Glee: The 3D Concert Movie

This topic contains:

• overall comments and recommendations
• details about Glee: The 3D Concert Movie's classification and consumer advice lines
• a review of Glee: The 3D Concert Movie completed by The Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 16 August 2011.

Overall comments and recommendations

About the movie

This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines.

ACCM review

This review of the movie Glee: The 3D Concert Movie contains the following information:

• a synopsis of the story
• themes
• use of violence
• material that may scare children
• product placement
• sexual references
• nudity and sexual activity
• use of substances
• coarse language
• the movie's message

A synopsis of the story

Glee 3D brings together the cast of the very popular television series of the same name.  The concert movie is a musical journey featuring many favourite songs and dances from the series and the well loved teenage stars. 

The film shows a live US music concert performed in 2010 by the Glee cast - Rachel (Lea Michele), Finn (Cory Monteith), Britney (Heather Morris), Artie (Kevin McHale), Kurt (Chris Colfer), Santana (Naya Rivera), Blaine (Daren Criss) and others. It has a loose plot that is carried via the various performances by the cast, behind the scene in-character interviews and comments from fans about how the series has affected their lives.  The movie explores in more depth the stories of three teenagers tackling big issues (dwarfism, Aspergers syndrome, and homosexuality) and the ways that their favourite character has helped them to contend with the difficulties that have confronted them. 

Themes

Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.

Bullying and teasing; homosexuality; disability

Use of violence

Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.

Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.

None of concern

Material that may scare children

Under eight

Children under eight are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations, the death of a parent or child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.

None of concern

Aged eight to thirteen

Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.

None of concern

Over the age of thirteen

Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.

None of concern

Product placement

There is some product placement in this movie, including:

• promotion of the Glee franchise
• Lacoste

Sexual references

There are some sexual references in this movie, including:

• A shirt that states ‘I like boys’
• One of the cast says ‘do you wanna make out?’
• Britney talks about the 3D concept creating a sensation over her ‘boobs’
• Britney and her dancers perform sexually provocative dance movements to the song ‘I’m a slave for you’ by Britney Spears.  Examples include, gyrating against another person simulating a sexual act, spanking others on the bottom and pelvic thrusts
• A young man is interviewed about his homosexuality and refers to Kurt’s own journey to exploring his own sexuality
• Puck talks about the ladies liking something to ‘grab on to’

Nudity and sexual activity

Some provocative clothing

Use of substances

None of concern

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

• boobs
• sexy
• stupid
• freak
• arse

The movie's message

Glee: The 3D Concert Movie is a. is an uplifting and positive movie starring the cast of the popular television series and inspiring the audience through some real life stories of “Gleeks” (Glee fans).

The main messages from this movie are about embracing difference and being proud of your own uniqueness.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

• acceptance
• standing up for what you believe

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:

• Everyone feels different sometimes. How does it feel to be different?  How do you like your differences to be treated by others?