Seems like most people ended up viewing "Idol Gives Back" pretty cynically. Not to take away from the $30 million the show raised or anything, but I'm in the camp of viewers who thought last night's episode was pretty anticlimactic. The footage was a bit too excessive, and I wasn't anywhere near stunned by the caliber of the vocal performances.
A wasted two hours? Maybe. You really can't criticize the No. 1 TV show for wanting to further the betterment of humanity. But I think a lot of the bitterness came from the fact that two nights of goodwill were juxtaposed with the fact that the philanthropy took place on a show that for 99.9 percent of its season is dedicated to destroying dreams and encouraging careers in an industry that for the part is associated with greed.
I think that "Idol" is, by definition, a selfish show. It breeds narcissism, and derives popularity from failure. And people know that. Which is why -- even though people still voted -- the majority of viewers may have ambivalently viewed a one-night immersion into feelgoodland.
That's also why so many audience members were disappointed at the lack of an elimination. Because "Idol" isn't primarily a fundraising vehicle. It's a competition. And while people may be willing to pony up some cash to help Africa once in a while, they ultimately want consistency.
Even if that does mean destroying dreams.
Thoughts?
1 comment:
I do appreciate the fact that American Idol has made an ATTEMPT to help unfortunate people, especially the Kentucky Hillbillies (seriously what was that about? AIDS & malaria in Africa, Hurricane Katrina....and Kentucky Hillbillies) Seemed a bit out of place..... Oh sorry, back on topic.
I was completely uninspired by the celebrity appearances and performances. And what's up with all the Bono hype just to have him show up at the end in a lame video for 16.7 seconds?
The Celine/Elvis thing looked kinda cool, but it was completely lame, I would have prefereed to see unexpected LIVING artists.
And my last complaint... Am I the only person that is sick and tired of having multi-millionaire celebrities telling me that I need to donate MY money. With all of that celebrity support, how did Idol ONLY raise 30 million? They had at least a dozen celebrities on that show that were worth multi-millions each. The celebrities alone should have been able to give a total surpassing 50 million, and they want my $20!? What a bunch of hypocrites.
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