Say what you will, but I’m an American Idol fan. I cheered
on Kelly Clarkson when she won the first season and laughed with the guy who
sang “Pants on the Ground.” I’ve been watching the last season and I’m sad it’s
the last one. I think it’s been so popular because everyone can imagine
themselves on that stage. America loves a good Cinderella story. This article http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2006/04/26/why-is-american-idol-so-popular/
says perhaps one reason it was so popular is because “American
viewers get the reward of knowing that they and not some suit in an office
somewhere have created the next American superstar.” Our chapter last week about active audiences
is so relevant to this show. The audience sees the contestants as one of them and
they are able to interact with the show and vote on the outcome.
As culture has changed, American Idol has changed as
well. In the first few seasons, Simon Cowell
was a judge and he was known for being mean to contestants who did not sing
very well. He would say things like “you should sue your voice coach” and then
the person would walk out the door and the judges would all laugh at them. With
the new focus against bullying, that part of the show has been toned down
significantly. The current judges will say things like “I’m sorry, this show is
not for you” instead of making fun of people. Here’s an article from 2012 about
American Idol making money by bullying people http://www.npr.org/2012/06/20/155358188/facing-up-to-bullies-everywhere-but-on-reality-tv.
What do you think about American Idol?
Haha I remember Pants on the Ground back then!!! Made me laugh so hard at the time. I enjoy competition shows so I did enjoy American Idol whenever it came on, and it definitely had a big impact on society.
ReplyDeletePersonally I loved Simon Cowell. He was harsh, yeah, but if you can't handle him then you can't handle a celebrity career. He's kind of like Gordon Ramsay from Hell's Kitchen/Kitchen Nighmare/other shows he has. If you've never watched it, he insults people and screams at them but people agree it's for the best.
I think it's really great that they stopped with Simon Cowell's annoying bullying. Putting yourself out there is a big risk, especially on television, and for famous people to publicly humiliate you like that is really messed up and can't be good for your psychological well being.
ReplyDeleteI liked the whole first few seasons. It's like after Ruben won it went down . Simone was "mean" but at the same time that's what we Wanted to see . It made it entertaining to see that ! When he left and they started changing judges it went down ! But yes yes I agree ! :)
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