I have never had a difficult time telling fact from fiction where television is concerned. Most television dramas are intended to entertain and news and documentaries are intended to educate. Rarely is that line so distinct in the real world, however. And many of the dramas on television today attempt to set themselves apart amid the clutter of hundreds of cable channels and thousands of television shows through cutting edge plot lines that no other show wants to touch.
One of the recent new hit shows that thrives on exposing and humorously diffusing previously avoided awkward situations is the musical dramady, Glee. From a cheerleader with Downs Syndrome, to an openly gay relationship; from bullying to mixed families, Glee features a variety of situations that earlier shows shied away from, and though there is always a humorous, slightly nonsensical element to it, it embraces the "misfits" with loving arms.
No one in their right mind would mistake the show for real life.
But, whether the writers intended it or not, by making these stories such a prominent part of the show and by embracing these story lines, they have also embraced the task of bringing awareness to these situations. That has never been more evident than with the recently resurrected story of Quinn's decision to place her and Puck's baby with an adoptive family.
In the first season, Quinn--popular, pretty Cheerio and New Directions member--experienced an unplanned pregnancy, and after a season of confusing and unrealistic plot complications, placed her daughter Beth with a rival glee club coach who happened to be the birth mother of Quinn's glee club rival Rachel. In the second season, you'd think the writers had forgotten all about this prominent story line. But by season three, it was time to resurrect it...unfortunately.
Shelby, Beth's mother, moves to Lima and takes a job in Quinn and Puck's high school. She confronts Quinn about her destructive lifestyle and dangles the promise of an open adoption before her to encourage her to act more responsibly. And after a single night in the company of Beth and Shelby, Quinn decides to go "good" again in an effort to "get full custody," which she believes will happen in a matter of weeks.
And just like that, the writers have gone off the deep end.
Now, I don't expect these writers to get everything right. Or most things right. After all, anyone who watches this show accepts the need to suspend their disbelief for 60 minutes, and a really true to life story line would stick out like a sore thumb. But I did not expect them to write a story line based solely on research gleaned from Lifetime movies.
This story line does a huge disservice to all members of the adoption triad. It portrays birth mothers as unstable baby snatchers. It feeds the fears of hopeful adoptive parents that their adoption is not permanent and subject to revocation at anytime in the 18 years of their son's or daughter's childhood. It treats innocent adoptees as objects to be passed between waring parties.
Most people that have offered opinions on this particular story line seem to understand that it is far-fetched and rooted in the very active imaginations of the writers. But the target audience of this show are the very teens that it depicts, and when the writers are showing their contempt for the women who choose an adoption plan by showing them to be crazy, spiteful and desperate, it plants seeds of doubt in their heads about the wisdom of an adoption plan.
When only 3% of the teenagers who give birth to a child make an adoption plan, it is important to examine why. Adoption is not the answer for every unplanned pregnancy, no matter the age of the mother. But, for many teen moms, they haven't even considered adoption because they believe adoption is still the closed, shameful and secretive institution of the 60's. And Glee's writers should have taken the opportunity, not necessarily to advocate for adoption, but certainly not to advocate against it.
The optimist in me says that at least people are talking about adoption, and no press is bad press. But I wonder which is worse--not talking about adoption at all, or perpetuating the lies?
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