I watched American Idol with my family last night. During these early segments, you see two things: (1) an early look at potential front-runners; (2) the untalented who look ridiculous.
I've always enjoyed the untalented segments. Vain individuals think they can sing and then get mad when they're cut, or people intentionally make fools of themselves. Either way, the contestants "have it coming."
But last night, the ridiculous portions of the show bothered me. Maybe I'm just getting older, but it seems that the ridicule of poor contestants went up a notch. Instead of a "sideline" of the show, the ridicule became a highlight. Simon wasn't just cutting and clever (his trademark). He was also mean. This isn't surprising, of course, since he needs to "one-up" his performance each year. It was only a matter of time before he would leave the sphere of "clever" and enter the sphere of "hateful."
The show also dogged the lame contestants, some of whom honestly thought they had a shot. Ryan Seacrest would ask them serious questions, like he was genuinely interested in their perspective, while the lame contestants looked foolish. It reminded me of middle school, when the mean kid sits down with the special education student and has an earnest conversation with him, while the mean kid's friends listen and snicker at the retarded kid's obliviousness. One of the lame contestants, for instance, was a black man. He appeared to be mentally deficient in some manner, but that didn't stop American Idol. The show had great fun with him . . . four times.
I'm not a great fan of the show, but I watch when my family watches. And I will keep on watching, if for no other reason than to point out the unacceptable conduct of the hosts. Perhaps I ought to forbid it in my home, but I have enough restrictions and rules already, so I've decided to stomach this middle-school fare for the next few months.
