American Idle (Idol)

Type :

Presentation

Pages :

15 pages

Format :

.doc

Published date :

07/29/2009

Category :

Political science

Sub category :

Social sciences

Oboulo.com selection criteria

$ 19.95 Add to cart

Summary :

Introduction
Finding an authentic performer
1. The Salon of 1859
2. Desperate hopes of a first kiss
The discouragement of the judges
Simon Cowell's opinion in the past five seasons
Audience's habits (A point by Brecht)
The notion of negation and the force behind true progressiveness
Viewer participation and judging
Kelly Clarkson's song
The central meaning of genre
The benefits of action from the lyrics of 'Since You've Been Gone'
Frith's initial notion of pronouns
Miranda Fricker's view
The actual text of the conversation
The role of fan base and the American Idol audience
Defining real talent
Conclusion
Works cited

Abstract

Love it or hate it, american idol has become a seemingly immortal fixture in american culture. Pouring into our homes through high definition television on at least two nights a week, the show is more present in family life than your average workaholic, deadbeat dad. Of course the success of the show increases every season, maintaining a focus that is three-fold: the production, the artists and the audience. The producers bear the responsibility of finding talent that America will form a strong opinion for or against, the artists then must prove the production right; the level of entertainment reached will be determined by the audience as reflected in the ratings and the votes. Somewhere between the musical talent competition and ratings-guzzling galore, american idol should be viewed as a brilliantly-crafted social experiment on which to measure the passivity of the american public...
In its first season, american idol garnered the attention of 22.77 million viewers on the finale night. The last season-the show's fifth-36.38 million people tuned in to witness Taylor Hicks take home the ultimate title of "american idol" (Wikepedia.com). Hicks, a stocky, gray-haired thirty-year old from Birmingham, Alabama could not have possibly foreseen the astronomical result of his performances.

In his first audition, Simon Cowell, the judge with a notoriously stern British accent and attitude, voted against Taylor's advancement in the competition because he saw an overall lack of talent and commerciality.

So how did a struggling Vegas lounge act win the votes and hearts of America? Perhaps the most important underlying question remains: what kind of program does it take to transform the nature of the popular music industry and alter the standard by which we judge and enjoy its music? If Charles Baudelaire and Bertolt Brecht were sitting at the judges table perhaps they would deliver us wisdom in the form of insult (something Cowell does very well-minus the deep philosophy). However, if Baudelaire and Brecht are the crusaders for artistic revolution, then Simon Cowell is the voice of the corporate machine, hell-bent on financial success, but stifling both the authenticity and the revolution in the process. Though long deceased, the opinions of Boudelaire and Brecht, along with more contemporary music writers become the aesthetic standards which we must use to judge the quality and impact of the show because of their influence on mass culture.