Dean M. Estabrook wrote:
This anecdote is more than telling inre American attitude towards quality in our lives. It is no surprise to me that what America most idolizes is the lowest common denominator.
Now let's be fair -- "America" as some monolithic attitude never got a shot to even hear that Juilliard-trained voice. The producers of the show were the ones who made that decision, and they (all, what, 4 or 5 of them?) should not be considered to have any clue as to what "America most idolizes."
The fact that millions of Americans (and others from around the world) watch American Idol also can't be construed as determining anything other than that in that time slot, amongst Television Viewers, American Idol is the least disgusting of the choices.
It is only the pundits who then write in journals and in newspapers and on supposedly intelligent talk shows on TV and radio that America most idolizes the lowest common denominator. That then gives legitimacy to American Idol as some sort of icon and emblem of American attitudes and taste.
Only if that person with the Juilliard-trained voice had been allowed to compete in a fair and open competition with the others who actually made it onto the show and that Juilliard-trained voice had been voted off the planet (or whatever they say these days), THEN we could say that for many Americans, there is no room for quality.
But not to be allowed on the air at all and then use that as some yardstick for all Americans is to be grossly unfair.
-- David H. Bailey [EMAIL PROTECTED] _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list [email protected] http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
