No cause for glee

Happy? Ecstatic? Full of Glee? If you’re not already sucked in by America’s newest black comedy export then get on board, because this year everyone is joining the Glee Club. Including someone in a wheelchair. Or is he? Cathy Reay asks why the only disabled character in the world’s most successful teenage satire is faking it

The latest US teen TV sensation, Glee appeals to two core young audiences: fans of High School Musical, because it’s about a group of attractive twenty-somethings pretending to be school kids and kissing and dancing a lot, and also the High School Musical “haters”, because it’s an exaggerated, tongue-in-cheek spoof of that show and others like it.

The Glee Club is specifically made up of teenage “outcasts”, the people in school that no-one really likes, which stereotypically includes a few kids from ethnic minorities and a boy in a wheelchair. Artie Abrams, played by non-disabled actor Kevin McHale, is usually forgotten about by his peers, regarded as a hassle because of his chair.

In the ninth episode, due to air mid-March, Artie’s disability is addressed for the first real time, other than through episodic snide comments muttered by his contemporaries, and his character is used to constructively teach the other kids in the club to be more inclusive. But the fact that Kevin McHale isn’t disabled himself raises familiar questions.

Kate Monaghan, television producer and part-time wheelchair user, says, “I absolutely love Glee. I love how Artie is part of the storylines and I love that people are able to take the piss out of him a bit. I just wish we could all get over this notion that there aren’t enough good actors with disabilities out there to play these roles, I’m surprised we’re still in a position where that’s okay.”

But disabled media journalist Louise Bolotin feels that the best person for the role doesn’t necessarily have to have experience of using a wheelchair in real life. “Able-bodied actors don’t necessarily understand the subtleties of the role but I’d rather see that than a disabled person who isn’t a great actor. It’s not about ticking boxes it’s about having someone that’s right for the role.”

Kali Franklin, disabled blogger, disagrees: “It is great there’s a wheelchair user on the show but not great that the actor clearly doesn’t know how to use a chair. They haven’t painted a fat white girl black so why give a non-disabled actor this role? Do the show’s creators fear the humour would be inappropriate if he was genuinely disabled?”

Have you seen Glee? Do you think Kevin McHale should have been cast as Artie? Should a disabled actor always fill a disabled role? Have your say at www.disabilitynow.org.uk/entertainment

Glee airs every Sunday at 5.30pm or 6.30pm on Channel 4. The episode “Wheels” is expected to air in early-to-mid March