[nabs-l] American Idol in the Making?

[Joe Orozco]

Marc,

I agree the inspirational pitch was a bit much.  Yet, to be fair, they've
broadcasted some inspirational stories of other people who were just as
cheesy.  Take the typical pitch of the single mother with the handful of
children who was on the show to make a name for herself.  It's been a common
enough story, and I'm sitting there wondering, "if life's so tough, your
butt needs to be at home, working and taking care of your kids" not parading
about television for an opportunity that may or may not pan out!"  I'm not
against single mothers competing, but supposedly inspirational stories like
that just don't do it for me.  But, it's television, and even though the
show is still doing great, it is projected to dip a little more in ratings
this year.  Every little public interest piece helps.

I have to say though that when they first began previewing the segment, the
guy sounded so monotone.  Actually, he reminded me a little bit of myself!
Wah, wah.  Anyway, he sang, and although I agree he did not sing the best,
he didn't do anywhere near as bad as his speaking voice led me to believe.
I'm guessing they focused on this blind person because he may very well have
made it past Hollywood week.  Isn't Hollywood week done in advance as well?
I'm an AI junkie, but I'm not up to speed on the behind-the-scenes.

As for me, I'm going to try out next summer...No, not really, but amid the
enormous and tumultuous audience that is my imagination, I dare say I put
Clay Aiken to shame!

Joe Orozco

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M.
Barrie
-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of mworkman at ualberta.ca
Sent: Wednesday, January 14, 2009 1:39 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] American Idol in the Making?

Alright, so I watch American Idol too, though I would never admit that
anywhere other than a public listserve.  I thought you might like to know
this is not the first blind person to make it to Hollywood on the show.  A
few years back, 2005 I think, a blind woman made it to Hollywood as well.
Her audition for the judges was never shown on TV, and I think she said she
only appeared on TV very briefly while in Hollywood.  I'm sure you could
find some info on her if you did some digging.  She did an interview about
her experience on some blindness related podcast.

I don't know why, in the one case, the producers didn't show the audition or
discuss the blindness, and yet in the recent case, they really focused on
it.

As per Joe's request, I won't mention why or why not Scott made the blind
look good, but you can't ignore the way his story was told, at least I
can't.  The stuff about overcoming his handicap and his being an inspiration
just makes me gag.  I can't stand that stuff.  Either you're pethetic and
worthy of pity, or you're a hero and an inspiration to us all.  They are
just two sides of the same coin.

But I don't blame Scott, just the producers.  He was actually quite
impressive, though I was personally more impressed by the fact that he
entered college at 14 than I was by his singing.  It will be interesting,
but more than likely disheartening, to see how they portray him in
Hollywood.

Marc

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org]On
Behalf Of Joe Orozco
Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 8:03 PM
To: 'National Association of Blind Students mailing list'
Subject: [nabs-l] American Idol in the Making?


Check it out?  A blind guy made it to Hollywood?  Yeah, I'm an American Idol
fanatic.  Scary stuff when they saved him for last, but he wasn't all that
bad.  I'd give him a 7 out of 10.  But, please, no twenty thousand posts on
why or why not he made the blind look good.  The guy's got talent and has
him so goalballs for going out there and competing.  I'm personally proud of
this Scott character.

Joe Orozco

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity."--James M.
Barrie


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