Pick A Little Talk A Lot

Last night, my daughter and I watched the season premiere of AMERICAN IDOL. We have been fans for four seasons but last night the negativity of the show took us both by surprise. What in past seasons had been a bit of laughter at the expense of “would be Idols” who seemed to play along with the judges escalated into a focus on the untalented and at times pathetic. Suddenly, it all seemed cruel because we were witnessing the humiliation of people who seemed to have emotional problems. Paula and Randy seemed exceptionally cruel to me. Simon, who we love to hate, seemed the kindest at times. So much of the show seemed mean-spirited. Maybe I am wrong but I felt like the total emphasis of the show switched to finding “bad” auditioners, the odd or crazy or the insecure and then ridiculing them. If the show’s point is to find the best, new talent then it should focus on that with just a few of the outrageous auditions. I think that auditioning as an actor is so difficult. Putting yourself out there on the line is never easy. Everyone has dreams and whether or not they are realistic, or the person is attractive, their particular dream has validity. For a show that is supposed to make a “dream” come true, it certainly crushed many dreams to get good ratings!