Comments on: The lone dissenter on Susan Boyle

By: Adam

Adam — Sun, 31 May 2009 12:02:26 +0000

Well, they finally finished her in second place:

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tv/story/2009/05/30/susan-boyle-finale.html

By: ubuntucat

ubuntucat — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:35:48 +0000

Oh, I love both Paul Potts and Susan Boyle. I just can’t believe how easily and naively most people let the show’s producers manipulate them.

By: biff

biff — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 23:01:37 +0000

totally agree. But i still love paul potts. That audition still gets me. But I think that susan boyle was staged to be in the same vein. Can you just imagine the scouts thinking process? “Lets find the most awkward person w/ a decent voice ever.”

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:16:42 +0000

I have made a conscious decision not to read about/watch any video regarding this thing, for exactly the reasons you wrote. It seems so, well, not-news-y. Another knockoff of a knockoff TV show makes fun of another crazy cat lady, only this time she can sing pretty. Now everybody’s all in a fuss. I’m just waiting for it to be over so we can focus on something that matters.

By: Count Shrimpula

Count Shrimpula — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 18:30:10 +0000

“When contestants on shows like this are meant to bomb and be made fun of, there isn’t as much lead-up and not as much of a focus on people laughing at them beforehand.”

Actually, that’s not entirely true. Being a Yank, I’ve never seen a full episode of Britain’s Got Talent. But I’ve seen full episodes of America’s Got Talent, and of American Idol, and on those they certainly do sometimes have a lot of lead-up for contestants that are weird and turn in awful performances. They do that almost as often as they have a big lead-up for a really good contestant.

By: Adam Hunt

Adam Hunt — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:19:06 +0000

CBC columnist Heather Mallick has some interesting things to say about this story. In “Give up your rage” she asserts:

“But what I noticed most when viewing this treat for the first time was the sudden reversal of our schadenfreude — the malicious enjoyment we are taking in each other’s misfortunes, particularly as the economic crisis endures.”

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/04/17/f-vp-mallick.html

By: st33med

st33med — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 01:14:15 +0000

I avoid social websites because of this. Untruthful gossip and rumors can go through and give people wrong impressions.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 21:20:58 +0000

Does it really matter? why not just wish the woman well and get on with your own life.

By: debbie

debbie — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:49:51 +0000

cynic.

By: ubuntucat

ubuntucat — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:17:16 +0000

I can honestly say it’s not the hype that surrounds the YouTube video, as I didn’t hear all the hype until after I’d see the video. It’s the way it’s presented, actually. When contestants on shows like this are meant to bomb and be made fun of, there isn’t as much lead-up and not as much of a focus on people laughing at them beforehand.

I certainly wish Susan Boyle the best (as I would wish to anyone who dreams of fame and success using their talents), but this is also a corporate wet dream, not just a touching story.

As Shrimpula points out, if people did judge her by her looks, they should be shaming themselves, but awkwardness and seeming obliviousness to social cues are still usually good indicators that someone will not be a good performer.