Wednesday 25 August 2010

Irrationality

Anyone who knows me will verify that I am reasonably placid and not easily angered. For some that in itself is an irritation as i don't rise to provocation. However odd things do make me feel really irked and often it is trivialities that other people see no harm in that get me going.
The other night, whilst staying in my daughter's house, I found myself watching the X Factor on the TV. I should have left the room and gone for a walk or gone to bed but I chose to stay. For those lucky enough to live abroad, the X factor is a "Talent" show. The word Talent is in inverted commas as I feel that such a word has no links to the X factor. In this show, a panel of judges, none of which seems to have a shred of talent themselves, let alone personal skills or even charm, preside over appalling performances by anyone who has the brass balls to stand up on stage and make idiots of themselves. Occasionally someone crops up who can copy a current pop song and it is they that get the plaudits from the panel and the privilege of going on to the next round. As the weeks go by the numbers get thinned out and the TV viewers get to vote on who should survive. This of course costs them money which goes to swell the bank accounts of the judges.
I believe that talented musicians emerge from years of practice and study and not through singing karaoke whilst out of their heads on cheap lager. However this is not the feeling of X Factor fans and those fat cats who run the show. It is about raising someone from the gutter to pseudostardom, whilst making huge profits from those who can least afford it.
The parade of contestants last week, and most likely next and the week after was like a queue of unemployables with an audience selected from a care in the community programme.
This show is extraordinarily popular and represents the terrible state of the popular music industry that is pushing tasteless pap down the throats of the youngsters of today.
I feel better now!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

We "who live abroad" are not lucky either as we have X factor (brand name..how nice:( as well. A couple of years ago we had the same terrible reality shows like you had in the UK. (Big Brother, and that other one where so called celebrities "struggled" in the wilderness to "survive" and many more. These American and Western "shit" did not spare my country either. If you travelled to Hungary you could see the same "franchise" shows, talkshows and other craps that you can see in England now...Media is the new "God". You can learn how to be trendy, in a good shape, glamorous , what to eat/drink , what are the most favourite hoilday resorts (must see places) where this damned globalisation ruined everything unique.
Sadly we can't do anything against it. As for me I do not watch tv or very rarely. I am sick of "breaking news", advertisements, mindless talkshows etc. I protest in my way. I read every evening or choose a good DVD or just go running or walking.

I try to build my world rather than let the media build a false one for me. I hope you are well.

Greetings from Hungary. Lilly XXX