Gaga for GLEE!

It happened to me. I was overtaken by Gleek fever. And according to this year's Emmy nominations, apparently the rest of us were too.

Congratulations to Glee! for 19 Emmy nominations! It's so wild. I've never heard of a TV show getting that many nods in my life.

But instead of harping on about how amazing, clever, fresh, and well-cast the show is, I'd instead like to focus on the episode that I believe was the most special of the whole series. And that of course is Theatricality--the Lady Gaga tribute episode!

Both the tribute episodes, "The Power of Madonna" and "Theatricality", were defiantly two of the best episodes in the first season, but Theatricality goes above and beyond in musical numbers, emotional depth, and intensity.

In this episode, Glee club learns the joys of living life theatrically, with unabashed self expression and your freak flag flying high. Among many issues, this episode deals with gay rights and the scrutiny people face for being different, leading viewers to some of the most colorful and emotional scenes in the whole season.

If you're a fellow Gleek, then you know all about the witty one-liners the writers sprinkle into the show. This flashy episode is full of quotes to LOL and ponder at.

• "My mom won't even let me watch Twilight. She said Kristen Stewart seems like a bitch." -Tina
• "I'm going to put together a palette that expresses who you are and who I want you to be...Who you want to be." -Kurt
• "What's up with this Gaga dude? Doesn't he just dress weird, right? Like Bowie." -Puck 
• "Even though I'm painfully shy and obsessed with death, I'm a really effervescent person." -Tina
• "You look terrible. I look awesome." -Brittany
• "The reason I'm here right now, in a shower curtain, is because of you." -Finn
• "I swear to you I will never change. I'm proud to be different. It's the best thing about me." -Kurt
• "We're all freaks together, and we shouldn't have to hide it." -Finn

Many would probably say that the best thing about Theatricality was the quality of the music numbers. If you've been following the season, then you know that some of the music numbers don't quite add up to the others. Some are just OK. But Theatricality delivers four numbers that are each very impactful in their own way.

Rachel and Ms. Corcoran's "Poker Face" could melt your heart, and the intent in Puck's eyes as he sings Kiss's "Beth" to Quinn is 100% believable.  But in my opinion, their version of "Bad Romance" really stole the show.



Apart from extremely jealous, this performance made me feel happy above all else. I loved watching them all swinging their claws and gritting their teeth while they rocked it out in those crazy outfits. I believe behavior like this is healthy. Theatricality is healthy. We can do nothing but gain from acting this way--abandoning inhibitions and surrendering to true self expression and exultation.

I appreciated Glee so much for making this episode, and ultimately, it made me appreciate Lady Gaga in a whole new way that I hadn't before.

It used to be cults like Rocky Horror Picture Show that preached the joys of living larger than life and without inhibitions. Now, Lady Gaga is bringing that message into the mainstream so that everyone has a chance to discover it. Now that we can celebrate the theatricality and raw, passionate energy of an artist like Lady Gaga, those who were previously unwilling are now able to see that it's OK to let go. It's OK to be a freak if that's how you feel.

Thank you Lady Gaga and Glee for giving hope to all the little monsters out there, and keeping the Rocky Horror Picture Show message alive--Don't dream it, be it!

Toy Story 3: The End

::Sigh:: Toy Story 3--the ending of probably the most treasured animated story of our generation. And with this last installment, I think it's safe to say that Pixar blew our minds in ways we weren't expecting. Whether it's the phenomenal short, Day and Night (see it in 3D!), the character depth, or the darker tone, Toy Story ended the trilogy in the most impactful way. But of course, what everyone is really talking about is the last 30 minutes of the movie--the ending of it all. 

If you didn't cry during the last half hour of this movie, you must be a robot, because everyone I've talked to says they did. I won't go into what exactly happened in case some of you haven't seen it, but as you probably know, Andy does end up giving his toys away. Let's just say that the whole a affair is a LOT more emotional than you could ever imagine.
 

With my personal experience in seeing the ending, I cried among many other things because I felt an overwhelming sadness that this wonderful story, these beloved characters were all coming to an end. I thought about how when Toy Story started, I was Andy's age, and that I had grown up with this story too. I felt this strange loss within myself. Just like Andy, I was losing these toys too. 

Given the experience I had in the movie theater with Toy Story 3, here is my interpretation of the epic ending to this tale: 

 Andy represents the audience--the entire generation that grew up with this story. As I said before, our generation was about Andy's age when this story started, so his growing up experience mirrors ours. I believe the message that Toy Story 3 leaves with us is all about growing up--how it makes us change, the things we have to lose, but also the childhood innocence that will always be in our hearts.

Like Andy, we too had to let go of our childhood relics. The playground days had to end. But what we took from that precious time is still part of who we are. The toys we loved, the games we played helped us grow. And even if those toys and those games are long gone, we are still children at heart because the memories and connections we had to that time are still alive. 

No matter how old we grow, we will always have times when we feel like our childhood selves who cried over broken toys and scraped knees. And whose imaginations were so wild and carefree, and hearts so full of love, that all we wanted to do was just cuddle up with our toys and play.