I have been thinking the last couple of days about certain people's obsession with American Idol. For those three of you unfamiliar with the show, it is supposedly a singing talent competition where the winner gets a recording contract. It makes me think about Plato's Allegory Of The Cave.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Allegory of the Cave, you can read about it on Wikipedia. Here is a short version from the Wikipedia article:
"Plato imagines a group of people who have lived chained in a cave all of their lives, facing a blank wall. The people watch shadows projected on the wall by things passing in front of the cave entrance, and begin to ascribe forms to these shadows. According to Plato, the shadows are as close as the prisoners get to seeing reality. He then explains how the philosopher is like a prisoner who is freed from the cave and comes to understand that the shadows on the wall are not constitutive of reality at all, as he can perceive the true form of reality rather than the mere shadows seen by the prisoners."
To me, American Idol represents the shadows on that wall. People watch the show and believe that it is somehow real. That it has some influence or impact on their daily lives. But the people who believe in that show are deluded. The show is probably the most artificial and unreal singing competition ever. Anyone who has ever made or dissected a documentary would know that simply by picking and choosing what to shoot and what to show, you are creating a story that didn't necessarily exist. They are looking for telegenic young people that they can package and sell.
To me, the most laughable conceit was that the final competition represented some sort of referendum on this country's opinion of homosexuality based upon the perceived sexuality of Adam Lambert. It would appear that viewers and commentators have somehow made the connection based upon his over the top and flamboyant style. Of course, not once has he confirmed the speculation. Most likely it gives his brand a certain edginess and mystery. Have we all forgotten that this is show business? (Note: He did subsequently come out of the closet. But at the time no public declaration had been made.)
But this belief that the vote represented something is completely invalid, since not everyone in the country voted or even watched the show. The viewership for the finale was 28.84 million people out of the estimated 304 million people living in the US. That represents a little less than ten percent of the population of this country. Additionally, viewers were allowed to vote as many times as they like. So one person could vote once or they could vote 20 times. This means that the vote of certain people counted more than the vote of someone who only voted once. In addition, voters who were voting in areas of the country with a more dense population would have more likely faced tied up phone lines and had a more difficult time in registering their votes than someone who lives in a more rural area. That may have been the deciding factor since apparently the singer who won appeals to a more rural fan base.
In addition, since the winner is based upon votes, the show is not picking the better singer, merely the more popular one. And we surely know that popularity does not necessarily equate talent. How many talented singers, actors, writers, painters do we know of from history that have toiled in obscurity only to be discovered much later? Just look at people such as Vincent Van Gogh who only sold one painting in his lifetime, or Emily Dickinson, who lived in seclusion and only had 12 of her 1800 poems published in her lifetime.
On top of that, if you look at the track record of the winners of past seasons, their success has been spotty at best. Sure, people know Kelly Clarkson (who actually did have a recording contract when she went on the show). But how many records have Fantasia, Taylor Hicks, or Ruben Studdard sold? Their sales are decent, but given their promotion and exposure on the show, you would expect them to be able to sell millions and millions of CDs.
The media also helps to maintain the appearance of newsworthiness. If you watch news shows, or read the news, you will see countless articles about the show. Although, is it really such a stretch, considering that the show is on Fox, which happens to be owned by Rupert Murdoch, who also owns many news outlets including Fox News Network, The New York Post, The Wall Street Journal, Haper Collins, The Times Herald Record, MySpace, Hulu.com, Rotten Tomatoes, IGN, among many others? So is it any wonder that you see countless news articles about the show?
Ultimately, my point is that they are packaging a product. They are not trying to find the best singer in America. They have no interest whatsoever in that. The winner is not neccessarily a better singer or even more popular. Which means ultimately that the results are meaningless. Now turn off the TV, go outside and get on with your life.
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