Midnight's Broken Toe

A few nights ago, I watched the first episode of On the Lot. It's a new reality TV series in which aspiring film directors compete to make a new short film every week. The winner is awarded with a contract and their own office at Dreamworks.

I'm normally not one for reality TV shows. I couldn't care less about Survivor; I think the only time I would be interested in it is if one season was set in the Tundra, but I know they'll never do that because there would be no opportunities to show off scantily clad skinny women. American Idol drives me up the wall and America's Next Top Model is just a cat fight waiting to happen.

But there's something more to all reality TV shows in general that I object to on principle. If part of the "American dream" is to make money and/or be happy by achieving your dreams, whether your dream is making blockbuster films or singing pop hits, reality TV shows always seem to take the joy out of working hard to get what you want. By winning these shows, instead of working crappy jobs and going to school and trying and failing and trying again, fame and fortune and greatness are simply handed to you. None of my idols had people like Paula Abdul and Simon to say, "Yes, you are a good singer, here is a record contract". All of the Beatles were born to working class families in Liverpool, during World War Two. And in the 1950's, while they were learning to play their guitars and drums and singing the songs of their own idols (who, I might add, also started out in the working class), they were also working part time jobs and going to school with very little expectation of becoming world wide idols who would remain popular for over forty years after they got started. Do that, Clay Aiken! (Who?)

Another aspect of reality TV that bothers me is the sheer number of people who get rejected from a show in the course of the season. I understand all too well from my own experience that rejection is part of life, but that doesn't mean I've let rejection keep me from pursuing my goals. But when I see people get rejected from these reality shows, as I did last night, I can just see in some of these people's faces the heartbreak, and I can tell that this rejection is what will keep them from pursuing their own dreams. Some of these people are strong and value the experience and the rejection as a lesson and continue to work for what they want. Others of them will give up on their dream, believing that their rejection from a TV show determines their worth and potential, and they'll continue to make excuses for themselves and what they see as failure. To me, that's what is heartbreaking, because it means that more and more Americans are pursuing this instant gratification that they think fame will bring. But if, in our obsession with celebrities, we have only glittery people who have in reality earned nothing, who will we have to admire?

Perhaps this is why most of the people I admire are people with less than glittery backgrounds and tarnished reputations- Bob Dylan, along with his music, is also known for, at least in the 60's, having been a general ass hole and a womanizer. Miles Davis was a heroin addict who occaisionally assaulted his band members. But both of them worked hard in their own ways to achieve what they wanted, and that is part of what makes them so admirable.

I have a good friend who is in NCSA film school right now; he wants to direct and he's good at it. He's creative and intelligent and hard working and I hope I never see him on a show like On the Lot.

Posted in Rock n Roll byMidnightsBrokenToe at 05:20 AM Posted by: MidnightsBrokenToe at 05:20 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
Post contains 660 words, total size 4 kb.