Making fun
I’ve been troubled by American Idol this year. Of course, it’s essentially unchanged: why mess with a winner? But I left watching this week’s shows worrying about whom they were ridiculing. I fear they’ve started going after the people from — how do I put this with a modicum of delicacy? — the short bus.
Take the scenes about the little guy with the gigantic eyes and his tubby buddy; they made fun of the first but then seemed to realize that they should not make fun of the second. Why let one off the hook and not the other? Because one was more of the bus than the other? Because the stars thought they’d gone overboard? Because they feared the impact on their image? Because they wanted a new shtick? Don’t know.
Now I’m hardly politically correct. I’m a Howard Stern fan, after all. And I believe that on Howard’s show, everyone can be themselves and be taken at face value for that; everyone can be the butt of jokes; everyone is in on the joke; they are all part of the inner circle — that is, the wack pack.
And I can make the same argument about American Idol: No matter who appears there, they are there because they want to be, because their is their shot at stardom and everybody wants to be a star. But I think it’s a bit different on Idol in that there is no middle ground: You are either a star or you are fodder for ridicule. And if you’re the latter, you are what makes the show tick in its first weeks. So Idol wants more people to make fun of. And most times, those are just people who are either trying to get attention by being ridiculous or who do not know how ridiculous they are. But now they are also making fun of people who are not in on the joke. And that left a bad taste.
Making-fun-of is staple of TV. Why do we like game shows? So we can make fun of the losers because we think we’re smarter than they are. Why was afternoon trash talk a hit (until we tired of it)? Because we liked making fun of people with worse lives than ours. What is reality TV all about? Making-fun-of.
But I’m asking — just asking — whether there is a proper limit to whom we make fun of. Or instead, if we discriminate on that basis — ‘You can’t be on TV because we we don’t want to come off badly treating you like we treat everyone else’ — is that unfair to these would-be stars? Don’t know.
Tags: americanidol
January 19th, 2007 at 8:03 pm
Everyone auditions for American Idol knowing what they’re getting into. With the said, it’s wrong to make fun of people who aren’t with-it enough to even recognize they’re being made fun of.
Teasing these people for their poor singing inherently means teasing them for being mentally handicapped.
Would it be OK for a newspaper to publish a “bright” about all the odd things that the same mentally handicapped person does during daily life. Of course, not. Readers would be offended and outraged, for good reason.
American Idol is on thin ice with viewers for its first two shows this season.
January 19th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
It’s just now occurring to you, Jeff, that American Idol has been The Gong Show all along?
January 19th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
The question arises: Where are the editors for that show? However, I guess if Donald and Rosie can fall off the bus so can AI. Oh well, back to YouTube.
January 19th, 2007 at 10:04 pm
Jeff,
So let me get this straight. When you are aren’t cheering the onward march of profanity and vulgarity, you wonder about the welfare of retards on American Idol?
I wonder about the retards that listen to Howard Stern.
How many times has Stern giddily asked a stripper if she was molested as a kid?
January 20th, 2007 at 5:13 am
Jeff, I think you should ask Howard what he thinks of American Idol. I mean, he’s the guy with Stuttering John, etc. I suspect he thinks it’s fine.
And Jeff. Do you really think those people go in Idol without knowing what they are getting into? I mean, this is the 7th season and the nation has laughed at lots of singers.
And for the record, former AI top ten finalists have recently won a Golden Globe, put out a platinum album less than a year after being voted off the show, won a Grammy, been the subject of a tv movie (and starred in it). That’s actually a pretty good track record all in all.
January 20th, 2007 at 6:59 am
“Started”?
When do we start throwing Christians to the lions?
January 20th, 2007 at 11:43 am
Top 10 blogs I read
The much anticipated lucasgrindley.com blogroll debuts today. During the last couple months, I’ve used the “most visited” tool from del.icio.us to monitor the blogs I frequent. As a result, the blogs are listed in order of how often I visit…
January 20th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
[...] Jeff Jarvis wonders whether there should be limits to whom ‘we’ make fun of. Triggered by American Idol. [...]
January 20th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I’m sorry, but intelligent people do not watch American Idol.
January 20th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
It was always thus - from the first episode of the original Pop Idol over here onwards and it has been the same on American Idol. The innate generosity of the American spirit might have caused many to miss this, but it has always been there. Reality TV is predicated on conflict aka bullying.
January 21st, 2007 at 1:03 am
From stem to stern, American Idol is a cultural irritant, and nothing has changed. They start out making fun of people who don’t realize they can’t sing, and end up lionizing 3-4 overwrought imitators of famous, unmemorable singers. If I wanted to hear Celine Dion and Tim McGraw — and I don’t — I would buy their videos.
Kevin is right. The only exception is a small corps of bloggers who find material from watching the show. But then, I usually skip the posts they write about it. I just don’t care.
January 21st, 2007 at 5:22 am
Yep, the bullying is what makes it a hit, as well as the audience participation. Otherwise, why would so many people watch a bunch of amateurs being amateurish. I think ratings will go up this season.
January 21st, 2007 at 6:58 pm
When I was a little kid, my peers made fun of me because I couldn’t sing.
You know what? They were right. I haven’t tried to sing since I was 14. The freaks on American Idol just never got the message.
January 22nd, 2007 at 9:24 am
The question’s a bit disingenuous, Jeff. You already know the answer. There doesn’t seem to be any such soul searching on this blog for your beloved Youtube, is there? In your new unfettered landscape, unencumbered by control freak program executives, aren’t we the people free to make fun of whoever we please, as long as it’s entertaining? If you are offended by it, you don’t have to watch, right? Or are you going to now apply your “controlling” sensibilities to your brave new world? Can’t have it both ways, Jeff.
January 22nd, 2007 at 12:18 pm
I tried to watch AI and couldn’t even get through an entire episode. It’s not that there weren’t some funny moments, but overall I just didn’t get it. Since when is it fun to watch people get humiliated? If it was people who, for some reason of their own making, deserved to be humiliated, I might be able to enjoy it. But all these people are guilty of is having an ambition that exceeds their abilities.
As I see it, just about everything that is wrong with our culture today is the result of the coarsening of Americans feelings toward one another. Practically every sitcom is really just a setting where the characters can insult each other. Most reality shows are just excuses to humiliate people on TV. Most news leads because it’s violent, prurient or humiliating to someone famous.
How did we get to the point where our best entertainment is to see bad things happen to innocent people?
January 22nd, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Kevin says it well: intelligent people do not watch this idiot culture show. But then, neither do they listen to Howard Stern. Sad to say, but Jarvis is mostly a spokesperson for the idiot culture.
January 22nd, 2007 at 2:21 pm
So you eat fast food regularly, watch American Idol, and listen to Howard Stern. That’s a lot of trash you’re consuming. Do you think this occludes your ability to appreciate what’s worthwhile?
January 22nd, 2007 at 3:47 pm
Kevin, John S. and John Ettorre,
While the content may not be the most intellectually stimulating, intelligent people do watch the show. For example, I know off the top of my head two members of Mensa who watch it. That alone is enough evidence to disprove your well thought-out thesis. But forgive me for distracting you from your translation of War & Peace into Latin…
Anyway, to Jeff’s point - I, too, found the first couple episodes not entirely agreeable, but am also of the mind that at this point, it’s not reasonable to think that these people don’t know what they’re getting into when they audition.
My question is what percentage of the bad/mentally challanged auditioners are doing it just for the attention. Or as a lark or a bet or something. I’ve got to imagine it’s quite high.
January 22nd, 2007 at 7:21 pm
I agree that it’s lingering on the border of mean this season so far. It’s beyond cringeworthy. It’s like people-watching at the mall during the holidays and following the lady who just tripped over her shoelace to see if she does it again.
But all of this kvetching is kind of like complaining about getting nibbled on while dangling in a shark cage surrounded by chum. Everyone knows the risks involved.
After 6 years, there is no mystery to “Idol.†It’s not as if no one is aware that a million cameras are focused on their every pore, on every flaw, on every nervous tick and quiver in their vocal chords. Everyone knows Simon’s an ass. They know that this is a nationally televised freak show. Brutal truth will be uttered. Stress will manifest itself in ways the human body cannot accomodate. Egos will crumble. Those with nothing to lose will bet it all. And, occasionally, some will win big.
And yet thousands put themselves in the middle of those crosshairs. Why? Because even the, uh, genetically diverse individuals like William Hung can sometimes strike gold. A goofy Chicken Little kid like Kevin Covais with good pipes can make it to the final group. The Rushmore-sized Mandisa can blow a room away with her tremendous vocal ability. A Clay Aiken can transform himself from a fey shoe salesman into a singing star. Overnight.
Lemur Boy and Fatty Arbuckle from last week were so offended by their cruel and inhuman treatment that they walked it all the way onto Jimmy Kimmel’s show. For many of these people, celebrity condecension is a form of currency they can capitalize on in the nanosecond before the exchange rate plummets. Some people can shatter a glass with their purity of their voices. Other people are born to staple their ass-cheeks together for the amusement of others. It’s a cruel entertainment truth.
It might not be right. It might not soothe the brittle sensibilities of Rosie O’Donnell (who, by the way, owes me the cost of one therapy session for showing up in a dominatrix costume in “Exit to Edenâ€). But it’s everything television is supposed to be, which means that it’s compelling enough to make the viewer sit through ads for crappy Ford vehicles. That’s all this is.
I wish it was more. I wish it was something deeper and trancendent and enlightening. Maybe it is. Maybe we’re just not looking hard enough for the larger moral and spiritual meanings. Maybe the truth is that we’ve turned into a mean-spirited batch of bullies. If that’s the case and this show has become a reflection, a national therapy session for the value of a thick skin and self-realization, perhaps some good can come.
Until then, pass the chips and salsa.
January 23rd, 2007 at 3:33 pm
Jesse Ciccone wrote:
> … I know off the top of my head two members of Mensa
> who watch it. That alone is enough evidence to disprove
> your well thought-out thesis.
And what does Mensa have to do with intelligence? We’re not talking about IQ here, we’re talking about how one chooses to engage with the world. You (or your Mensa friends) can sit around and watch whatever stupid television show you want. But real, vibrant, intelligent, life-affirming people are too busy reading, walking, working, cooking, eating, traveling, and making love to watch something as idiotic and low-brow as American Idol.
I repeat: intelligent people do not watch American Idol. By definition.
January 24th, 2007 at 9:44 am
I thought “intelligent people” don’t make sweeping, reckless generalizations?
I agree with Kevin’s prescription for happiness but AI is damn funny, to me anyway.
I suspect the naysayers lack in the sense of humor department.
February 3rd, 2007 at 5:49 pm
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