First, they gave her a stutter. And made her shy. Then they said her stutter was fake. Then they made her goth…ish. Then they largely ignored her. Then they put her with the other Asian. Then they kept largely ignoring her. Then they did an episode where they joked about largely ignoring her. But she still was largely ignored. Then all the seniors finally graduated and it was going to be her time to shine. Then they made her a diva for a split second. Then they largely ignored her. Then they allowed her to sing lead on an Asian pop song. It ain’t easy being Jenna Ushkowitz. The artist otherwise known as Tina Cohen-Chang has been the perennial seat filler on “Glee.” Sure, she has moments to shine – and shine she did during them. “Tonight,” “True Colors,” “I Follow Rivers.” And then there was that hilarious time she was a vicious Asian vampire princess.
But here she is, in what we can only assume is her last full season on “Glee,” and instead of getting to finally take the spotlight she gets to play second fiddle again to Rachel, Puck, Finn & Quinn version 2.0s. And let me tell you, the younger generation pales in comparison. Like, Marley, get a clue – all of your regular clothes fit perfectly still. You were likeable for one episode when you wore that pageboy cap. But now your tired afterschool special eating disorder plotline makes me want to leave the room to make a sandwich and never come back. But back to the topic at hand. It would be nice for one of the very, very, very few Asian-American actresses playing main characters on primetime shows (hey there Sandra, Lucy, Maggie) to be more than glorified set dressing. But, alas, it seems not to be. Oh, and can we talk for a moment about making the one regular Asian cast member (now that “Other Asian” is gone) sing “Gangnam Style?” Sure, Jenna is Korean, but she was adopted by American parents when she was a few months old. So, um, no. Sigh. One day, Tina, one day your solo will come. Happy weekend, all.
