Sunday, April 19, 2009

Susan Boyle shows why our society is still sad

So the Susan Boyle phenomenon is still going strong. If you havn't seen the well produced Britain's got Talent episode here it is. It is currently at over 30million views in the past week. The whole thing is filmed to set up the viewer for the emotional moment where she starts singing. That is fine because the people who watch these shows generally like that kind of stuff.
It is great because she is the sort of underdog story that people can relate to very easily. Even the guy who took a gamble and bought the url susan-boyle.com before all this exploded has seen the web site explode in popularity.
But my question is what if she had not sung flawlessly? What if she had totally flubbed it? She would have been ridiculed like all the rest of the wannabe singers without either looks or talent. What does that say about our society? Everyone is saying how amazing she is but what they are really saying is "Susan, we can't believe that such a frumpy non-attractive woman can sing so well." I don't think it is intended but it is just the byproduct of our society. It is the same as worshiping the singer with the perfect body in the end.
What I am trying to say is that this scenario says more about our society than really meets the eye.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's better than having to see the Anna Nicole Smith garbage for six months.

http://www.johnmaszka.com/whatchagotgirl.html

Sara said...

I was wondering if you would write an entry on her! I agree with you...how sad will people get? I still can't believe how excited people get when at a hockey game there is a big fight? Almost feels like Ancient Rome and the Gladiators for a few minutes! I thought someone they'd get to the point where there was zero tolerance for the fighting. But somehow people like it! When Jesus came to earth he came for the poor, lonely, "unattractive"...those that were/would be rejected or laughed at... not for the rich, famous, 'attractive'...I think the judges and everyone present when Susan Boyle sung owed her an apology...Sheesh, didn't Simon learn anything when Paul Potts walked on stage and sang opera...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DelJrP3P7tA

Reuben said...

thanks Sara. yeah I think they did learn something from Paul Potts. This time they produced it slicker in order to get maximum emotional reaction. They did all the audience reactions and showed more shock on people's faces etc....

To Anonymous: Yeah sure at first glance it is better than Anna Nicole Smith but really it is just the same sort of thing. The point is that people are still worshiping beauty.