I know what you’re thinking … it’s been far too long since you got a glimpse behind the scenes at CliqueClack. You miss the quirky charm of our discussions about sitcoms, our lively debate about the top 100 sci-fi shows, even the derogatory statements about Jenny Wade that subsequently contributed to us getting booted from her Twitter followers list. It seems she’s a bit sensitive….
Apparently the internet has its collective panties in a bunch about whether or not Will was physically abusive to Terri on this week’s Glee. Julia filled in the team, and then, in usual form, we took off from there….
JULIA: For everyone who watched Glee last night, there’s a huge debate going on between fans in regard to the scene between Will and Terri. Was he being physically abusive? Was Terri being emotionally abusive to him? Who was more wrong in that situation? Did that scene freak you out?
A lot of people are saying that Will crossed a line and went borderline abusive. I say Terri’s been emotionally abusing him for so long (“This marriage only works when you feel bad about yourself”???) and lied to him about such a huge thing that his actions were warranted. The worst thing he did was grip her wrist. I’m not saying it’s ever okay to physically hurt anyone, but still….
Another thing people are bringing up is if Will’s supposed to be a leader figure that the kids look up to, what does that say about him? Was it wrong to even SHOW him being that menacing on TV? Even before this episode there’s been a lot of talk about how this show treats women, which I think is ridiculous. They treat everyone pretty much as flawed caricatures, and there’s plenty to admire and loathe in everyone, regardless of gender.
Still, I think this would be interesting to discuss in my nerdy “representations of feminism in the media 101″ favorite sort of way.
IVEY: I personally hadn’t seen any of this discussion on the internets, but I’ve got to say that the idea that Will was A) Physically Abusive, or B) Wrong for how he acted, is laughable at best. He could have been, but wasn’t.
But hey, I can admit when I’m wrong!
If I can take it a step further, Glee did something last night that we don’t see too much on TV — the male was the sensitive, betrayed person rather than the female. As we all know from being force-fed Lifetime movies, women in this world get figuratively screwed by men all the time. This time around the role was reversed, and it was interesting to see a passionate response from a man rather than something like “I screws whats I want.”
JULIA: I’ve heard Glee get a lot of flack for how it treats female characters and this, among other reasons, is why I vehemently disagree.
To be honest, I did flinch and worry over how close it was skirting to the edge of what could be considered abusive behavior, but the fact that not only did I honestly fear that a man who normally dresses in Mr. Roger sweaters could hit his wife, but then he ended up ultimately getting him to root for him! Matthew Morrison deserves at least an Emmy nod. Or some sort of nod.
DEBBIE: Clearly you don’t watch enough soap operas, Rich. Daytime TV is full of the evil, conniving vixens like Terri, and I’d go so far as to say her character is a spoof of them. I can’t tell you how many fake pregnancies have appeared on daytime TV.
Oh, and Matthew Morrison, if you’re reading, I’m nodding!
IVEY: I would chime in with a “soap operas don’t count” comment here, but then when Julia would call me sexist, I’d have to agree with her there, again.
RICH: I was going to discount soap operas. Trust me, I was brought up on Days of our Lives (Frankie and Jennifer anyone?) and Another World, and knew how diabolical women could be. However, in many cases, the men were just diabolical. While Will certainly yearns for another I don’t see him being diabolical. If he was, then Sue would be tied down in the middle of the desert while a horde of scorpions headed her way.
JULIA: In a strange way, soap operas tend to be socially progressive. They show a lot of taboo subjects before major shows will. Of course mixed in with all that is a whole lot of crazy.
RICH: When you think of it, a standard soap opera covers all types of genres; romance, drama, melodrama, science fiction, comedy, romantic comedy, mystery and suspense, horror, and soft core porn, among others. And, that’s just on one soap opera.
JEN: Sort of like using sugary Kool-Aid as a delivery system for Vitamin C.
IVEY: Except, from my perspective, it would be like using crappy cough syrup to delivery Vitamin C.
JEN: Ooh, that’s definitely better.
Clacked by Debbie McDuffee
on Dec 04, 2009 @ 14:45 EST5EDT
During that scene I did think about whether Will was being abusive or not. With friends that have been abused and of course with the recent very public cases of abuse or non-abuse, I definitely was thinking it during the scene. I think the show came very very close to crossing the line, but I don’t think they did.
That said, I think if Terri called the police after that scene, Will would have been arrested. What would have happened after that, I’m not sure. It is a very sensitive issue and I have seen people charged by acting like Will did, both men and women.
Interesting topic – On first viewing, I too wondered if he had at least approached the line, if not crossing it.
In your discussion of how Glee relates to the soap genre, I think it’s also important to note: Matthew Morrison himself was an actor on a soap. On As the World Turns, he played a guy who amongst other things, was a rapist. During that scene in Glee, I was struck by his performance and immediately thought of how similar it was to his darker scenes from ATWT as Adam Munson.
Unlike some of the other ladies out there, I didn’t think the grabbing-of-the–wrists constituted physically abuse behavior.
I tried to put myself in that situation: What if my husband grabbed my wrists during a heated argument, especially of that magnitude?
My honest answer: it would make me uncomfortable and freak me out. Having been physically abused by my first husband, I’m a little more sensitive (okay, paranoid!) about arguments getting out of hand. I don’t want to ever go through that again; if my current husband gets in my face during fights, it bothers me. But this is because of my baggage, not necessarily his behavior.
Final answer on Will? Nope. Not physical abuse. When he throws her over a table, however, I’ll vote yes.
I don’t care she is a bitch, and if you read my other comment about the episode you know what I wanted was much much MCUH WORSE (Really better). :)
This show is a lot like a soup opera because we know next to nothing about the characters. lol
Will was pretty damn calm during that scene in my opinion. If that were me, yeah… Terri would have had more than a sore wrist. That stupid lying bitch needs to just DIAF.
Doesn’t a man have the right to express anger?
Will spoke in a deep angry voice. That’s all he did. He’d just discovered what a cosmically cruel, unrepentantly selfish and manipulative his wife was. And as he confronted her, she continued lying without relent until she could lie no more. Confronting her with the baby-pillow she was wearing was the only way to stop her stream of deceit.
How was he supposed to react to that? sprinkle daisies and dance?
I say he reacted in a reasonable way. Touching her wrist and gently lifting his wife’s blouse to reveal her lie is not physical abuse.
It sounds like everyone is in agreement here. I agree with CJ and Echo and think that it says a lot that Echo had no problem with it as someone who has been abused in the past.
From what I recall – and I watched the episode Saturday evening – Will subtly showed restraint. I think that there’s some great directing and acting in there because it is a fine line. I imagine many takes in which they tried to find the right balance and the one take that would prompt the right feelings for both Will and Terri.
As I said in the discussion about whether or not Terri was worthy of sympathy, it’s great that the show invites such discussion.