American Idol has become one of the most successful television programs in history. The program creators pride themselves on delivering "product." Essentially the pop princes and princesses that they produce are products for mass consumption. American Idol, now on season 10, has made a number of hopeful singers very popular while reaping the benefits from their promising stars.
The show encourages a formulaic mindset of music production. Employing a factory style mentality of sorts, it has become a conveyor belt developing and repackaging pop stars for mass consumption. While the show has been entertaining in the past, now that I am not such a great fan I can more clearly see what this show is all about. Instead of honing the craft of a young hopeful contestant, the show is hurting the integrity of music making by molding contestants into what the show needs. Individuality needs to be checked at the door if does not correspond with the needs of the show.
No one can argue the fact that American Idol has had tremendous success. What concerns me, however, is the fact that because it is so famous, this show is shaping conventions of taste. With that kind of power comes great responsibility (yes, I think i just quoted Spiderman :)
American Idol tries to portray itself as being altruistic in some ways. The show markets itself on being able to offer the ordinary person a shot at the American Dream. I would argue that this is not so. American Idol does not fulfill the prospective contestant’s dreams but instead fulfills the monetary dreams of the shows music executives and creators. The show's contestants sign their lives away. They can only endorse products that are sponsors for American Idol. They are not allowed to sign with any other record label for a certain amount of time after the show has completed filming. They essentially are American Idol puppets who serve as cash cows for the show.
There are also allegations that American Idol may not be as real as it claims to be. Many have wondered if the outcome and the contestant’s choices are rigged and pre-planned. I think it is important to question how "real" any of these reality shows really are. Not to say you shouldn't enjoy them. Just keep in mind, just like any production, this successful show is calculated and developed very carefully.
No comments:
Post a Comment