Sue Sylvester: just typing her name makes me feel powerful.
For those of you who don’t watch Glee and have no idea who I’m talking about, what the hell is wrong with you?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Sylvester
Not only is she the most arch of TV villains to come along in years, but the character (portrayed by Jane Lynch who won an Emmy for the role) has achieved icon status and Glee is only three episodes into its second season. She has been immortalized in wax by Madam Tussaud as well.
The power-mad champion cheerleading coach (who has taken Nationals six years in a row) will stop at nothing to achieve success. Blackmail comes as naturally to her as breathing does to mere mortals like you and I. She has no qualms about manipulating and threatening to expose the dark secrets of teenagers and adults (even McKinley High’s principal). She employs her Cheerios as spies to infiltrate the school’s struggling and plucky Glee Club, promising them a little power of their own and then turning on them when they fail her. She’s mean, yes.
And yet, there is much to be learned from Sue.
I knew I achieved official Gleek status when the fandom seeped into my dream life sometime last week. I had no earthly reason to be at an American high school, but all the kids were there: Rachel, Finn, Puck (who I think I was shagging), and Sue Sylvester had made me a Cheerio.
“But Sue, er, Ms. Sylvester” I protested. “I’m not actually a student here. I’m twenty years older than most of these kids.”
“You need this! Now get in the tiny skirt and be at practice in five minutes!” she replied. Or barked, rather.
I have to admit, I rocked that uniform. My dream legs were long, shapely and powerful enough to kick the crap out of anyone who tried to subdue me.
A good villain, while evil, needs some redeeming qualities. Monty Burns has his beloved teddy bear, Bobo. Sue has her sister whose poor treatment growing up due to her Down Syndrome made Sue fiercely protective and very angry at the rest of the world.
Indeed, she’s not made of stone. Or Teflon, as sometimes her actions do come back to haunt her. But she never stays down for long and she has a talent for turning her humiliations into triumphs (see the “Bad Reputation” episode). and unlike most people who wear nothing but track suits, she has earned the right to live in sports wear.
She’s not afraid to throw sand in the machinery.
I have played and re-played the “get out of your box” episode of Sue’s Corner when I’m at the end of my rope and wonder if anything I do will mean a damn thing.
“You something, Ohio? It’s not easy to break out of your comfort zone. People will tear you down, tell you shouldn’t have bothered in the first place. But let me tell you something. There’s not much of a difference between a stadium full of cheering fans and an angry crowd screaming abuse at you. They’re both just making a lot of noise. How you take it is up to you. Convince yourself they’re cheering for you. You do that, and someday, they will be. And that’s how Sue sees it.”
I hope I will never become jaded enough to see the world quite as Sue sees it, but I can see fashioning myself a WWSD bracelet for those times when I can’t break out of my comfort zone by myself.
