That time of year is setting in again, no, not just Christmas, but as the colder approach and we steadily opt for staying in the warmth in front of the box, we are met with the surge of reality Television programs, firmly fixating themselves on our screens. The current series of the X Factor and Strictly Come Dancing dominate Saturday TV prime spots, and week day entertainment is supplied by ‘I’m a Celebrity..Get Me Out of Here!’ There is almost no escaping reality Television nowadays, if not on the TV itself then plastered all over the newspapers or magazines, it is inherent in our culture to a great extent.
In many ways we have become a nation obsessed with watching others, when people from all classes flock to gawp at ordinary people, it is almost reminiscent of the age old Victorian Freak shows or Roman Gladiator games. Although it is fair to say we have progressed significantly away from witnessing actual human slaughter, the sentiment of freak shows or cage fighting still remains; by watching the often dim witted, socially delusional and fame obsessed hopefuls’ making spectacles of themselves for our amusement.
This argument is somewhat pessimistic, as poll results issued this week show we are also a nation largely in support of the underdog, with Susan Boyle said to be top of Google’s most searched list this year. Boyle’s overnight success of this years Britain’s Got Talent has made her both a national and international sensation, particularly in America where she remains a spectacle of fascination. The single spinster from Scotland dubbed the ‘hair angle’, is an example of those deemed ‘unfortunate’, yet are able to subvert all expectations the cynical minded may have harboured, in the same way Paul Potts’s did the previous year. Susan Boyle’s amateur rendition of ‘I have a Dream’ shocked even the like of Simon Cowell, who admitted along with the rest of the public that he was ready to write her off before she even opened her mouth. After a nip and tuck here and there she has become a household name, as a simple, unpretentious character achieving her ‘dream’.
Good on her indeed, but is it a little depressing that Susan Boyle is one of the most searched names? Among those who have past away this year, more notable Micheal Jackson, Stephan Gately and Jade Goody (another unpretentious reality TV character that achieved success for her blissful ignorance and appealing lack of general knowledge), Boyle is searched above the politically powerful or influential such as Obama. However, aside from such monumental events that occurred this year, such as the American presidential election seeing its first black President, the onset of the worst recession we have seen in decades, as well as the outbreak of swine flu, and heavy flooding in recent weeks, 2009 has arguably been a fairly depressing all round. Therefore, the success stories of the likes of Susan Boyle found on such reality TV shows on our screens this season, can be seen as a welcome addition of optimism and enjoyment in our otherwise stressful lives, however crass and intrusive they may seem.
