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Why Did The American Public Fall In Love With William Hung?Copyright © 2007-2008 Trent LampeThe early rounds of American Idol, are clearly geared more towards amusement than actual talent. Generally, the performances of the great musicians that get their tickets punched to Hollywood are not shown. What we do see however, are the shameless contestants who don't have an ounce of talent --- contestants like William Hung. We tune in to watch them squirm and embarrass themselves in front of millions of viewers. The producers of shows like American Idol could care less about the humiliation that contestants face, as they are simply a means towards financial and commercial success. The reason why the early tryout rounds bring in the big draw of American Idol viewers, has to do with the fact that people want to see the judges put contestants through painful, embarrassing, and humiliating situations for the rest of us to watch - and, presumably, laugh at and be entertained by. We then continue to laugh out loud as Simon Cowell insults and boots them off the stage. It is almost encoded in a human brain to always focus on and find amusement in someone elses suffering. In fact, American Idol appeals to our baser instincts, including our perverse pleasure in seeing other people fail. A satisfactory explanation for man's inhumanity to man may never be reached. We always seem to want to see people do badly, and oftentimes we view these contestants as less than human. The discussion can extend to other areas besides the realm of American Idol. The idea of laughing at someone slipping on a banana peel or taking pleasure in the downfall of an enemy taps into the same kind of emotions that we experience while watching Idol. Perhaps we are simply happy that these bad things aren't happening to us, but it is okay as long as it's to someone else. So what causes us to derive entertainment from the suffering of others? The attitude of wanting others to fail means that we are allowing others to control our reactions and emotions. Wanting to see another person embarrass themselves is really a way of seeking satisfaction when our hopes or ideals are not met. Instead of mocking an individual who totaly butchers a song, what we really need to do is appropriately examine ourselves. We need to ask ourselves what the payoff is for seeing someone crash and burn. Why do we keep wanting the worst for others. Perhaps because we cannot bear to see others succeed, we stand and cheer so hard for their demise. Perhaps we do not know or believe that there can be anything better than supporting a stranger in their quest for a dream. Perhaps we enjoy seeing others as villains. Perhaps we enjoy feeling a sense of power while watching others be in a vulnerable situation. Watching someone torn down allows us to sit back in our couches and have reassurance in our own personal happiness. We simply get pleasure at other people's pain. Others have tried to put a positive spin in trying to explain this phenomenon. It's been said that by watching others fail, that we are really trying to learn by watching people overcome fears and acquire something that would otherwise seem impossible. If they can do it, maybe I can too. It has been said that we tend to learn more about how to conduct ourselves from watching people fail than we do from watching them succeed. So, by watching people make complete idiots of themselves on American Idol, we might end up feeling a lot more normal, and reinforcing a positive sense of self by acknowledging that at least we are not as weird as they are. Perhaps by watching hundreds of contestants fail, we will in turn get motivated and engaged in our own reality. However, it is almost impossible to argue about our appeal of seeing people fail without pointing out that the contestants on American Idol for example, put themselves in this situation in the first place. Many of these contestants waited in line for hours for an opportunity to follow their dreams. The only explanation that seems to remain on this issue deals with the fact that today's society is becoming one where personal interactions are almost non-existent. We feel no connection to the rest of the world, and this makes it very easy to objectify each other and fail to experience sympathy and empathy when others around us suffer. About The Author:
*** Digital Reprint Rights *** *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Trent Lampe can be reached at: trent.lampe@thephantomwriters.com *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: trent.lampe@thephantomwriters.com
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