The Unfortunate Normal

Beginning this year in Glee’s third season, we finally met Rachel Berry’s parents: two heart-warming individuals who care deeply for their daughter and look out for her best interests, given the fact that she’s still in high school and is planning on marrying her boyfriend before graduating.

Back in 2011 on Grey’s Anatomy’s seventh season, we got to see two doctors come together in marriage after the birth of their beautiful daughter, given the fact that the mother was in a horrific car accident and gave birth in some pretty intense circumstances.

 And since 2009 when Modern Family first premiered, we’ve come to love a certain set of parents who have an adopted daughter, given the fact that at times they can get pretty hysterical when it comes to raising her.

What do all of these now famous and well-known TV couples have in common? Well given the fact that they all have their own extreme circumstances and some have some very complicated storylines, what it comes down to is that they are all same-sex couples committed to not only their relationships and marriages, but to the beautiful children that they are raising.

Given that it’s 2012 and this topic is so main stream, it’s a bit disappointing that the new NBC comedy The New Normal that is embracing this same-sex scenario has been yanked from NBC’s Utah affiliate KSL-TV. No, let me re-phrase that: it’s absurdly annoying, heartbreakingly disappointing, and very infuriating to me that they are allowed to do this.

Whether it’s religious purposes, personal preferences, or whatever other reason that may be present, I respect anyone’s decision to not want to watch the show. If there is something that they don’t agree with morally, that is their decision to not watch it. But to take that opportunity away entirely, not giving people the choice to either watch it or not? That sounds a little communist to me in my opinion.

What aggravates me the most about this cowardly decision is that this seems to be the only NBC program they have deemed inappropriate for their Utah viewers, the majority of which may in fact be conservative families with moral and religious obligations. It’s a harmless comedy that is embracing a new generation of modern families, a “new normal” so to speak. It’s a concept that was supposed to be familiar enough to not weird people out.

Why is it that a show like this is banned, yet they are still allowed to air sexual abuse and rape on Law & Order: SVU, pre-maritial relations on shows like Smash, Parenthood, & Whitney, and the amount of language, violence, and thematic elements in shows like Hannibal & Grimm? I have nothing against these shows whatsoever. In fact I happen to be an avid watcher of a vast majority of these. What bothers me is how they defend their decision by stating, “From time to time we may struggle with content that crosses the line in one area or another. The dialogue might be excessively rude and crude. The scenes may be too explicit or the characterizations might seem offensive.” (Jeff Simpson, CEO of KSL’s parent company, Bonneville International)

Jeff Simpson

You could argue that Alec Baldwin’s portrayal of Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock is an offensive characterization at times.

You could argue that the majority of the dialogue on The Office can come across as excessively rude and crude.

And of course let us not forget that everyone can certainly argue that more times than not, the scenes on Law & Order: SVU are way too explicit.

So why the big deal in banning a show that brings more light to same-sex couples who are committed to raising children in this day and age? They have yet to even see the show themselves and they’re making this decision a bit pre-maturely.

It sounds like a lot of sheltering. It sounds as if they are controlling what people can and cannot watch. They could certainly put a disclaimer before the show as a viewer discretion. They can certainly encourage their conservative viewers to not support the show if that is their choice and they want to make a statement. But please give people the chance to make their own informed decisions as to whether they want to watch the show or not.

It’s a sad situation and one that is very unfortunate. I for one hope that one day I will be happily married and raising my own children. I want to raise my children to respect others for their differences, to show kindness and compassion to families that may be different from their own. It’s a sad thing to hear that having an opportunity to shed light on same-sex parenting in a positive, light-hearted, and hilarious manner is tossed out of the way in order to protect a certain group of people. I thought we all were pretty much on the same level that communism was not a big success?

Again, allow me to reiterate that I do not judge them for taking this action. Much like the Chik-Fil-A fiasco a couple weeks ago, that is their right to share their beliefs. What they don’t have the right to do is take the viewing opportunity away entirely from audiences who may actually be interested in watching the show for themselves and making their own decisions. Not everyone in Utah is ultra conservative and scared of seeing the reality or our society today played out on TV (and I’m not talking about Jersey Shore of The Real Housewives, those are far from reality).

I’m talking about the modern families and new normals in our world today. I’m talking about giving the same-sex couples demographic and population a chance to be represented fairly along with everyone else on television today.

I for one will be campaigning hard for this show. Being a huge fan of Ryan Murphy and knowing the big success he brings with his shows (Nip/Tuck, Glee, American Horror Story), I’m excited and hopeful that this show is equally successful in more ways than one!

HOLLA!

Jennifer Lopez in Concert (or A Little Gay Boy's Dream Come True!)

I feel as though somehow words cannot even begin to describe what I just experienced tonight! After more than 10 years of waiting (well, about 13 to be exact) I got to see my love, my idol, Jennifer Lopez in concert! This, as you all are well-aware, was a HUGE deal! You see, every gay man has that one woman that they admire and look up to. For some it may be Celine, or Judy, or Cher, Madonna, GaGa, Britney, or Liza. But then there’s me who claims Jennifer Lopez for that special place in my heart!

I was a wee little lad when I first saw this beautiful woman in a little film called Mi Familia. She was in it for less than 10 minutes, but it was at the age of 4 when I knew this woman was special to me. And following her through the years since then, my admiration and respect for her as grown tremendously.

From Selena, to On the 6, to every relationship, every breakdown, every movie, song, commercial, I’ve supported her 100%! And while she may have critics who say she can’t perform, she’s not a true entertainer, whatever! She proved herself the entire night!!!

But first let’s start from the beginning of the night. We had the smooth and sophisticated Frankie J as the opener. He even made fun of himself, pointing out that people probably barely remember who he was. He opened with “Obsession (No Es Amor)”. Afterwards it was time for the bittersweet “Don’t Wanna Try” and then to the sweet “More Than Words”. It’s clear this guy has one hell of a voice!

Now a couple weeks ago, we got to witness Kelly Clarkson and The Fray in action. As the promotion would have you believe, Kelly Clarkson should have closed the show being the headliner and all. But we were all surprised and a little disappointed that she went first and The Fray had the glory of closing the show instead.

Not to say that The Fray was bad (because they were incredible!), but when you had your heart set on Kelly Clarkson to end the whole show with a bang, it was a little bit of a letdown. Having done all my research since purchasing my tickets earlier this year, I heard that Jennifer would do her set list first and Enrique would close the show with his set right after. I had gotten myself ready for this. But much to my surprise, Enrique burst onto the stage and blew us all away!

I have always respected Enrique Iglesias. I’ve listened and enjoyed a majority of his songs. But after his set, I have come to not only love this man even more, but to truly respect just how down to earth he is, especially when it comes to interacting with his fans. And there was the fact that his songs had everyone dancing and singing along. From “Tonight I’ve Lovin’ You”, to “Be With You”, to “Bailamos”, and then closing with “Escape”, “Hero”, and “I Like It”, he kept the energy coming and made all of us swoon.

Then it was time to adjust the entire stage and get ready for J.LO. We were all in for quite the show as we see her emerge to the rhythm of a classic musical spectacle before ripping off her accessories and busting right into “Get Right”.

As soon as those horns started, everyone leaped up onto their feet and never sat back down after that. From that first number and throughout the rest of the show, it was easy to see just why I looked (and continue to look) up to her all these years!

From the energy, to the high entertainment level, to the intense dance sequences, and all the while proving that she CAN sing live, she stormed that stage song after song! Whether it was taking it back in the day with songs like “Love Don’t Cost a Thing”, “Waiting For Tonight”, her impressive medley of “I’m Real (Remix)”/ “All I Have”/ “Ain’t It Funny (Remix)”, “Jenny From the Block” and “Let’s Get Loud”, showcasing her newer repertoire with songs like “I’m Into You”, “Goin’ In”, “Hold It Don’t Drop It”, “Papi”, and “On the Floor”, slowing things down with gems like “If You Had My Love” and “Until It Beats No More”, or ending the show on an amazing note with “Dance Again” and “Follow the Leader”, it’s clear that Miss Lopez still has it going on in all the right places!

The best moment though was her singing “Until It Beats No More”, a song that when first performed on SNL back in 2010 wasn’t a strong indication that Jennifer was capable of a comeback.

But tonight, it was the moment when she belted out every note right on the dot, she sang her heart out, and gave me chills (and yes, she even made me cry). She’s worked hard for so many years to get to where she is now in her career, and all of that hard work has paid off.

Think what you may, but she IS a true entertainer. With every little kick, every shake, every thrust and what not, she was fierce and in control. She let everyone have a good time and got everyone up on their feet throughout the night.

Overall, it was an experience that I have been waiting for for years. The little gay boy who used to act out scenes from Selena and perform dances to her songs in school talent shows was jumping up and down for joy all night from the first song until her last. It was truly a memorable night, one that I will never EVER forget!

A LOVER FOREVER!