Lent is coming to a close so that means I should get all my
repenting done.
I need to repent something on my blog. On March 2 I
posted my thoughts on the premiere episodes of ABC (American Broadcasting
Company)’s The Real O’Neals. In my reflection I moved through stages of
concern over how the show would be received and what good the show will
ultimately do to a “Okay, well, it’s here so let’s give it a try” mentality.
I got it all wrong. Mea culpa.
Mea maxima culpa.
The show is brilliant and let me explain why and what was
wrong with my original views.
The biggest issue I had with the show was that I didn’t believe
the target audience was going to be there.
That is, I didn’t believe that the LGBT youth who would be able to
identify with the main character would actually be sitting on the sofa next to
their parents and watching the show. I
still don’t know if they are or aren’t but what I’ve discovered is that it
simply doesn’t matter. Why? Because social media has made the living room
sofa HUGE.
For the past few weeks I’ve gotten to know clueless yet well
intentioned Jimmy, sneaky, underhanded, duplicitous Shannon, terrifying and
judgmental Eileen, Pat who may or may not have figured out how the drier turns
off by now, Aunt Jodi who’s always got her emergency child pageant kit in her
car, and, of course, dear, sweet, gay Kenny.
And as I’ve gotten to know this caricature of an American family I’ve
sat on the virtual couch via Twitter and watched other people get to know them,
too. What’s more I’ve watched as Martha
Plimpton, Jay Ferguson, Matt Shively, Mary Hollis Inboden and the rest of the
cast join in the conversation. This is
the gift of social media: Stars were unapproachable
in previous generations but are literally right there watching with you now…from
a different time zone, sometimes, but laughing and joking and enjoying the show
right along with you in real time.
Social media has changed how we approach television.
But THIS is what I’ve witnessed that has made me completely
change my mind about this show. I now
believe it is one of the most important programs on TV for the LGBT
community.
Last night I watched episode 105. In a nutshell, Shannon tells her brothers
that their mother is internet dating but the truth of the matter is that she’s
actually looking for a job. This leads
to his siblings encouraging Kenny to do some internet dating of his own. I won’t spoil it for you but I will say that
porn and limencello lead to A LOT of
great lines. And amidst the killer one
liners and the word plays come the truly touching lines that mean the world to
the LGBT audience. In a brief exchange
between characters the LGBT audience can identify themselves in the
conversation for similar conversations they’ve actually had in their own lives
or they see the kind of healthy and functional family that they can’t seem to
find in their own lives.
In last night’s episode, as Kenny sat next to his father in
the car, and lamented that he was going to die alone because the relationship
thing was too complicated and that there’s a lot of homework to being gay, his
father, Pat, responds with nothing but support and encouragement, saying, “It’s
not complicated. Just think about your
ideal person. What’s he like?” Kenny says, “Right now I just want someone
cute to smile at me.”
How many of us can identify with Kenny’s situation? How many of us long for the support of Kenny’s
father? I had to stop myself midtweet
from commenting that I wish Jay Ferguson would adopt me because too many of us ache for that kind of support.
And that’s when I saw it.
People were getting that kind
of support. Not only was the show
validating their own feelings, seeing themselves in Kenny’s situation, but as
they tweeted about Kenny’s father’s response, so many of the cast of The Real O’Neals were right there giving people that support. Matt Shively became Jimmy, the older brother
who wants to help but just doesn’t have a clue and tweeted support. Mary Hollis Inboden became Aunt Jodi, with
her whimsy and solid support and encouragement and tweeted hugs and a
willingness to be everyone’s Aunt Jodi.
And during his live tweeting Noah Galvin became a mirror for so many people
at that moment you could just feel the looming clouds of many LGBT people’s
lives breaking up to allow a glimpse of that rainbow—of hope and promise.
I was right in my
first reflection on one thing, though.
This show isn’t about simple entertainment. We’ve become so accustomed to the current sitcom
formula in which we’re entertained by jokes and slapstick that we forget there
was a time in which sitcoms carried a bit of a “punch” to them—a glimpse into
real life and suggestions on how to make it through. Because The
Real O’Neals’ premise lies in the midst of a culture that has struggled for
recognition and equality for so many decades, I knew that it had to be on
target and address the realities of the LGBT community within the framework of
comedy. I wrote at the time that I was
worried that the show would simply be known as “that show with the gay kid.” I don’t think there’s any danger of that
anymore. I think The Real O’Neals is the show about the gay kid we either were, are,
or wish we could be and the family who, along with him, is trying to figure out
what it all means. The gift is that not
only does the show take the audience along this journey of discovery but the
cast have gone out of their way to join the audience on the audience’s journey of discovery.
So, I have definitely transitioned from tentative support to
fierce fan and advocate. The LGBT
community and the world need this show.
It’s doing something—something
I didn’t expect and something I can’t quite get my head around. All I know is how it’s affected me and how I’ve
seen, through social media, the show affecting others.
So, ABC decision makers, if you’re reading this, you really
need to make sure season two happens.
You won’t regret it.
#TheRealONeals
#RenewTheRealONeals
#LetsGetReal
#YouGayBro
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