American Idol is Ruining America

I'll admit it.  I watched the opening night of America Idol on Tuesday.  But let's face it, if the numbers are accurate, so did you.  An estimated 37.5 million Americans tuned in for some nails on the chalkboard singing, followed by "What the bloody hell was that?" "No Dawg, wasn't feeling it" and "Sorry Sweetie, it's a no."

It's not Super Bowl numbers, but for a show where we already know what is going to happen, it's rather astonishing.  But it's not the fact that so many are watching that is ruining America.  I mean, perhaps there's a dumbing down factor, but I'm not so worried about that.  After all, I opened this post with my own admission that I watched.

There is another factor, and it has directly targeted America's youth, intentionally or not.  It is a condition that I think we can simply call "overblown expectations."  Today's 15-24 year olds may someday, if not already, be referred to as the American Idol Generation, or the Reality TV Generation.  They are a generation who grew up witnessing Kelly Clarkson blossom from American Idol winner to bona fide pop music star.  Survivor Alum Elisabeth Filarski Hasselbeck married NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck, and currently co-hosts The View along side actual celebrities (like them or not) Barbara Walters and Rosie O'Donnell.  What about Bob the Bachelor?  Booted on the Bachelorette, goes on to be the man in the next Bachelor and hosts VH-1's "I Love the 90s."

But no other reality show has launched careers like American Idol.  Consider this.  Kelly Clarkson, two Grammys, close to 15 million albums sold worldwide.  Ruben Studdard, three albums, over 2 million sold in the U.S.  Runner up, Clay Aiken, three albums, over 5.5 million sold worldwide.  We're not talking about 15 minutes of fame.  These are bona fide superstar numbers.

Here's what got me thinking about all of this.  In the season premiere, after one girl with a decent voice (but not going to win the whole thing) gets her "golden ticket," she says to Ryan Seacrest, "I get to quit my job!  That's probably the best part of this!"  And the show goes on to do a little vignette of people who are either hoping to go to Hollywood so that they can quit their job, or got fired because they spent the last two days in line instead of on the clock.

And I realized that it may be a generational problem.  Not because this is the first generation who hoped to skyrocket to fame and fortune.  This is simply the first generation to see it happen live for so many.

For decades there have been movies, books and motivational speakers who encourage young people, "follow your dreams.  Don't let the naysayers tell you that you can't do it."  In TV and movies, lawyers and doctors get their glamour time, and that's a good thing.  But professions like accounting and engineering are belittled with nerdy stereotypes.  So, the dreams become simple.  Fame and fortune.  No talent?  No problem.  Only, there is a problem.  Despite the foolishness we see on TV everyday, it takes talent, hard work, and toughness to survive in entertainment.

Overblown expectations.  As a result, we have a generation of people who think they are going to make it big on their talent (rarely as much as they think), their looks (which are a dime a dozen), or their personality (only get you so far).  Yes, there are many in this generation who work hard, and will build successful careers in a variety of fields.  But I believe that there is a disproportionate number of dreamers who will never see those dreams materialize.

Comments

[Golbguru]

Agree with you there. Hoping to skyrocket to fame and fortune is one thing and making a complete a** of yourself in about 38 million people is another thing...you hit the nail on the head when you say "overblown expectations"

It's really sad to know that we have so many youngsters with absolutely no idea as to their capabilities and limitations...and each of them overconfident enough to say "I will be the new idol".

Also, what's with the American fascination with condescending guys speaking in a British accent? :)

[Amanda]

I totally agree - in fact, I posted about this yesterday and got some interesting comments from people...

http://youngandbroke.typepad.com/young_and_broke/2007/01/american_idol_c.html

Amanda

[jim]

Stop ruining America dude... I like it here.

[Lazy Man and Money]

I think that girl probably worked at a minimum wage job after high school. Quitting her job isn't the same as quitting her career. She probably has high school to go to during the day anyway.

As for the other reality TV shows you compared, none are geared towards having a markettable talent. I don't know of any job geared towards surviving on an island or getting women to fight over you (that might be fun though!).

However, the people that win the Apprentice get real jobs. The people that win American Idol can really sing. You could create a boring reality TV show about a bunch of computer programs and I bet if you had 30,000 competing (a fraction of American Idol, I think) the winner could really program well.

I think most people realize that they aren't going to become the next LeBron James overnight. They aren't going to win American Idol. The people that are quiting their job to try out probably don't have jobs worth having anyway. If they did, they would plan some vacation time.

[lamoneyguy]

Lazy Man, I agree that the jobs that most of them had were probably not necessarily highly coveted with much future. However, I think American Idol is either symptomatic of, or contributed to a mentality of instant riches. This mentality does not necessarily reward or encourage hard work, higher education, or improving job skills.

Anyway, that was the point. I don't really think AI is ruining America (jim). But there is a shortsightedness that it breeds.

[Nick]

The worst reality TV moment that comes to mind was one of the bimbos on the Bachelor arriving at the house, meeting the Bachelor and proclaiming "This is the American Dream." What happened to work hard, save your money and put your children in a better position in life than you have?

This isn't the American Idol generation, it's the On-Demand generation and everyone needs to remember that there are pros and cons to having the world at your fingertips. Expectations for immediate gratification can't always be met but that shouldn't be used an excuse not work for something.

[Foro Juan]

I'm a wannabe too. I auditioned for the show a couple of times-didn't make it pass the first round, but I enjoy the dreaming process. Its all about the journey for me. Oh, and if I ever make it big, I'll put a new face on engineering-types. :)

[rbtroj]

Having grown up with two friends who went on to stardom (one, still an A-Lister though, sadly, no longer a friend) I can say from close in that there is no hard work involved for the premiere talent in the spotlight riding the wave. Long hours, yes, but not hard work. Everything is done for them so long as they fuel the money machine. Let's quit pretending that entertainment is more than it is. Sure, amusement is important, but when we're paying our actors tens of millions of dollars to play make-believe and pay our athletes the same to play games ... come on. And I'm not blaming the actors or atheletes (many of whom are very good at what they do and make other tremendous contributions to the world) -- I blame the consumer (and guilty as charged am I).