The Era of TV Talent Competitions – One Winner, Many Fading Stars

Nobody can stop the American Idol juggernaut.

When the notorious judge Simon Cowell announced his departure in 2010, many dissenters thought this would finally spell the doom for American Idol.  Instead, the talent show remains prominent in its viewership entering into the tenth season.  Currently the most watched program on TV, this musical competition generates over twenty million viewers each week, while completely abolishing the competition in televised ratings.  Even if American Idol was long past its prime, there were no signs of fatigue or declining popularity as shown in the numbers.  It remains a top performing television program throughout the past ten years.

In fact, the format of a televised talent show seems to be regurgitating in recent marketability.  This April will see the debut of The Voice, yet another music competition to hit the North American broadcasts.  The show stands out with some star-studded names in its judging panel, such as Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera, along with country singer Blake Shelton, music producer Cee Lo Green, and late-night television personality Carson Daly as the host.  Later in September, Simon Cowell is back on television, and he will be introducing X-Factor to the U.S. with an astounding $5 million cash prize.  As such, if the current American Idol series leaves you unsatisfied, keep in mind there are plenty of similar alternatives within the upcoming television season.

The talent shows may be watched by many during the time of airing, but the popularity does not sustain after the competition is over.  More often than not, the winner fades into obscurity once the spotlight is taken away and the fifteen minutes of fame are gone forever.  This trend is increasingly true with the recent Idol champions, as they achieve less and less success in the music industry.  Take the latest winner, Lee DeWyze, had embarrassingly low sales for his debut album.  To put it into perspective, he was outsold by Rebecca Black of Friday notoriety!  Even less could be spoken about those who failed to win the ultimate title, other than a few rare and unusual exceptions with extraordinary circumstances.

If these talent shows do not produce a marketable and successful winner, does this not undermine the overall purpose of the competition?  And if so, why are these programs still so popular in the demand and supply markets?  This article will analyze the appeal of these televised talent competitions, and explore the aftermath of the participants after their fifteen minutes of fame are over.

What happens to the many fading stars in the boulevard of broken dreams?

You Are Fired, Charlie Sheen - Analyzing Celebrity Notoriety

How will the fifteen million Americans survive without the uncouth presence of Charlie Sheen on their television screens?

It was the firing that took the entertainment industry and popular culture by storm.  The notorious Charlie Sheen, television's highest paying actor, was terminated from his employment at CBS/Warner Brothers after his multiple public altercations with Two and a Half Men executive producer Chuck Lorres.  Like two children slinging insults across the school playground, Sheen and Lorres used the media as a platform to express their obvious disdain towards each other, until Warner Brothers finally had enough and cut the 45-year-old actor away for good.  A scandal of this magnitude would have been the biggest public disgrace in any actor's career; but for Charlie Sheen, it was just a typical stumble among his many public wrongdoings in the past.

The story begins with our protagonist (antagonist?) Sheen checking into rehab for his drug/sex/take-your pick addition.  He is scheduled a temporary vacation from his regular taping of Two and a Half Men during the recovery.  All went well and CBS wished him the best, but the problem arose when Sheen felt patronized by his employers.  They did not truly care about his "ailment"; they are more concerned about keeping Sheen's problems under wraps so their moneymaker program will stay on the air for as long as possible.  Sheen begins to act out, demanding a salary raise to $3 million, and vocally broadcast all his dirty laundry with producer Chuck Lorres.  His unruly behaviour reached a point of unacceptability, where he was even accused of being anti-Semitic, and  so Charlie Sheen was officially fired from Two and a Half Men.

Of course, Sheen is no stranger to media notoriety in the past.  This is a man with an admitted drug (cocaine) addiction.  This is a man who also got busted in multiple prostitution scandals.  This is a man who even previously reported a murder to the police (it turns out to be a very realistic snuff film).  Charlie Sheen is already used to being in the spotlight.  He's used to being a topic of discussion in our pop culture.  Unlike other celebrities, however, he thrives on the negative publicity and becomes even more popular as the undisputed bad boy of the television industry.

His latest employment scandal should not come as a surprise to anybody familiar with his past track record.  One must wonder though if Sheen truly crossed the line this time.  By engaging in such a nasty altercation with his boss, did he sink to an irredeemable new low?  The millions of viewers who tune in to watch Charlie Sheen on Two and a Half Men may forgive his past indecencies with drugs and escorts, but will they continue to put up with his delinquent behaviour?  When does the lovable bad boy become the unlovable media scoundrel?  

How much bad press is too much?

Glorifying Social Media - When Twitter Met Television

Welcome to the age of social media, where we are one with the Internet.

There is no denying the prominence of Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter over the past couple of years. Although these social media platforms did not exist a decade ago, they are now firmly integrated into modern society. In fact, it is incredible how much our lives are influenced by social media. We not only communicate online, but we also “tweet” and “digg” and “bookmark” and “favourite” and share all kinds of content. Any event of interest, regardless how insignificant it may be, is almost guaranteed to be reported via multiple online avenues. Whether it is a tweet or a blog post or a viral video, the buzz spreads rapidly across the Internet. After all, we are the Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter generation – we live and breathe through social media.

In particular, the rise of social media brought upon an interesting phenomenon within the traditional media format. Recently, the world watched its first ever situational comedy inspired by a Twitter account. Crassly titled $#*! My Dad Says, the show features William Shatner as a cantankerous old man with a wide array of snappy one-liners, while his son records these remarks on the Internet. The actual Twitter account has almost two million followers; the sitcom premiere debuted to an audience of over twelve million viewers. Let those impressive numbers sink in first, and then you better realize that it was an anonymous old man – who would never have been famous without the Internet – drew this much attention and popularity. At first, the concept of a Twitter account sounds laughably absurd – how could an actual television show sustain based on the random tweets of less than 140 characters? As it turns out, $#*! My Dad Says is no different from the standard laugh track comedies on CBS, complete with Shatner’s distinguished way of delivering a ha-ha punch line (or any line at all, really). Yet, it is the idea behind the sitcom that displays the most originality. Think about what the show has accomplished by its mere existence: a social media icon is being celebrated in network television! Can you imagine getting a TV show based on your disjointed thoughts online? Can you imagine being famous because of your Twitter account?

While Facebook, Youtube, and Twitter grow more dominant in our culture, it is becoming increasingly clear that social media has no boundaries anymore. Its influence reaches beyond the Twitterverse or a primetime television show; it affects our modernity as a whole. This essay will analyze deeper into the seamless integration between social media and traditional media, as well as the unsettling repercussions of this recent pop culture trend.

Old Ladies with Spunk – A Love Letter to Betty White

Dear Betty White,

I was not part of the Facebook campaign. I was not part of the movement that pushed you to a hosting gig on Saturday Day Live. Regrettably, being part of the ignorant and self-absorbed generation, I was not aware of your presence or your legacy until recent times. I have caught glimpses of you though - you were the scene stealer in The Proposal, you starred in that Super Bowl commercial which became a viral classic, and you popped up here or there with a guest role in numerous sitcoms. Of course, this was the same Betty White who starred in The Mary Tyler Show and The Golden Girls, so the comedy genre had always been your forte.

Dare I say that 2010 is the year of Betty White? Whether you are Hot in Cleveland, or dancing dirty with Jon Hamm during the Emmy Awards, or insulting Facebook users worldwide on Saturday Night Live, it is clear that the public loves your humour, the Internet admires your spunk, and the media just can’t get enough of you. You’re writing two memoirs. You have a saucy 2011 calendar coming out. You are probably getting movie offers and television guest gigs left and right. There is even a Betty White clothing line (of hoodies), I kid you not. At 88 years old, Betty White is not the first popular senior entertainer in the industry, but how many aging stars have been celebrated to this extent? We parade her from show to show, we laugh at her bawdy jokes, and we treasure her like she is America’s Sweetheart. The upsurge in her popularity is quite astonishing, since a celebrity past his or her prime tends to be overlooked until their sad but inevitable eulogy, followed by the in memoriam montage during awards shows. Fortunately, Betty White is still alive and kicking, and one can argue that the busy actress is still very much in her prime.

The Betty White mania does not seem to be slowing down any time soon. However, fame is fickle and fleeting; and like all popular icons, I have started to witness some backlash against Betty White. People are getting tired of her grinning mug, tired of her geriatric sex jokes, and tired of the relentlessness in promoting her across the media. In their opinion, she is overexposed, overrated, and overused. She is preferable in small doses - the one Saturday night hosting gig was a triumph for the Internet - but the naysayers are wondering when she will exit the stage and leave the limelight.

When will people get tired of Betty White?

Into the Third Dimension – The Appeal of 3-D Entertainment

Remember a time when 3-D movies did not used to be popular?

For the past few decades, various forms of three-dimensional entertainment have only appealed to a selective niche market.  They were mostly contained within amusement parks, targeted towards children and their parents during the typical family summer vacation.  These 3-D movies never hit it off in mainstream culture, because wearing those clunky glasses to the cinema did not feel comfortable, convenient, or economically viable.  Besides, the enjoyment derived from an additional dimension was not substantial enough for businesses or consumers to invest in this media.

In the age where many naysayers predicted the demise of television and movie entertainment, few people expected there would be a sudden upsurge in 3-D films during the recent years.  Not only did they reach out to the younger demographic, but many adult moviegoers are also fascinated by the unique viewing experience.  These consumers were even willing to shell out extra money in the cinema for the three-dimensional alternative.  As evident by the unprecedented number of 3-D movie releases in the upcoming year, this form of entertainment has been surprisingly revived.  The real question remains: how long will this modern phenomenon sustain?

Vampires - A Modern Phenomenon with the Supernatural

There are vampires among us.

    What should have been a daunting statement now seems rather trivial, due to the overexposure of these mythical creatures in our modern society.  Vampires exist not only in our literature, but also in our television shows, our cinema screens, and of course our Halloween parties.  Lately, there seems to be no escape from these fanged monsters, not even in broad daylight.  There are swarms of enthusiasts lined up outside of the bookstores and theatres, eagerly anticipating for the next instalment of their vampire franchise.

    Vampires are not a recent phenomenon.  These creatures of the un-dead have haunted our popular culture for centuries.  From Bram Stoker’s classic gothic novel Dracula to Stephenie Meyer’s teenage romantic saga Twilight, vampires carry a prominent influence in many works of fiction.  In fact, their creative potential seems endless.  Rather than going out of style, these timeless characters grew stronger in mystique and intrigue.  Former hit television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel introduced us to multi-faceted vampires that fall in between both ends of the moral spectrum.  Recent cult favourites like True Blood and The Vampire Diaries further demonstrated the complexities of the supernatural community.  Evidently, the momentum for this storytelling niche does not appear to be slowing down any time soon.

Love in Reality Television – Celebrating Adultery and False Romances

Romance is dead in reality television.

    After twenty collective seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, one must wonder if any actual romance existed in the first place.  There is definitely lust among the contestants, as evident by the multitude of make out sessions per episode, but can meaningful relationships blossom beyond the initial physical attraction?  The track record seems doubtful.  This series has produced just one happily married couple so far.  Perhaps two couples, if we take into account of the notorious bait and switch scandal.  Nonetheless, there have been at least eighteen failed relationships, which is an astonishingly high number for a franchise that promises to discover true love.

    The truth about romance in reality television is that it rarely occurs.  In normal life, most couples take months and years before finally connecting with one another.  In reality television, this dating process is reduced to a matter of weeks, with the threat of a prospective engagement at the end of the journey.  Time issues aside, many reality television couples suffer from the delusions of amour, due to the manufactured circumstances in their artificial setting.  Sure, it is easy to fall in love during a romantic candlelit dinner at a gorgeous exotic locale, but will the feelings remain the same in a less glamorous environment?  The biggest drawback to The Bachelor franchise is that it does not prepare couples for a practical relationship outside of the show’s bubble, without the camera crew and without the luxury dates.