As IF Times

link Chaz Bono blasts disrespectful Dancing with the Stars judges for picking on his weight.

Meanwhile, back in the real world….

The unabated plunge of society downhill into social conformity and political correctness continues.  Mr. Bono feels hard done by the judges on his performances on the pop reality show, Dancing With The Stars.  Like many people who tune into this show misguidedly expecting to see a contest, Mr. Bono is actually clueless that the show is in fact, populist entertainment.  In populist entertainment, you either get the adoration of the fans, or you get the hook.  It’s like the old Roman Colosseum only with virtual thumbs.

A large part of the audience watches because there is just something in human nature that makes watching a ‘car crash’ compelling.  A substantial part of the audience would disappear if on-air body blows were’nt handed out every week.  Simon Cowell does this for his new show, X factor and Gordon Ramsay assumes that acidic role for his cooking reality show.   People go on those shows with the expectation of possible and likely verbal abuse.  If you want to play football, you’d have to expect that 1000 pounds of men will crush you every 2 minutes or so.  That’s the price of entry.

If Mr. Bono doesn’t think his appearance on the show has any angle other than showcasing his lightness of feet, he is as delusional as his mother.  When the show picks performers for their seasonal line-up, they are not expecting to find hidden Nureyevs among football players, comics and centerfolds.  While it’s  always amazing when such unlikely performers rise to the challenge and show real talent, it’s purely for amusement that celebrities offer themselves to the public altar of judgement.  I mean come on, Emmet Smith in a tutu?

If you’re in the entertainment business, you’d better be used to personal insults. One of the best lines ever uttered was when Bruno accused Kate (of Kate plus 8 fame), of being “like a shopping cart” pushed around by her professional  partner.  Or when Kirstie Alley inadvertently body slammed her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy in mid lift. 

Trying to frame his ouster from the show as some kind of personal attack on him isn’t going to wash.  There are no zaftig professional dancers.  In real life, people don’t get paid for effort, only results,  (lawyers of course being the notable exception).   With all due respect to the unspoken undercurrent to Bono’s participation in the show, there really are big differences in the way people perform in life.  Chaz may be transformed, but on the inside, he may still carry vestiges of his former persona.  News to Chaz, calling men fatso is not hurtful.  That’s what guys do, they insult each other.  It’s not all I’m ok, you’re ok.  If nothing else, these shows demonstrate the reality that differences do matter.  Life is cruel and unfair and your mother can shield you from only so much.   You can’t force people to like you,  be a man and get over it.

link American Idol Vote Begins – Jacob Lusk, Casey Abrams Impress : People.com.

A few seasons back, the irascible Simon Cowell, arguably the real star of American Idol decided to move on.  Before that happened, the fomat changed to 4 judges and Ellen Degeneres was  inexplicably added to the show.   That was enough for yours truly, causing me to pronounce the show over.  http://asiftimes.com/2010/02/07/talent-must-be-in-short-supply/

Well this season’s crop of  talent has not only proved me wrong, it proved a number of other things as well.  First of which is that Simon was NOT the show, although he dominated the program since inception with his bitingly blunt comments.  The show was supposed to be about singing talent, but with Simon’s presence over the years, it was as much about watching unfolding car crashes and the show had an almost sadistic appeal.

When you look at the talent pool in this year’s edition of AI, the producers and the judges have to be given credit for bringing the best crop ever to the stage.  So, that’s credit to Steve Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and the only carry over judge, Randy Jackson.   They bring credibility due to their backgrounds and generally lucid comments.  The show has moved on to be a talent contest, albeit a contrived one, from being the Simon Cowell show.  I’m not sure what the logic was in bringing in Degeneres, but thankfully, that’s over. 

The success this season also demonstrates that the basic concept reasonates with the public and therefore the show is bigger than its nominal judges.  Karaoke is pretty popular in most of the world and this can be characterized as the Super Bowl of that.   The show is refocusing on the talent, not on the judges.  It’s as if Simon were never there.   Charlie Sheen should pay attention to that.

When you observe the roster of talent that is on display, it makes you wonder where these people were last year, or the year before.  It also should give one pause to think about the pool of talent in every other area of life which will emerge from the wings every year.  From science, to business, to sports, the pool of talent is deep enough down there to give optimism to all aspects of culture and human achievement.   You just can’t be pessimistic.

Now if they could only get rid of that irritating Ryan Seacrest.