Temper Tantrums on TV

By Dena Harris

I am a big fan of American Idol. The talent (or lack thereof), the tears from contestants who didn’t make the cut, the screams of joy from those who did, the tacky outfits, waiting to see if the judges opinions match my own...I love it all.

What I don’t love is the lack of common decency and, in its place, the endorsement of rude, petty, and demeaning conduct that seems to be the staple for "good TV."

You might think I’m referring to Simon’s behavior. I’m not. Yes, I know America loves to hate the tell-it-like-it is British judge who made the mistake of characterizing one contestant last season as "a loser." But for all the hype surrounding Simon, I find him to be one of the more polite members on the show. My concerns lie more with host Ryan Seacrest, co-judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, and the American Idol contestants.

When a contestant tells Simon, "You suck," Ryan, Paula, Randy, the other contestants, and the studio-audience break into cheers and applause. In such situations, Randy and Paula can usually be counted on to high-five one another.

This kind of behavior from adults on an insanely popular "reality" TV show scares me. I realize the show’s cast isn’t responsible for American’s moral character (thank God), but should their goal be to encourage people to make fun of others?

When I was eleven, I decided it was cool to curse, thinking I sounded more mature. After over-hearing me on the phone, my mom informed me it said something about my intelligence level if my wittiest comeback to someone was a four-letter vulgarity.

I need to fly my mom out to California to speak to the contestants, judges, and producers of American Idol.

When a contestant auditions and Randy Jackson tells him, "You were off-pitch the entire song," nine times out of ten the contestant’s retort runs along the lines of "So what? You’re fat."

You can tell these kids think they’re clever, tossing out their remarks. I wonder if they know how obvious it is that they just had their feelings hurt and were hurling words out in anger like an enraged five-year old. Do they understand that such impulse behavior makes them look petty, immature, and dim-witted?

Randy and Paula worry me the most. They shout encouragement and hug contestants every time someone informs Simon he’s stupid and his opinion doesn’t matter. I used to get time outs in school if I said such things. Now we’re applauding people for this behavior?

Paula even encourages physical violence. Yes, she does it with a wink and a cute smile, but what message on how to deal with conflict is she sending when she pretends to strangle Simon, slaps him on the arm, or jokingly encourages contestants and celebrity judges to take a swing at him?

Simon is direct in his comments. If he doesn’t think a singer sounded good, he tells them so. If he doesn’t think they look good, he tells them so. If he thought they were boring to watch, he, well you get the idea.

Such directness does not sit well with our American "you can be anything you want to be" attitude. We’re used to supporting the underdogs, telling people to go for it, shoot for the stars, follow their dreams. I certainly wouldn’t want Simon in charge of deciding my fate. But then again, I have no desire to be a singing sensation. These kids do, and when they came on board they knew they would be judged and given point-blank critiques of their performances. When they can do nothing with the feedback but make a snide remark, it shows simply how un-ready they are for the spotlight.

If the producers of the show had any guts, they would enforce some etiquette rules. Contestants would be allowed their say, but must refrain from using the words "suck, fat, stupid, moron, or loser."

Hmmm, that might take it from an hour show to thirty minutes.

Unfortunately, the producers of American Idol rely on petty insults from their star hosts when they have a strong show on their hands. People want to hear the contestants sing. They want to know what the judges thought of the contestant’s voices and performances, and if our at home evaluations--she was a little pitchy and her performance just isn’t there--are on target.

Bottom line? Insults aren’t funny; they’re mean. Given the millions of eager young viewers who tune in each week, American Idol and its cast should give more thought to the influence their behavior is having on kids and adults around the country.

This article first appeared in the May 2003 issue of Carolina Parent