No Accounting for Tastes

When the Deathmobile is heading toward the parade grandstand at the end of Animal House, Dean Vernon Wormer stares blankly into the screen, and to no one in particular, quietly proclaims, "I hate those guys."

That's the same way I feel about the people running American Idol.

In the end, they're going to win, because money goes to people who appeal to the masses. But I don't have to like it (and I don't) and neither do I have to approve of their methods for attracting audience or running what they refer to as "entertainment". Here's what the people running the show had to say about the ramifications of what I posted on Friday:

PASADENA, Calif. - The Fox television network chief on Saturday dismissed talk of unusual cruelty by the judges on "American Idol" this year, saying he's heard from people who think the show has been toned down. "I think it's part of what makes "American Idol" "American Idol,'" Peter Liguori, Fox entertainment president, told television writers.

Toned down? How is it possible that something that is so popular has been toned down? And who has he heard from? Fox executives, I'm guessing. Meanwhile, here is the simple truth:
The show is more popular than ever, which attracts more people than ever to those initial talent searches. The producers, realizing that people love listening to the judges being judgmental, parade the delusional in front of them, hoping that they will make spectacles of themselves. People seldom disappoint when the standards are low. In other words, if they didn't think that the weirdos would appeal to the masses, they wouldn't put them on TV.

The show is a ratings giant and a franchise that is bigger than even the dopes in charge realized it could be. Hundreds of thousands of people are whittled down to a select few in an alleged nationwide talent search. The only thing "nationwide" about the search is the search for freaks and weirdos for the judges to ridicule. Otherwise, the outcome has likely aready been decided. It is only up to you (not me) the viewer, to tune in, cast your meaningless vote and play along with the Fox executives who are raking in the money while you debate your meaningless opinions about which of the pre-determined singers will be the winner. Trouble is, the winner has already been determined, and your only job is to wait until the end of the show so that the Fox executives can maximize their profit at your expense. Enjoy the show.

Has it been toned down? No, not if you consider the machine that American Idol has become. Average singers are thrust upon the public in what they are led to believe is a blind search for the next superstar.
The truth is, we don't need another superstar, and the search isn't blind. The only superstars are the judges, and the viewers are the only ones who are blind.