We've already seen Emma's black and white floral dress, so let's break down the rest of her outfits.
Emma wore her green pencil skirt with this Kate Spade yellow cardigan and yellow collared shirt. I always figured that skirt was another J.Crew No. 2 Pencil Skirt, but with the pineapple cardigan and blouse tucked in, we could see that it actually has pockets! New discovery!
It's the little things, people.
Kate Spade Kati Pineapple Cardigan - no longer available
At Nationals, Emma wore her signature bow blouse with a blue cardigan, presumably a J.Crew Jackie.
J.Crew Jackie Cardigan - $62 (this color not available)
I glimpsed what looked like a floral skirt of some kind, perhaps her J.Crew Jardin Pencil Skirt, or the Fantastic Field Pencil Skirt from Anthropologie? What do you think, WWEPWers?
And then there was the orange nightie.
Okay, now here's the part where I complain. I loved Emma throughout this episode - supportive Emma, reasonable Emma, guidance-counselor-y Emma. Until she "rewarded" Will with sex.
Don't get me wrong, I'm down with Glee being as irreverent as it can possibly be. I like it best when it's unsafe and makes the audience feel uncomfortable because, yes, they DID go there, and we laughed hysterically.
In its fledgling days, I thought Glee was going to be the show that changed the way we laughed at society, in the same way that All In The Family did in the 70s. Everything had to be funny, or none of it would be funny. And Glee did that masterfully, before it changed directions in its sophomore season.
That's when Glee became a show about social justice. And songs. I'm okay with that Glee. The writers have done a bang-up job this season of placing the focus back on the story and the characters, while striking that balance between humor and "lessons." Until recently, Glee was having a serious identity crisis, and then real television writers stepped in to fix the glaring inconsistencies. (Except for the themed episodes and ridiculous guest stars, but hey, sometimes we all have to do what the boss tells us to do, even when we don't want to.)
But here's my problem. If Glee is going to try to teach through the medium of television comedy, it must be exceedingly consistent. It cannot teach the lesson that domestic violence is never okay, and in the same episode, have a strong female character reward her fiance with sex. A woman's sexuality is not a prize.
And so, if Glee is going to be The Show That Changed Everything (and I believe it has the capacity to be just that), it must decide what, exactly, it's going to change.
16 comments:
Comments, agreement and disagreement welcome. :)
Saw this comment on TWoP, which sums up exactly what I was thinking:
"I agree but they ended up making Emma's first time about Will winning, which just brought me back to The First Time with Rachel and Finn. I thought the scenes were cute, and Emma did mention that is was for her too, but something about the "My man is a winner and I thought he should be treated that way", it just rubbed me wrong. It goes back to these writers seeing womens virginity and sexuality as being about the male. It wasn't because Emma decided she was ready. You know she had been dealing with her issues and working through some things and came to a decision on her own that she felt ready to take that step. Instead it was presented as a prize for Will winning Nationals." -spiritof76
I find myself ...sort of out growing "Glee" and Emma's outfits...I still appreciate her classic yet whimsical style but they are ...just repeating themselves in many ways. :) I also appreciate how much effort you put into this blog with large amount of information and knowledge. :)
BTW- the 2 word verification is just too annoying and I assume it pushes lots of commenters away.
Oh, wow, I didn't even realize that Blogger has 2-word verifications now! That's very annoying. I'll see what I can do about changing that.
I'm an old-school blogger from back when blogging was new, before the Pinterests and Tumblrs of the world came about, with their one-click "reblogs" and "likes" and "repins." I SO miss the days when blogs were places to exchange ideas, share thoughts, and leave notes that might just make someone's day (or in some cases, ruin it!). For better or worse, I loved blogs (and still do) as a place where people can interact with more than just a mouse click. *sad face*
So I really appreciate your comment, and that you took the time to type in the annoying word verification to share it! :)
I totally agree.
The sad part of this whole thing is that in The First Time they did handle the issue of virginity well for Kurt/Blaine and Mike/Tina. With Kurt and Blaine we were able to see both of them talk about the issue and decide to have sex because it was something they both wanted to do. And Tina described how she and Mike described a time where they were both ready, not one where she was doing something for him.
So, I don't really know why they do this with Rachel and Emma. But it has always bugged me how they kept Emma a virgin even after her marriage to Carl because it felt like the writers were doing it for Will. I would have been fine if she stayed a virgin but the focus always seemed to be Will. I honestly would have been happier if she lost her virginity in The Power of Madonna because it would have been motivated by her wants and desires (even if they were influenced by Sue) and not something that had been done simply for Will.
My thoughts exactly!! The entire show was building to this moment since season 1. They did a great job showing the impact of mental illness on a person's life and how it can interfere with work and relationships. They also portrayed the difficulties in overcoming mental illness by showing Emma's journey with OCD. Then when the big moment came, it was played off as a reward for Will for winning nationals. I wanted to slap some sense into Emma! It wasn't a reward for Will it was a reward for you! For being a strong woman and overcoming your issues and taking that next step! When sex becomes a reward or a prize we are regressing to a time when women perceived it as their duty to please their husbands. Come on now, we've come too far for all that nonsense.
Emma take some advice from Aladdin and repeat the words of Princess Jasmine, "I am not a prize to be won!".
It's so sad that sex is such a focal point in our society. You are right, Danielle, sex should not be a prize.
I agree on all counts. The writing is inconsistent and I've loved Emma's development, but that decision on her part (and the writers') seemed so out of step.
I am so glad that I'm not the only one who was turned off by this. I especially hated that Emma's OCD was completely overshadowed, like it was something she could quickly overcome by celebrating Will instead of worrying about herself. Totally grossed me out that treatment of a "winner" = entitlement to women's bodies and sexuality.
Very much agreed with all sentiments about strong women and female sexuality.
But I wanted to respond to "outgrowing Emma's style." I agree that much of Emma's wardrobe has become a little repetitive, a little less refreshing than it was when Glee first burst out on the scene. I've recently found myself veering away from recreating Emma's outfits and instead using Emma-inspired pieces (particularly from early episodes) within my own developing style. I don't think I'm "outgrowing," but rather "growing up within" the Pillsbury wardrobe universe. Perhaps others feel the same.
Danielle, first of all in order to remove the 2 word verification, you'd have to back to the old style dashboard and change it from there. :)
About your comment on "growing up with" instead of outgrowing, I don't disagree. I find myself often inspired by her color combo or the way she wears accessories but I honestly am not as intersted as looking foward to seeing what she'll wear in next episodes...that sort of feeling. But I can only speak for myself. I guess I am in a fashion rut; so it's not Emma's fault. :)
I love blogs too and absolultely hate all the "new" social media. However, when I find myself membling alone (without enough reader and commenters) I feel discouraged. Now I decide to close down my own blog. I will follow yours, still with all my heart. Thanks
Whoops--I am not Danielle, the writer of this blog. Guess that's what I get for being a less active follower in recent days.
Userpics can be a good guideline for anyone having difficulty. Proper Danielle has a pic of our beloved Emma. I, Other Danielle, stick with my Wishbone-esque avatar.
Oh I am so relieved that I'm not the only one who was so angered by that scene! I wanted to slap Emma too, Nicolle! I just could not believe those words came out of her mouth...I mean I know it's the writers who are to blame but honestly (and I know this may sound extreme) I have trouble having respect for any actress who would utter such words without good reason. And there was no reason here.
Emma's always given such good advice to the students on this subject and been assertive about her feelings on this issue and we know at least some of her reasons, which made complete sense in the context of her character. To switch it around now and make out that it wasn't about her OCD or fear of intimacy or any other heretofore explained issue but just because Will was a bit of a loser until he won a show choir championship and therefore didn't deserve this reward, well, it leaves me disgusted. I can't believe anyone writes this stuff, let alone that any of the writers are female. I've long maintained the actors could improv better scripts and I'm going to use this as further proof.
Yep, left me feeling a little nauseous.
This isn't the Emma we know. I don't really think her style is the Pillsbury style we fell in love with either. So sad.
On the plus side Lou managed to sneak in one of those cute Kate Spade book clutches - The Great Gatsby one to coordinate with her yellow cardi and green skirt. Yes, the discovery of pockets is also one of those things I'm holding onto as a bright spot from the episode.
I feel like I should start a new comment now but oh well here goes! Other than that I was a bit sad we didn't get more new clothes...although the bow ellis sweater finally got to make a proper appearance (other than the cut promo scene) with a new pencil skirt and all in WMHS colours! Hopefully you skipped that scene, it was bad too. And I now hate Emma's new dress because it will be forever associated with those words!! Oh and the pencil skirt from Nationals was most likely J.Crew Jardin :)
Don't forget she said "It was as much for me as it was for you."
As a wemma shipper i was thrilled when they finally had sex, but like everyone else, i didn't like the fact that they
a) squeezed it in during a musical number
b)didn't have any build up or discussion earlier in the episode
c) had that 'prize' thing, because that seemed to parallel finchel.
(which i don't like because i think finchel is a messed up ship.)
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