2011
The Glee Project: Rooting for Lindsay?
The Glee Project is gearing up for the finale, which means we are one step closer to finding out which contestant will be joining Glee next season.
We don’t know who will prevail but there is one thing we do know, a lot of Americans have turned against The Glee Project singing sensation Lindsay. So we have to ask, why is it so hard to roote for Lindsay?
“I roote for Lea, I don’t roote for you…”
On last week’s episode of The Glee Project, Ryan Murphy told Lindsay that she has Lea Michele like talent. Murphy then delivered a huge blow to Lindsay stating, “I roote for Lea, I don’t roote for you. I don’t know why.”
Did Lindsay’s ego overshadow her talent?
Many fans of The Glee Project agree with Murphy’s conclusion. Like Murphy they have a hard time routing for Lindsay.
After the first couple of episodes viewers of The Glee Project started turning against Lindsay. Many seemed to conclude that Lindsay’s ego overshadowed her talent.
Lindsay is clearly talented, however; humility does not seem to be one of the many talents she possesses. Over and over again Lindsay is seen in interviews stating that she is the most talented contestant.
In addition, throughout the The Glee Project Lindsay’s attitude seemed to be that she was entitled to victory. On many occasions many viewers got the impression that Lindsay is of the belief that the show is a mere formality.
“This is a competition”
In addition to her ego, Lindsay was also chastised by The Glee Project fans for the way she’s gone about this competition.
When one competitor throws a kiss into the mix, Lindsay goes there too. When one competitor cries, Lindsay goes there too. When one competitor receives any type of praise from any of the judges or mentors, she takes it as her que and tries to replicate the same thing in order to get ahead. One of the mentors, Nikki, even accused her of “forcing emotional drama instead of letting it happen” to get ahead.
Entitlement and the perception of Lindsay
The reason why many Glee Project fans are not routing for Lindsay is because she comes off on the show as contrived, entitled and self-centered.
Lindsay’s perceived sense of entitlement and her displays of what appears to be narcissistic traits turned off many viewers. It’s no surprise. While there may be some benefits to narcissism, those benefits are short lived. Psychology Today reports that “‘narcissist are popular so they get positive feed back, but are then devalued in the long term,’ when people learn their true colors.”
Dr. Campbell, who wrote The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement
went on to find that an attitude of entitlement, similar to the one Lindsay seems to possess, is the “most dangerous facet” of narcissistic personalities and the “most damaging to others.” She argues that entitlement leads to requesting special treatment which results “invariably” in other people getting the shaft.
Lindsay may not be a full blown narcissist but she seems to possess some narcissistic traits. The respect and admiration Lindsay earned from the competitors, judges, mentors and viewers at the beginning of the competition quickly seemed to fade as they began to discover what they believed was a sense of entitlement and realized that she was willing to step on and manipulate them in order to get ahead.
Why root for Lindsay?
After going through all the episodes again and seeing her behavior we cannot blame The Glee Project fans for openly despising Lindsay. Nikki seems to be right in her assessment that Lindsay “force[s] emotional drama” to gain favor. Lindsay’s last two breakdowns during the last chance performances seemed scripted to do just that.
Last week when Ryan asked Lindsay why he could not root for her she said she was trying to hard to be perfect, in what seemed to be a perfectly planned speech.
This week Lindsay had an entire speech prepared about no longer wanting to be perfect. A speech that was especially ironic since she praised herself in the very same episode for not trying to be perfect but delivering what she characterized as a “perfect performance” for her homework assignment.
It’s hard to root for Lindsay because we don’t know who Lindsay really is. Lindsay seems determined to act out the role of the perfect competitor rather than actually compete as herself in the competition.
Ryan Murphy creates a reason to root for Lindsay
The only reason to root for Lindsay seems to be the argument Ryan Murphy put forth during last week’s episode of The Glee Project. He asserted that Glee is a series devoted to the underdog. Since no one is routing for Lindsay, he seemed to reason that she is in fact the underdog.
If entitlement runs rampant in this country, if narcissism is the drug of choice, maybe Lindsay’s story is one this country needs to hear. Maybe Glee fans need to hear a story about why people in this country are so driven to a facade of perfection. Maybe Lindsay’s story could serve as a cautionary tale.
Is Lindsay the right teacher for Glee fans
The problem with using Lindsay as a vehicle to teach Glee fans about the dangers of entitlement and perfection is that in order for this story to be told Lindsay would have to change.
It does not seem like Lindsay is ready to change. It does not seem like Lindsay even realizes that she needs to change. Lindsay doesn’t seem to realize that her overconfidence and sense of entitlement is a hinderance to herself and is destructive to others.
Ryan Murphy may be right, Lindsay story of overcoming entitlement, conquering her insecurity and getting rid of the urge to be perfect may be an important lesson for the viewers of Glee, but we can’t say for sure Lindsay is the right person to tell it.
Lindsay may benefit from learning a lesson about the dangers of entitlement but we’re not sure Glee viewers could benefit from her teaching it.
What are your thoughts on The Glee Project’s Lindsay? Are you routing for her? Comment below.
