The Odds in Whose Favor?
I am so far removed from the reality show bandwagon that I can't even hear the accordions--but I've been tiptoeing closer to the less vile offerings (even though one of the pros on "Dancing with the Stars" makes me think he needs a misogyny intervention). The past few months I've been checking out "The Voice," and have been surprised how not mindless it is.
It gets me thinking about what makes a "good" voice, training vs. experience, quality vs. potential for success, and just how much evil one little X chromosome can inject into what is otherwise a pretty darn feel-good reality show. (Hey--maybe I need a misogyny intervention!)
Last week, I realized I was having a rough night's sleep after watching "The Voice," dreaming about struggling through rounds of competition, stressing about my life's dream being shattered on national television. I took a few days off, but now am back for the sure-to-be-devastating finals. This isn't "DWTS," after all, where already-famous people (even if vaguely, or distantly, famous) want to jump-start their careers outside the ballroom; these are people who are driven to sing, who want to make singing their careers since it's already their lives, people who wonder if there will be any song if they're not the winner on the show.
I'm glad there isn't a reality show that pits writers against each other. (On the other hand... how dull would that be for the viewer? It would turn into some monster critique group, and the writers continuing to the next round would probably pass along referrals to agents and editors to those who had been booted off. Heck--if we said, "May the odds be ever in your favor," we'd actually mean it!So not a recipe for a successful reality show!)
It gets me thinking about what makes a "good" voice, training vs. experience, quality vs. potential for success, and just how much evil one little X chromosome can inject into what is otherwise a pretty darn feel-good reality show. (Hey--maybe I need a misogyny intervention!)
Last week, I realized I was having a rough night's sleep after watching "The Voice," dreaming about struggling through rounds of competition, stressing about my life's dream being shattered on national television. I took a few days off, but now am back for the sure-to-be-devastating finals. This isn't "DWTS," after all, where already-famous people (even if vaguely, or distantly, famous) want to jump-start their careers outside the ballroom; these are people who are driven to sing, who want to make singing their careers since it's already their lives, people who wonder if there will be any song if they're not the winner on the show.
I'm glad there isn't a reality show that pits writers against each other. (On the other hand... how dull would that be for the viewer? It would turn into some monster critique group, and the writers continuing to the next round would probably pass along referrals to agents and editors to those who had been booted off. Heck--if we said, "May the odds be ever in your favor," we'd actually mean it!So not a recipe for a successful reality show!)