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Friday June 5, 2009

Britain's Got No Heart


For the last few weeks the media has been in a complete frenzy about the talent show, Britain’s Got Talent. True, I am the Rip Van Winkle of the mountains when it comes to TV but even I have heard of the show and-dare I admit it-watched a clip of Susan Boyle on You Tube. I haven’t gone as far as watching the show itself, unlike the odd 15 million Brits who appear to tune in every night, but I have a passing curiosity about who makes the show’s finals. As is always the case with the British media, when something becomes too hot and successful whether it be human or conceptual, journalists immediately begin to tear it apart. So it has been sad to witness the bitchiness directed at Scottish singer, Susan Boyle, and pathetic to read the sneering comments about the show itself, when the majority of these press pundits are slavering over their TV sets at home, goggle eyed and entranced. At least I’m honest when I say I don’t like reality TV shows, or this sort of entertainment by annihilation and jury. In the good old days of Hughie Green and home spun talent shows such as Opportunity Knocks, everyone seemed so much kinder and encouraging. Sure, the likes of Susan Boyle have been recognised for their fantastic talents but at the expense of their dignity and pride. The cruelty aimed at some acts appearing on the show defies belief and no doubt has crushed the dreams of many. Why is it so necessary to destroy hope and cast despair? Even on the snippet of You Tube I watched, the baying crowds were grotesque, vulgar and condemning. One is immediately reminded of slaves and Christians being thrown to the lions by scornful Romans, but if history must repeat itself, can we not act with more humanity? The concept of a talent show is not a bad thing and is able to offer a showcase of the many talented Britons, as yet undiscovered, in the country today. What I take umbrage at is that in the current show format contestants are either deified or extinguished mercilessly. It’s time for Britain’s Got Talent, to have a heart.



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