I'm a huge hulu.com fan who loves to grab some snacks and sit back in my bed to watch whatever television show episodes I've missed out on during the week. A couple weeks back, though, I stumbled upon an online only show streaming on Hulu every Tuesday. It's called If I Can Dream and its creator is Simon Fuller, the guy who's guilty for American Idol. The idea of the show is that Simon Fuller changes the lives of 6 fresh talented faces, by letting them live in an enormous home in LA and having 60 cameras recording them 24/7. These young chosen ones have one thing in common: a dream. Don't we all? It doesn't seem plausible for Americans to be getting the same message from the media: only certain people have a chance to fulfill their dreams because they are attractive and because Simon Fuller will make it so.
Don't get me wrong, Justin, an aspiring singer/songwriter and one of the faces of If I Can Dream, is talented. He can kind of sing and perform, but he doesn't seem to have the qualities a true musician has. So why did Justin get picked over other millions of wanna-be musicians? Is it because he has beautiful hair and a jaw line that make women swoon?
As I watch more and more of this show, it only reinforces the idea to many Americans that success and becoming famous only happens to a few handful.. So the more you audition for American Idol, the more you'll become a star. Whatever happened to getting your big break the old fashioned way and really getting down and dirty to make your way to the top?
1 comment:
Tie this back to hegemonic notions of America. Everyone can do everything. Do these show about chance (American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, etc.) reinforce this. Anyone can get plucked out of obscurity. You don't have to work your way up or earn something. What does that say about our work ethic? Maybe?
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