I got sucked into “American Idol” this year. There I said it. Take my man-card, or what’s left of it, and throw it in the trash.
While I got sucked in kicking and screaming, others willingly subject themselves to this self-serving programming.
I guess there is just something about it that makes Americans adopt these young “stars” into their own lives and connect with them. It might have something to do with people enjoying a “nobody” coming in off of the street and become a huge star.
But it also might have to do with people enjoying the downfall and public embarrassment that this show creates. Either way viewers are, as we all know, absolutely fanatical about the show. But some are crazier than others.
I ran across a MySpace page this week and was floored by how obscenely obsessed this country is with this show. A 23-year-old woman, who goes by “J,” has gone on a hunger strike until 17-year-old Idol contestant Sanjaya Malakar is voted off the show. She keeps a regular blog documenting her progress and distaste for Malakar from her home in New York.
“J” recently posted a video explaining the rationale for her long-term hunger strike.
“I am doing this because I believe that other talented contestants who deserve a chance to win are being eliminated because there are other people who think it would be funny to sabotage ‘American Idol’ by voting for a lesser contestant,” “J” said in the video.
This is simply pathetic. Not only is the title of the page “Starvation for Sanjaya,” which implies she is doing something to benefit the kid, but she, at 23, is calling out this 17-year-old boy publicly and is trying to stop him from being a part of “American Idol.”
Something that, for all we know, Malakar earned the right to do. As if he is not having a hard enough time being under the microscope, he has to deal with people drastically altering their lifestyles to bring him down. Doesn’t that throw up a red flag about this country?
“J” has documented her progress through blog postings about five times a week, tracking how much weight she has lost and remaining strangely optimistic about the whole situation. That scares me more than anything. She thinks there is a nationwide conspiracy to sabotage “American Idol” and believes the best way to deal with it is to starve herself until this great injustice is corrected.
This is the perfect example of America being too emotionally invested in reality television. Sure, it is fun to watch reality shows and root for someone you feel is the best; but if you let contestants on these shows effect your life that much, you should probably take a good, hard look at yourself in the mirror.
If people cared half as much about their friends and family as they do about their favorite “American Idol” or “Survivor” contestant, the world would be a much better place.
During the weekend, “J” was taken to the doctor and advised to discontinue her 16-day hunger strike. So, through another video posting, “J” announced that she has decided to take up eating again but “will be organizing a voting strategy” in another attempt to vote Malakar off.
It is, on some level, rather courageous that someone shows such passion about an issue, regardless of how crazy it might seem. But the idea that someone would starve themselves to the point of needing medical attention over a reality show simply boggles my mind.
Personally, I think Melinda Doolittle is going to win. But, if she gets voted off next week, I will not do anything different from my regular routine. I will shrug my shoulders and get on with my life. Then, I will probably go eat a cheeseburger.
Alex Drumm is a senior in journalism. He can be reached at [email protected].
