instrumental in bringing the cast together and overcoming these tensions. During the beginning of the episode, music gives us a detailed snapshot of each character’s personality. This is highlighted by the highly individual outfits that each character wears during their audition, but is never seen in again throughout the episode. This level of individuality informs the audience of the unique characteristics that each person has. As of yet, the boundaries between the characters have not been undermined and we experience them not as a group, but as a series of individuals. As the performances progress, we are able to see how the music brings each character together, and how their outfits reflect a growing solidarity. During the first performance, we see them wearing costumes that look suspiciously like their normal clothes, with the exception of uniform gloves, which stick out garishly. This, as well as their verbal digressions, gives the impression that they have not formed a group, but are still only five individuals who happen to be in close proximity. This is reflected in their outfits, which are referred to as costumes, but serve only to highlight the fact that each character is still an individual and that the only thing that they have in common are the superficial white gloves. However, by the second performance, the white gloves are gone and their normal outfits are replaced with stylish costumes that complement one another. This reflects the greater solidarity that the individuals share and the solidifying of each person’s roles in the Glee Club. Lastly, the final performance has each person wearing a unique cut of matching scarlet. This is meant to reflect the complete harmony between the members, without crushing their individual identities. At this point, the tension between the individuals and the group are resolved, which leads to the formation of the complete Glee Club.
Aside from the editing and props, Glee utilizes many assumptions that allow the episode to begin with set boundaries that become more porous over time. The questionable portrayal depicts high school as a zero sum game where only the popular survive, and only by preying on the weak. Rachel Berry gains revenge by backstabbing her peer, while the football players attack students who do not fit in, including each other. This is reinforced by the teachers who compete over both resources and students. This competition is fierce and leads to some of the main conflicts throughout the episode.
This depiction of high school has little to do with actual high school and more to do with getting the audience to easily identify different clicks and divide people up in order to intensify their differences. This serves to give substantial obstacles that the episode exploits in order to create conflict. Whether it is the overdramatic lead singer, or the football player who is caught between two worlds, the idea that each social group must struggle against the others gives a unique opportunity to Glee Club to create peace in an otherwise chaotic system. This not only shapes the episode, but also allows the audience to view music as a mediating influence that brings people together. In this, Glee Club becomes the one place where each person can be themselves, without fear of retribution.
Furthermore, the tension between the individual characters and Glee Club, which dominate the episode, are forced to resolve when the situation builds to a point where they are forced to pick between their other identities and Glee. With Hudson, this decision comes when he saves a kid from a porta-potty. In the grandiose speech that accompanies this action, he lays down all of his cards. “I can do both” is the sentiment that he gives, and that episode has been driving at for the first 35 minutes. This resolves the tension that exists between each individual identity, as well as the differences between social groups. In this speech Hudson is able to become a part of both groups, which relieves the tension that was forcing him to decide between the two. This is reflected in the parallel plot for Schuester, who decided to stay when he sees the final rehearsal. While his financial tension between home and work are different, and unresolved, the tension between his passion and his financial situation are resolved. However, while many conflicts are resolved within this episode, they are not resolved in the long run. Schuester still has to contest with the cheer leading instructor, and is still unhappily married with money issues. The quarterback seems to pick up both glee club and football, but the question is left open about how this will play out due to the friend that ominously watches his final performance.
This text utilizes traditional assumptions about high school in order to create an environment where the barriers and differences between each person are based on their position within a highly competitive social hierarchy. These barriers are reinforced by the editing which plays a massive role in juxtaposing the characters and highlighting their differences. These differences are constantly competing with each individual’s desire to unite in order to fulfill their passion for music, while the formation of Glee Club hangs in the balance. The boundaries between the characters, however, are being undermined with props and music, both of which depict an increased unity as the show progresses. Eventually, the battle between props and editing is resolved with the formation of a Glee Club that is able to perform as a cohesive unit. These tensions get resolved on an individual level by allowing the characters to bring their separate identities together. The individuals are able to break through the rigid social boundaries, without compromising their passion or social standing, and accept the plurality of their personalities.
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