Sometimes I am embarrassed to say that I have never seen a full episode of American Idol. The show had it's United States debut in 2002, and I have never really watched an episode. I know who the judges are, even know some of the winning contestants; that is mainly because it saturated the media completely. American Idol had its 9th season debut last night on Fox Television. It had 30.1 million viewers. That is no small number. But, it is down 10% from 2008 - which had 33.4 million viewers. The shows highest rated season opener was in 2007, at 37.4 million. Part of me wonders, can Simon Cowell (known as the mean judge on Idol) and Barack Obama exist in the universe at the same time? Realistically, I know that is a silly question. Of course they can. I guess I am referring more to their outlooks and manners of being. Simon Cowell is paid well to be harsh, critical, and basically demeaning to be contestants on the show. That is the gimmick. Barack Obama is attempting to take the United States (and world) in a more positive and strength-based direction.
I want to stress, that I am not comparing Simon Cowell's job to that of the President of the United States. But I wonder, do the television shows most popular during the George W. Bush terms in office, basically reflect how people in the U.S. were feeling? It's happened before. Look at the movies in the 1930s and 1940s. A good majority were musicals with happy endings. People were going through tough times and wanted an escape from the gray poverty of their lives. Technicolor musicals were the perfect answers.
Some of the most popular television shows from 2001 through 2008, were basically variations on a theme - the harsh judging of people. If you aren't strong enough to make it, than you are "voted off." It is natural. For a brief time after the tragedy of 9/11/01, networks were careful not to air shows that depicted any kind of violence that may have reminded viewers of that terrible day. Even certain movies were delayed in their openings. That awareness did not last long, however. Eventually, with the war in Iraq, fear of terrorism, and eventual financial tumbling - people started to feel powerless. What's one of the easiest ways to deal with those feelings? Perhaps by laughing and making fun of others who we see as worse off than us. Just take a look of some of the television shows of 2001-2008 that were highest in the Nielsen Ratings: American Idol; Weakest Link; Survivor; Supernanny; So You Think You Can Dance; Fear Factor. Here is a little snippet of video which show some of Simon Cowell's harshest critiques:
I don't mean to come across as "holier than thou" as they say. Believe me - I am a big fan of the Bravo show, "Top Chef." I say I watch it to see the cooking, but maybe I just like to see the judges beat up on the chefs. Anyway, although it may be far-fetched, perhaps the slightly lower showing of American Idol this season means that people in the United States are feeling even a little bit more hopeful. Or - it could be just a natural dip in ratings due to the number of years that it has been on television. Or - it may be because the judges on the show are always drinking/marketing for Coca Cola (see photo at top of posting). Don't they know that Obama is a Pepsi president? Pepsi is even slightly revamping their labels to make them even more "Obama-esque" (see photo below). Well, I guess we will have to wait and see. Maybe all of these judging type shows we be off in a few years (except for Top Chef, of course).
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