Friday Feature: American Idol and the American Dream
I live in the 'reality TV generation'. For my peers, growing up to be on a MTV reality show like 'The Hills' or auditioning- and making it on- American Idol, is a legitimate hope for the future. Forget the 'American dream', that age-old idea that, in America, if you work hard, you can make it. The insta-celebrity derived from the reality TV circuit neutralizes the work factor.
Perhaps the winners of 'So You Think You Can Dance' or 'Project Runway' who enjoy instant fame deserve it- they work hard and are very talented, but it's hard to make the same case for the 'Octomom' or Heidi Montag. These pseudo-celebrities teach fame hungry youths that, in order to make your fame and fortune, all you have to do is cause controversy.
The legally-questionable choices some of the cable-manufactured stars make reveal to impressionable students that the only consequence of moral bankruptcy is notoriety. The normalization of underage drinking, drug use, and domestic violence by well-known and generally respected celebrities leads to similar trends in young people. In a world where being controversial on TV can win you fame, fortune, and future television prospects, these behaviors become mainstream.
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