Idol days
There's one thing every week that I religiously watch -- and that's American Idol. NO not the highly unrealistic Desperate Housewives, not the already-stale Survivor or The Amazing Race where the contestants love playing it up to the camera.
Like almost everyone else, my favourite parts of the show are obviously the auditions, and the theatre shows, which is the 2nd round of the auditions.
Watching these episodes really just give me a much needed break from my daily grind, from the monotony of my life, and the drudgery of of my work.
There were 21,000 of them hopefuls in the nation's capital, trying out for the nation's favorite show, each of them convinced that he/she would be the next American Idol. I was suitably entertained.
But it wasn't the cheap attention whores putting on silly antics to amuse that captivated me, neither was it the incessant, yet entertaining bickering of the judges ( namely Paula and Simon, duh). Yes, some of the extremely clueless people who gave ear-shattering performances elicited a hearty laugh for me, but it wasn't them that really got to me.
I really believe that why people are so drawn to the show is not simply because some performances these contestants gave are really show stopping, but really because we all like to participate vicariously in the triumphs and downfalls of these contestants. We like to latch our hopes onto these contestants, especially the one you support, taking vicarious pleasure in his/her triumphs. We want to see him/her do well, and in a way we are also keeping out hopes and dreams alive in doing that.
So, the one thing that got to me was the undiluted elation of those who passed the first stage. When they came through the doors waving their yellow sheets of gold and jumping into the arms of loved ones, or screaming ecstatically, or kneeing on the floor in happy tears; during those brief moments of sheer ecstasy, as if exuberance could filter through screens, I believed that I was almost happy too, for them and their first triumphs.
Like almost everyone else, my favourite parts of the show are obviously the auditions, and the theatre shows, which is the 2nd round of the auditions.
Watching these episodes really just give me a much needed break from my daily grind, from the monotony of my life, and the drudgery of of my work.
There were 21,000 of them hopefuls in the nation's capital, trying out for the nation's favorite show, each of them convinced that he/she would be the next American Idol. I was suitably entertained.
But it wasn't the cheap attention whores putting on silly antics to amuse that captivated me, neither was it the incessant, yet entertaining bickering of the judges ( namely Paula and Simon, duh). Yes, some of the extremely clueless people who gave ear-shattering performances elicited a hearty laugh for me, but it wasn't them that really got to me.
I really believe that why people are so drawn to the show is not simply because some performances these contestants gave are really show stopping, but really because we all like to participate vicariously in the triumphs and downfalls of these contestants. We like to latch our hopes onto these contestants, especially the one you support, taking vicarious pleasure in his/her triumphs. We want to see him/her do well, and in a way we are also keeping out hopes and dreams alive in doing that.
So, the one thing that got to me was the undiluted elation of those who passed the first stage. When they came through the doors waving their yellow sheets of gold and jumping into the arms of loved ones, or screaming ecstatically, or kneeing on the floor in happy tears; during those brief moments of sheer ecstasy, as if exuberance could filter through screens, I believed that I was almost happy too, for them and their first triumphs.
