I love ritual. It grounds me and helps me to feel more connected to the Divine. One unusual ritual in which I engage each Tuesday night is going to my ‘gym ashram’ to ‘sweat my prayers in the key of Glee’. For those who don’t watch tv or who have been meditating in a cave for the past year, Glee is a weekly show that takes place in a fictional Ohio High School. Populated by a quirky cast of characters that represents the various cliques and archetypes; from the football quarterback to the mohawked troublemaker, from the Barbra Streisand wanna-be raised by two Gay men, to the head of the cheerleading squad who used to be in the abstinence club until she got pregnant by the mohawked troublemaker but had been in relationship with the jock who eventually fell in love with the Barbra wanna-be and then broke up with her to get back with the first girl who prior to their reunion, was with the new kid in school who becomes the new football captain … from the bad girl secretly in love with the sweet, but ditsy blond, to one who wants to dance, but is unable because he has been in a wheel chair since a childhood accident and who was in relationship with the Asian-American goth girl who broke up with him and is now dating another Asian American who can’t sing, but can dance up a storm, ends up with the sweet but ditsy blond, to the token openly Gay kid who sings like Madonna, Ethel Merman and Julie Andrews who is best friends with the token African American young woman who is a gutsy diva and is now in relationship with a male student from another school to which he had transferred to get away from a bullying football player who is in the closet himself and then the mohawked troublemaker who has mellowed is now in relationship with tougher than he is female wrestler (you need a score card to keep up with all of the dynamics:) they all have one thing in common…they have talent in the vocal realm. For various reasons, each has decided to join the Glee club called The New Directions. Lest you think that it is all glamour and glory, know that they are considered mistfits by most of the other students, as evidenced by the number of times they have gotten Slushies in various shades and hues tossed on them in the hallways. Add to it, the coach of the cheerleading squad called The Cheerios who detests the head of the Glee club and does everything she can to sabotage their success , an OCD beleagured guidance counselor who has mutual but unfulfilled love and lust for the head of the Glee club and you have a worldwide hit on your hands.
Growing up loving music and musical theater performance, it is like watching an hour long musical that keeps me on the elliptical for that length of time.
The character development has gotten richer week by week and topics such as bigtory, homophobia, prayer, death, sex, teen alcohol abuse and pregnancy, forgiveness, parental job loss and homelessness are touched on poignantly. This week was no exception. Sue, the Grinch-like character who we come to find out got the way she did, because her Nazi-hunting mother left her and her sister Jean who had Down Syndrome in the care of others to travel world wide. Sue developed a bitterness about life as a result of that and the way people treated her sister. In the most recent episode, Jean dies from pneumonia and two of the Glee club kids (both who have lost parents and whose surviving parents end up marrying each other, making them step-brothers) help her clean out the nursing home room that had been hers for more than 30 years. They also plan Jean’s funeral. When they discover that Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory was Jean’s favorite movie that, according to Sue, “She would watch at least three times a week.”, they plan a service around that theme. When Sue walks into the funeral chapel, she is astounded by how many people showed up in tribute to her adored sister. At the front of the chapel were props that looked like they came straight from the movie. No oompa loompas in sight though. The New Directions choir then sings the song Pure Imagination as a video of Sue and Jean plays. A sense of redemption, softening and forgiveness occurs. A Course in Miracles says” “The holiest place on Earth is where an ancient hatred has become a present love.” Clearly, the melting of Sue’s frozen heart is the beginning of that love.
What was especially cool for me, was that this is the song that is my cell phone ring tone. When I think about the genius and the literal pure imagination that goes into creating such a quality show, I am astounded. It has something for everyone and the ways in which it celebrates diversity and isn’t shy about confronting the controversial topics is to be admired.
So sit back and have a listen and allow your own pure imagination to flow forth~
Pure Imagination
Lyrics & Music by: Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley Written for the Film: Willy Wonka & The Chocolate Factory (1971)
Willy Wonka:
[Spoken]
Hold your breath
Make a wish
Count to three
[Sung]
Come with me
And you’ll be
In a world of
Pure imagination
Take a look
And you’ll see
Into your imagination
We’ll begin
With a spin
Traveling in
The world of my creation
What we’ll see
Will defy
Explanation
If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanta change the world?
There’s nothing
To it
There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
Living there
You’ll be free
If you truly wish to be
If you want to view paradise
Simply look around and view it
Anything you want to, do it
Wanta change the world?
There’s nothing
To it
There is no
Life I know
To compare with
Pure imagination
Living there
You’ll be free
If you truly
Wish to be
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