When Glee debuted in 2009, the genre of the television musical series had a shaky history. Traditional episodic programs had previously aired musical episodes but these were seen as rare absurdities; the genre was an oddity to exploit on occasion, not something that could sustain an entire series (a belief proven when previous attempts had failed). The flash mob culture that emerged in the mid-2000s alongside the groundswell of social media changed this environment. The absurdity of people “bursting into song” in a public place was no longer a completely unrealistic scenario, and this reopened the door for the musical genre on television.
In this paper I argue that the viral spread of flash mobs and other spontaneous public performances generated an atmosphere in which the musical genre could succeed, and Glee directly benefited from this. In turn, Glee brought the underground culture of flash mobs to the mainstream, increasing the acceptance and even participation in music and other art in public spaces. Using examples drawn from both Glee performances and real-life flash mobs I hope to illustrate how the show, in mirroring a viral trend, helped to increase the overall popularity and approval of publicly accessible and participatory art by the mainstream culture.
This paper is part of the panel “‘The Show Must Go All Over the Place’: Glee and Off-Screen Cultural Transformations” with Dr. Emily Hamilton-Honey, Sheryl Lyn Bundy, and Connie Shih.
About the presenterElizabeth M. Downey
Elizabeth Downey is an Associate Professor and Instruction Librarian in the Research Services Department at Mississippi State University Libraries. She has previously published articles in Reference & User Services Quarterly and New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship, and presented papers at the national conferences of the American Library Association and the Popular Culture and American Culture Associations. Her research has focused on the use of graphic novels and comics in instruction, and promoting library services with pop culture and social media. She is currently writing about librarianship’s role in supporting academic integrity initiatives.