06/24/02
Idol for an Idle Evening
American Idol is the latest “reality” television show. The cynical quotation marks are especially appropriate for this particular show because the “reality” that it seeks to convey is a fantasy even outside of the television. Basically, thus far, three judges have narrowed down thousands of auditioners to about one hundred and fifty and then trimmed that group to thirty. Now, viewers can call in and vote for the singing under-twenty-five-year-old of their choice based on performances. The winner becomes “The American Idol.”
This essay has been published in Just Thinking: Volume I, 10/29/01–10/21/02 and is available in Confidence Place: The Timshel Arts Store.
06/17/02 Databased Profiling on Common Turf (National Security)
06/10/02 In the Fab Shadow (Society)
06/03/02 New Reasons to Take Up an Old Young Cause (Society)
05/27/02 Breaking the Slump (Society)
05/20/02 Self-Evident Equality (Society)
05/13/02 Grownup 101 (Life)
05/06/02 Choosing a Lyric Battle (Religion)
04/29/02 A Bright Future for Revolution, Part 2 (Media)
04/22/02 A Bright Future for Revolution, Part 1 (Art)
04/15/02 A Love-Lit Shelter Sets Me Free (Life)
10/29/01 through 04/08/02 Archives