American Idol Strikes Back

How many times, when you're complaining about the crappy state of entertainment, do you hear " Well, my friend/co-worker/son, just turn it off"? Ug. You may feel frustrated by the apparent logic of this statement, and you're not alone.

What people fail to realize is the damage that loads of crappy entertainment being forced down their throat on a daily basis really does damage to oneself, one's country, and one's culture. Every day children are being enslaved to the idea that their entertainment can be just "good enough" and not anything worthwhile or meaningful. This bothers you, your friends, and people on your block. So why is all this garbage polluting the airwaves that we jointly own?

It is our opinion that the long-term effects of this trash is barely understood, but every day there seem to be more and more symptoms of this disease. The latest? The ruination of the American Musical.

New York Times theater critic Ben Brantley says: "The tentacles of the 'American Idol' sensibility actually reach much deeper, into the very throat of the American musical, and may change forever the way Broadway sings. This is not a happy prognosis." The singing on "Idol," he complains, "is intensely emotional and oddly impersonal. The accent is on abstract feelings, usually embodied by people of stunning ordinariness, than on particular character."

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