The Problem With “American Idol” is Us
Posted by admin on January 31, 2006 under UncategorizedThere has been a great deal of condemnation of this years “American Idol” show and how the judges have berated and criticized many of the terribly non-gifted contestants. Of course most of the criticism comes from other networks that can’t pull audience numbers for the day that “Idol” does in an hour.
There are some differences I am seeing in this season’s show compared to previous seasons. Simon Cowell is the same blunt, nasty judge he has always been but Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul seemed to have moved more towards Simon’s approach to ridiculing bad contestants this year. The show’s producers also are giving us a much more detailed aspect of some contestant’s lives before they go before the judges and we all find out together they can’t sing worth a lick.
But I think the one thing that is different this year is that there are more contestants who really don’t understand why they can’t be the next great singer to come out of this mega-talent ratings phenomenon. It also appears that Fox producers have been doing an excellent job of determining who these people are and making sure they get their 15 minutes of embarrassing fame at the expense of having no ego left when the program airs. Well you would think it would knock them down a notch but for many, they leave the stage, swearing and yelling and telling everyone they will regret it when they are a star someday. Yeh, and someday I’ll win the Miss U.S.A. Beauty Pageant.’
Let’s be honest, we all enjoy seeing the arrogant, cocky, in love with themselves contestants fall flat on their faces and be told on national television that they stink. It’s a fire, inside a train, going through a hurricane all in one.
There is another part of the show right now that does bother me. There are too many contestants who have decided that they want to be a famous singer and have either ignored other’s advice or have been encouraged by family and friends to seek something which is beyond their ability to reach.
The fact that they are not talented is something I can live watching. The fact that they have been deluded or have deceived themselves into actually believing they are one of the best singers in the country is troubling.
So far dozens of contestants have been shown being brought to tears when the judges told them they weren’t going to the next round. We watched as sobbing youngsters begged to be told they were good singers as in just one minute their false dreams of a young lifetime were shattered and swept away with the empty bottles and cups and wrappers of another day’s throng of thousands who had waited their turn to be sent back home.
We have watched as a terrible singing 16 year old came out from the audition crying that he wanted to be famous. His parents consoling him not to worry and that someday he would be. What is lacking in that home is the essence of upbringing. There is no occupation titled “famous”. There are doctors and lawyers and teachers and butchers and bakers. In many cases someone doing their job to a high level can eventually bring fame but being famous is an end result of doing something well and just working hard or deciding that is what you want to be just won’t be enough in this world.
Then there was the young girl who absolutely couldn’t sing at all and when questioned by Simon agreed that she was terrible. When she was asked why she had auditioned, she said she wanted to be the first American Idol who couldn’t sing. When the judges told her that kind of thinking was absurd she went into a tirade about how she wanted to be the American Idol. She cursed and had a tantrum because the judges weren’t letting her be what she wanted to be regardless of the fact she didn’t have one iota of singing ability.
What is wrong with these youngsters and it seems with countless more that we have seen these past few weeks is that it appears our youth have a false sense of what it takes to be successful in life.
My son Timothy decided to try out for the high school speech team and when he made it my wife and I supported him fully. We knew he could be good at it and we attended as many meets as we could. We supported his endeavor and were very proud parents when he came in fourth in the state as a senior. Now Timothy has Cerebral Palsy. If he had come to me and told me he wanted to be an NFL quarterback I would have sat him down and told him how important imagination and dreams are but that he needed to keep in perspective that he could never, would never, be a pro football player.
It seems on this show there are too many parents and family structures who are telling their children that wanting really bad to do something or to be something is the only qualification needed in this life and I fear for the future of these children. We have too many youngsters believing they can be or do whatever they want whether reality is in play or not and when they fail they have nothing to fall back on except family telling them that someday it will all come true for them.
What possible future does a young man have whose only goal is to be “famous?” Or a young girl who refuses to understand logic when it gets in the way of what she wants to do? When will these two and all the others in this country learn or be told life isn’t a video game.
The problem with “American Idol” isn’t the show. The problem is that it is mirroring our society and more and more it is becoming a disaster. A disaster that I believe I will pass on watching. This one is too gruesome for me.
The problem with “American Idol” isn’t the show. The problem is that it is mirroring our society and more and more it is becoming a disaster. A disaster that I believe I will pass on watching. This one is too gruesome for me.
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