American Idol and the Downfall of Western Civilization

American Idol is what's wrong with television. The medium used to be a compelling format for original programming, but the reality show changed all that. The forefather of all those pugnacious "real life" bastard shows, to this day, American Idol rampages on, sucking away the souls of teenagers and adults alike.

What particularly is so amusing about a British guy insult people? Are we so insecure about ourselves that we need to watch a TV show solely for the purpose of saying "Ha, I may be an idiot, but at least I don't sing like this retard here." That's what I have to say to the idiots who watch the show solely for the auditions. "Hurf durf, it's entertaining." Yeah, in the sense that you watch it simply to say "Goddamn, this is bad." You want to watch an entertaining show? Watch fucking House! 30 Rock! Life!

That previous paragraph may sound a bit elitist and pretentious, which it is. My main beef with stupid shows like American Idol, The Apprentice, and Survivor is that their pure idiocy manages to stay on the tube for fucking 15+ seasons. Survivor itself has been on the air for 18 fucking seasons, American Idol andThe Apprentice for 8. Tell me, how can we be so hung up on the repetitive stupidities of these garbage shows while truly brilliant shows like Arrested Development and Firefly are canned, despite the veritable avalanche of critical accolades? People tell me because AD was way too smart and clever for the audience - as if that's a fucking negative!

My complaint, like the entry before it, isn't focused solely on this god-awful show, but a look at awful television in general and how we're so damn obsessed with it. To be honest with you, the only reason I put American Idol up here was because I'm bitter that Arrested Development and Firefly were canceled. In the words of Sam, "This is bullshit." It truly is.

PS. The television networks could take a step in the right direction by canceling all the aforementioned programs, reinstating all the good TV they mistakenly canned in the past, then did a silly apology dance on live TV that I would then laugh at derisively at. A boy can only dream.