Tiassa
04-08-07, 04:30 AM
Okay, I don't follow the show. But apparently there's a controversy going on that I've encountered a couple of times today. Most recently, the Doonesbury@Slate Strawpoll (http://cgi.doonesbury.com/cgi-bin/view_poll.cgi) asks, "What's the deal with Sanjaya?"
The survey answers available are that it's all about Sanjaya, all about the show, or all about cruelty. Presently, with 3170 votes, 63% of the respondents have voted for cruelty:
It's all about the cruelty. American Idol intentionally admits a handful of self-deluded no-talents into the Top 100 for the express purpose of humiliating them in front of a vast audience. Now Cowell's complaining when one of them actually catches on? How sweet it would be if the show's cynical formula brought about its own demise.
Apparently, Simon Cowell has threatened to quit the show if Sanjaya wins. I would find this newsworthy, and find myself considering whether or not to encourage people to take part in the show; it might be worth spending for a few votes if the public can chase Cowell off the show. (Hey, even O'Reilly fulfilled his promise on the WMDs; he came on the air one night, sucked it up, and admitted he was wrong. I'd love to see Cowell show a fraction of the balls.)
When answering the Strawpolls, the site gives you additional options to help break down the answers. The divisions are usually somewhat relevant, such as gender or political affiliation, or age group. In this case, the division is about how people feel regarding Sanjaya: hope he wins, hope he loses, and don't care. Among the people who hope he wins (591 votes) and the people who don't care (2,116 votes), the sentiment is generally that "it's about cruelty" (72% and 67% respectively) as encapsulated above. But among those who hope Sanjaya loses--
It's all about the show, which never pretended to be an actual meritocracy. Why else let the Great Unwashed vote? Whether the finalists are virtuosos or croakers, what matters is that people watch. Sanjaya is ratings bait -- the best watercooler fodder to come along in months.
--61% say it's about the show, and only 29% say it's about cruelty.
The other answer, that it's about Sanjaya, drew only 6% of the total vote, and 13% of those who hope he wins.
Meanwhile, all I actually know about the situation in general is what came up in the current issue of The Stranger:
Around Sanjaya there is much controversy, some curry, one shock jock (Howard Stern), and one monkey-wrenching website (Votefortheworst.com). As Paula Abdul noted, Seattle is crammed with delusional people. Sanjaya proves that they can text. Sanjaya's lingering presence among the top contenders of this year's show has inspired an ambivalence bordering on contention. On one hand, adorable Sanjaya has lentil-flavored eyes that are deeper than destiny, and still 12 months to go before he's legal. On the other hand, Sanjaya has a voice like the first robin of spring, if its vocal chords were shattered and it was getting porked by a sandpaper Q-Tip.
Sanjaya quakes with darling pathos. Eyeless mealworms deep in a poop pile can clearly see that Sanjaya is way over his floppy moppet head, and that he damn well knows it. And this leads to pity, and pity apparently leads to voting. Voting, of course, leads to advertising dollars and thus does Sanjaya persist ....
.... And now, as an uncertain Season Finale races toward us like Bruce Willis on an asteroid, who will come out on top? Who will come out on bottom? Who will finally come out? Will the many-armed gods of fate continue to favor Sanjaya against all logic? (Funny because it's racist.) Or will Blake's beat beats beat the beat, beat heat? And are Ryan Seacrest and Anderson Cooper fucking or what? (I'll kill them both!) And will someone, maybe Howard Stern, finally shove a dick in Simon's mouth and shut that bitter snootch the hell up? TiVo this shit and find out in late June when you have more time! (Ryan (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=191780))
(It should be noted that Stranger editor Birch Steen, in the table of contents this week, simply capsuled the article with litany: "Too gay. Too gay. Too gay. Too gay ...." Then again, what do we expect? The article is about American Idol, after all, and it is written by Adrian Ryan; the only reason they covered this one at all is because Sanjaya Malakar and Blake Lewis, two of ten finalists, are from the area.)
So, what the hell is actually going on here? It is too much to ask for that people stupid enough to pay to vote (and sometimes repeatedly) should play a proper practical joke at this scale. (Think of a conspiracy theory; there's just too damn many people involved for the theory to be true.)
But I'm torn; it's clear to me that American Idol is all about ratings and advert revenues. It's also difficult for me to refute the notion that Americans have about them a certain sense of cruelty; sometimes it gets to the point that I think we actually elect the politician we like least, so that we get to complain more. ("Throw the bums out! The longer they're there, the more corrupt they get! What? Him? You want me to vote for that guy? No way! He doesn't have any political experience. And our state will lose its clout in the House of Representatives if we take down our senior legislator!") In entertainment, this involves our idolization of celebrities. Look at "American tabloids"; if they're not pure fiction ("Ancient Vikings in America: Massive Snow-Fort Discovered in Canada!"), they are invasive, judgmental, and cheap ("Bobby Furious at Whitney's All-Night Girls' Drug Orgy!") American humor is more often cruel or depraved than poignant and refined. So, yes. I do wonder if it's like the South Park episode when Timmy joined The Lords of the Underworld. Because yes, some people do like to laugh at handicaps. And yes, I also understand the point that at least he's up doing it.
But is it just a ploy? Another way to stick the show back in the headlines, since Paula can't screw the pretty boy every season? Perhaps the cruder ploy, to play on people's sense of cruelty? Or, perhaps, the people need no encouragement. (After all, they're calling in and voting in the first place.) The power to judge, even if it's just inwardly, is persuasive.
Remember, gadflies are to cruelty like flies are to dogshite. They swarm, the feast, they move on to the next pile they can find. And what the hell are these people if they're paying to vote, wasting their time 'round the water cooler?
And, to that point, should any of us care at all that American Idol has somehow managed to make itself even more ridiculous and unpalatable than ever before?
Ye gads. One night I unwisely got into a car with a woman who'd had too much to drink. Indeed, we made it to where we were going without hurting anyone, but I had to listen to the freaking Kelly Clarkson album all the way there, and that album is proof that American Idol fans are in it for the cruelty. They've already injured the public at large. Now, just maybe, they're looking to toy with a little mouse named Sanjaya.
I tried reading through some other articles at MTV.com (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1556592/20070406/index.jhtml) and WashingtonPost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/29/AR2007032902160.html), but I just can't take any more of this. Sorry, pop culture; I tried to take you seriously for a few minutes. I should know better.
What the hell is going on? Why is this show still on the air? Can we please pass some legislation that makes voting for reality show contestants something the court can hold against a person in a child-custody case?
Or maybe we should simply beg folks to vote for Sanjaya, and then dare Simon to quit. Unfortunately, he'd probably get another job on television.
Oh, wait a minute. There's the ultimate question: Why do I care?
____________________
Notes:
Doonesbury Straw Polls are available at the Doonesbury@Slate Town Hall. I do not know when this poll expires. See http://cgi.doonesbury.com/
Ryan, Adrian. "They're the Tops". TheStranger.com, April 4, 2007. See http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=191780
The survey answers available are that it's all about Sanjaya, all about the show, or all about cruelty. Presently, with 3170 votes, 63% of the respondents have voted for cruelty:
It's all about the cruelty. American Idol intentionally admits a handful of self-deluded no-talents into the Top 100 for the express purpose of humiliating them in front of a vast audience. Now Cowell's complaining when one of them actually catches on? How sweet it would be if the show's cynical formula brought about its own demise.
Apparently, Simon Cowell has threatened to quit the show if Sanjaya wins. I would find this newsworthy, and find myself considering whether or not to encourage people to take part in the show; it might be worth spending for a few votes if the public can chase Cowell off the show. (Hey, even O'Reilly fulfilled his promise on the WMDs; he came on the air one night, sucked it up, and admitted he was wrong. I'd love to see Cowell show a fraction of the balls.)
When answering the Strawpolls, the site gives you additional options to help break down the answers. The divisions are usually somewhat relevant, such as gender or political affiliation, or age group. In this case, the division is about how people feel regarding Sanjaya: hope he wins, hope he loses, and don't care. Among the people who hope he wins (591 votes) and the people who don't care (2,116 votes), the sentiment is generally that "it's about cruelty" (72% and 67% respectively) as encapsulated above. But among those who hope Sanjaya loses--
It's all about the show, which never pretended to be an actual meritocracy. Why else let the Great Unwashed vote? Whether the finalists are virtuosos or croakers, what matters is that people watch. Sanjaya is ratings bait -- the best watercooler fodder to come along in months.
--61% say it's about the show, and only 29% say it's about cruelty.
The other answer, that it's about Sanjaya, drew only 6% of the total vote, and 13% of those who hope he wins.
Meanwhile, all I actually know about the situation in general is what came up in the current issue of The Stranger:
Around Sanjaya there is much controversy, some curry, one shock jock (Howard Stern), and one monkey-wrenching website (Votefortheworst.com). As Paula Abdul noted, Seattle is crammed with delusional people. Sanjaya proves that they can text. Sanjaya's lingering presence among the top contenders of this year's show has inspired an ambivalence bordering on contention. On one hand, adorable Sanjaya has lentil-flavored eyes that are deeper than destiny, and still 12 months to go before he's legal. On the other hand, Sanjaya has a voice like the first robin of spring, if its vocal chords were shattered and it was getting porked by a sandpaper Q-Tip.
Sanjaya quakes with darling pathos. Eyeless mealworms deep in a poop pile can clearly see that Sanjaya is way over his floppy moppet head, and that he damn well knows it. And this leads to pity, and pity apparently leads to voting. Voting, of course, leads to advertising dollars and thus does Sanjaya persist ....
.... And now, as an uncertain Season Finale races toward us like Bruce Willis on an asteroid, who will come out on top? Who will come out on bottom? Who will finally come out? Will the many-armed gods of fate continue to favor Sanjaya against all logic? (Funny because it's racist.) Or will Blake's beat beats beat the beat, beat heat? And are Ryan Seacrest and Anderson Cooper fucking or what? (I'll kill them both!) And will someone, maybe Howard Stern, finally shove a dick in Simon's mouth and shut that bitter snootch the hell up? TiVo this shit and find out in late June when you have more time! (Ryan (http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=191780))
(It should be noted that Stranger editor Birch Steen, in the table of contents this week, simply capsuled the article with litany: "Too gay. Too gay. Too gay. Too gay ...." Then again, what do we expect? The article is about American Idol, after all, and it is written by Adrian Ryan; the only reason they covered this one at all is because Sanjaya Malakar and Blake Lewis, two of ten finalists, are from the area.)
So, what the hell is actually going on here? It is too much to ask for that people stupid enough to pay to vote (and sometimes repeatedly) should play a proper practical joke at this scale. (Think of a conspiracy theory; there's just too damn many people involved for the theory to be true.)
But I'm torn; it's clear to me that American Idol is all about ratings and advert revenues. It's also difficult for me to refute the notion that Americans have about them a certain sense of cruelty; sometimes it gets to the point that I think we actually elect the politician we like least, so that we get to complain more. ("Throw the bums out! The longer they're there, the more corrupt they get! What? Him? You want me to vote for that guy? No way! He doesn't have any political experience. And our state will lose its clout in the House of Representatives if we take down our senior legislator!") In entertainment, this involves our idolization of celebrities. Look at "American tabloids"; if they're not pure fiction ("Ancient Vikings in America: Massive Snow-Fort Discovered in Canada!"), they are invasive, judgmental, and cheap ("Bobby Furious at Whitney's All-Night Girls' Drug Orgy!") American humor is more often cruel or depraved than poignant and refined. So, yes. I do wonder if it's like the South Park episode when Timmy joined The Lords of the Underworld. Because yes, some people do like to laugh at handicaps. And yes, I also understand the point that at least he's up doing it.
But is it just a ploy? Another way to stick the show back in the headlines, since Paula can't screw the pretty boy every season? Perhaps the cruder ploy, to play on people's sense of cruelty? Or, perhaps, the people need no encouragement. (After all, they're calling in and voting in the first place.) The power to judge, even if it's just inwardly, is persuasive.
Remember, gadflies are to cruelty like flies are to dogshite. They swarm, the feast, they move on to the next pile they can find. And what the hell are these people if they're paying to vote, wasting their time 'round the water cooler?
And, to that point, should any of us care at all that American Idol has somehow managed to make itself even more ridiculous and unpalatable than ever before?
Ye gads. One night I unwisely got into a car with a woman who'd had too much to drink. Indeed, we made it to where we were going without hurting anyone, but I had to listen to the freaking Kelly Clarkson album all the way there, and that album is proof that American Idol fans are in it for the cruelty. They've already injured the public at large. Now, just maybe, they're looking to toy with a little mouse named Sanjaya.
I tried reading through some other articles at MTV.com (http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1556592/20070406/index.jhtml) and WashingtonPost.com (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/03/29/AR2007032902160.html), but I just can't take any more of this. Sorry, pop culture; I tried to take you seriously for a few minutes. I should know better.
What the hell is going on? Why is this show still on the air? Can we please pass some legislation that makes voting for reality show contestants something the court can hold against a person in a child-custody case?
Or maybe we should simply beg folks to vote for Sanjaya, and then dare Simon to quit. Unfortunately, he'd probably get another job on television.
Oh, wait a minute. There's the ultimate question: Why do I care?
____________________
Notes:
Doonesbury Straw Polls are available at the Doonesbury@Slate Town Hall. I do not know when this poll expires. See http://cgi.doonesbury.com/
Ryan, Adrian. "They're the Tops". TheStranger.com, April 4, 2007. See http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=191780