BlogHer - 10 Reasons Why I Hate American Idol - Comments

Alternative to American Idol

KimHob — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:12:09 -0500

I thought I would suggest another show to you - since American Idol isn't your thing! It just started last night - and I think it is really funny! It's on TLC and is called The Singing Office. Mel b & Joey fatone host it. I think you should check it out!

Alternative to American Idol

KimHob — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:11:22 -0500

I keep my power as much as possible!

Julie Scipioni McKown — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:17:11 -0500

Hi, Elisa:

I know two hours doesn't sound like a lot, but if you multiply that by the millions of people who watch, and then multiply that again by the number of weeks the show is on, doesn't that come to a pretty significant amount of time? And that's just for one show!

I don't give the show - or any show - power. It is the people who watch
to distraction, or who invest an inordinate amount of time and energy
into it that give it its power.

I'm glad to see that we do agree on that one point, though. It is always from the one point of common understanding that bridges are built.

Peace,

Julie

http://www.juliemckown.com

Misquote

Julie Scipioni McKown — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 07:04:28 -0500

Hey, Washy:

With all due respect, that's the second time you misquoted me.

In your previous comment you indicated that I called the show "malicious" and in this one you quoted me as saying it was the worst thing in the universe.

AI and shows like it are kind of like a drug. Most people abuse it. Sounds like you're not one of them. Good for you.

One more thing, though - I don't get your "ha ha ha I love it!" Megan simply expressed an alternate opposing view; I certainly don't take someone else's viewpoint personally.

Peace,

Julie

http://www.juliemckown.com

A cigar is still a cigar

Julie Scipioni McKown — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 06:52:19 -0500

Hi, Washy:

True, we are all free to do whatever we wish to do with our free time. But every choice we make has individual as well as collective ramifications that we sometimes don't readily recognize.

I didn't say that the show was malicious. A show can't be malicious. The negative impact that that show (and others like it) has comes from the meaning and value that we attach to it. It seems to me that people forget that it is a TV show, and that it is pretend, and that there are other things that they could be spending their time and energy on - things that might positively affect them personally. I have heard some fantastic debates going on with regard to who should win what singing, dancing, or other televised competition. I wish we put that same energy into topics that really matter.

Sometimes, a cigar IS just a cigar, but it is also true that a cigar is STILL a cigar, even if we call it a hat.

Peace,

Julie

http://www.juliemckown.com

Mindless Television Has It's Place

Megan Smith — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:39:12 -0500

Video games vs. "The Apprentice?" No wonder he's an EX!

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute
Video Runway

washy ||

washwords — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:08:24 -0500

washy || http://washwords.wordpress.com || washwords.dc@gmail.com

ha ha ha. i love it! i was going to do the same thing, but now i don'tneed to.

I think the "i hate it. it's the worst thing ever in the universe. I've never watched a full episode" pretty much set the tone, for me. :)

this reminds me of an EXboyfriend (note EX) who called me insipid for watching the apprentice. Hey, I read Atlantic Monthly and The Economist and write about health policy research for a living. Why should that mean you can't enjoy something a little less... high-brow. p.s. the ex played video games. clearly a more intellectual use of time. not that i pointed THAT out.

In a way, you contradict your entire main point

Elisa Camahort — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 09:44:04 -0500

On the one hand you talk a lot about how we are in control of our destiny, how we have the power not to be manipulated etc. etc

But it's clear from the above that you think that a mere 2 hours of TV programming a week can destroy our power and control and turn us into faceless, directionless drones.

That's a lot of power you're turning over to a TV show.

There is absolutely one point I agree with: I heartily dislike the early weeks in any of these shows that seem to revel in giving us objects of scorn for the week. and I don't care if those objects of scorn desperately want to be chosen for the job.

Elisa Camahort
BlogHer
elisa@blogher.com

Thems Fightin' Words!

Megan Smith — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 07:05:02 -0500

Hi Julie,

This post got me fired up so I decided to answer your points one by one. However, it got so long I decided to respond in a post on my own site: "'American Idol:' 10 Reasons I Think It's Harmless Fun."

Megan
BlogHer Contributing Editor, TV/YouTube
Megan's Minute
Video Runway

hmm...

washwords — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 22:14:25 -0500

one reason why I like it: it's entertaining.

sometimes a cigar is just a cigar, eh?

I just don't think it's that malicious. shrugs. to each his own.

washy || http://washwords.wordpress.com || washwords.dc@gmail.com

10 Reasons Why I Hate American Idol

Julie Scipioni McKown — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 07:13:59 -0500

I hate American Idol. It is vile and phony and destructive.

I've never even watched an entire episode. I tried to, but I couldn't take it.

I hate "AI" (which is also aptly the acronym for Artificial Intelligence) because of the effect I see it has on people.

Here are my particular reasons:

Reason #1: Idols are bad and we have too many of them already.

America thrives on its idols, and our idols are always celebrities and movie stars. There was a day when we actually had HEROES, but our obsession with famous people and their lives makes me want to vomit. I can hardly stand in line at the grocery store without having the celebrity worship mentality shoved down my throat. In the check-out line we have junk food for the body on one side, and junk food for the mind on the other. Some stores now have check-out aisles without candy in them; they should also offer one without tabloids. Just have racks with books on philosophy, psychology, spirituality, philanthropy. A check-out line for intelligent, powerful people.

Reason #2: It perpetuates dangerous illusions.

The whole point of the show is that these very annoying and self-important people decide whose "dreams come true" and whose don't. The message is that permission to be successful comes from someone other than yourself - that you need permission to succeed or that someone else must come in from outside of your life to make success happen for you. This is Cinderella thinking, and it has ruined more lives and wasted more potential than we can ever imagine.

If you want to go to the ball, go to the friggin' ball. Don't ask your wicked stepmother for permission and for God's sake, don't wait for Prince Charming to come and get you. He doesn't exist.

Likewise, if you want to enjoy success - regardless of what that means to you - you have to be willing to do the work. It's hard, and it can take a long time, and you might want to give up on a daily basis. But fortitude and diligence pave the only way to the top; no one can wave a magic wand and make that happen for you.

Reason #3: Who ARE these people, anyway?!

Not only is it dangerous for us to indulge in the illusion that someone else can give us permission to have dreams and to realize those dreams, but who the *&^% ARE these people anyway? Simon WHO? The only ones I've ever even heard of are people who used to be celebrities in entertainment. Again, this points to our insistence on granting reverence and respect to people because of their fame. Let me know when someone of substance serves as a judge, because...

Reason #4: Being famous isn't a contribution to the world.

Some people have become famous for making wonderful contributions to the world. Mother Theresa, Albert Einstein, William Shakespeare, Gandhi - you get the picture. Some people have become famous for their destructiveness and for what they have taken from the world. But being famous in and of itself is not an accomplishment. We Americans act like the best thing you can do with your life is to become well-known, and AI perpetuates our fascination with fame; but fame doesn't mean a damned thing. It's an empty goal.

Being well-known for doing good in the world is fine, but any real hero will tell you that they never did it for the fame. Even a seemingly "good" show like Extreme Home Makeover leaves me scratching my head and asking, "But how many MORE people could you have helped if you'd taken the money you spent on making a TV show out of the good deeds you did and just helped more people with it?"

Reason #5: It is Valium for the masses.

Back in the 1950s, when women started getting restless and asking themselves whether there wasn't more to life than whiter-than-white shirt collars and plump-perfect rice, their husbands got nervous and went to the family doc, who suggested giving the little women a Valium or two. This was intended to squash their spunk and make them docile and obedient, which just made life so much nicer for everyone. After all, who wants to see all those women running around in pants questioning the status quo and longing to do something productive with their lives?

Since AI became so popular, that's all people seem to talk about anymore: who they think will win, how rude Simon was, who got eliminated. It's become like a drug that keeps people distracted from the real issues of our time. It keeps us distracted from beauty and education and health and fitness and community involvement.

So much energy and so much time and breath wasted on something that offers no real value to the world. I grieve to realize how much potential is spilled because millions and millions of us are sitting in front of the TV watching someone ELSE do something interesting. Why don't we spend that time developing our OWN lives, and discovering our OWN talents and contributions? Besides...

Reason #6: They call it "reality TV," but it's not even close to reality.

The whole show from beginning to end is scripted and planned, and nothing about it even slightly resembles reality. As viewers, we respond and react exactly as the producers want us to - we love who they want us to love, and we hate who they want us to hate. They script the conversations we'll be having at work tomorrow morning about tonight's episode. These people make it their business to understand human behavior so they can manipulate it. The whole point is to get us to invest ourselves in a constructed drama where one striving soul finally gets her day in the spotlight, which will make you so happy, and make you feel so good, that you'll buy their stuff and tune in again next time.

But none of it is real. It's TV. It's pretend. There never was a horse that talked, a woman who could make magic by twitching her nose, a group of plane crash survivors living on an enchanted island, or a team of New York City police officers who solved crimes in an hour by talking really fast.

It's not that I am against TV, but...

Reason #7: It is crowding out any other kind of programming for the rest of us.

AI has such a behemoth audience, that no other programs want to go head-to-head with it. So quality shows either aren't being aired, or they are being shown only late at night after all the AI groupies have moved on to texting and emailing their friends about who they think should get kicked out next.

Reason #8: It promotes a mass mentality, which destroys leaders

I've heard some people say that they watch the show because everyone at the office talks about it the next day, and if they don't watch it, they'll be left out of the conversation. If you ask me, being left out of a stupid conversation is a good thing. Be a leader; start a new trend and begin an actual conversation of your own - one that encourages people to think independently and to improve the quality of life for themselves and others.

Reason #9: It's vicarious

There are only two things that drive human behavior: the avoidance of suffering, and the seeking of pleasure. There are two kinds of pleasure that come out of AI: one of them is the pleasure of vicarious thrill.

Imagine if you found yourself standing before a man - even if he was as phony and annoying as an AI judge - and he said to you, "Your dreams are about to come true!" Wouldn't that be wonderful? Wouldn't that solve all of your problems and make your life worth living?

That will never happen to you because it never happens to anyone - except on TV. Still, you want to have that experience and the only way you can ever, will ever, have it is to have it vicariously through someone else on television. The kicker is that even the person on television isn't having the experience. It has all been created to perpetuate illusions about success and happiness. All to get you to tune in again next week, at the cost even of paying attention to your own life.

Reason #10: It's vicious

The second kind of pleasure that people get out of watching AI is in humiliating others. I cannot tell you how many conversations I have overheard in which people talk about how a judge humiliated a contestant on air - and the people talking about this are really into it. They laugh at the one who was insulted, and they make fun of their singing ability or of the clothes they wear.

Think about this: A show like AI has an entire staff dedicated to dressing people to appear on stage. They also audition everyone ahead of time. Make you wonder at all?

They are intentionally putting people on the air who can't sing and who wear ridiculous outfits for the express purpose of humiliating them in public. Humiliation is a vile tactic used by small people who need to feel important. It appeals to the worst in us as humans, and can only be considered entertainment in a world that's devoid of compassion and sensitivity. Are we really getting so close to that?

I've always believed that if you complain about something, you should also offer a solution. Otherwise, you're just making noise. Oddly enough, my reasons for hating "Idol" are because its popularity is proof that in general, we are not taking responsibility for our lives and our happiness. Indulging in illusions, refusing to be a leader, getting pleasure out of someone else's pain - these are all warning signs of being on the road to wasting your life. The fact that AI and other such "reality" shows seem to have captured America's imagination worries me.

So stay tuned and let's talk more about how to recognize and change behaviors that perpetuate your creative frustration and contribute to your victimization in this life.

Let's talk about how to make YOUR dreams come true.

Peace,

Julie

Julie Scipioni McKown is author of the award-winning personal growth book, Taking the Stairs: My Journal of Healing and Self-Discovery. Read the free preview version here.

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