This entry is going to be a lot longer than the last and explains the more serious issues behind my little blog presentation... so for all pictures and clips, please refer to previous post, because this is serious...
Discuss national cultural screen productions and their address of the local within a global commodity industry context - case study the Idol franchise, or the global news.
The Idol franchise has created a phenomenon around the world, creating many well-known Idols including Kelly Clarkson, Guy Sebastian, and many more.
This franchise transformed the term 'talent search' from small local singing competitions to massive television productions that profit billions through the process of allowing everyday people to showcase their talent or lack of, to large amounts of audiences.
This type of popular reality show is a manufactured culture that is commodified and is crafted carefully to be successfully sold to audiences all over the world.
The talent show craze arguably started in the
The international format of Idol and other similar reality shows, embeds the classic
The subject of the culture industry in Idol, is an assemblage of
Guattari, in his article, mentions regime, pathway and subject. Regime is a set of rules, a system that controls how things are done. Pathway is the way these things are done, and subject is what is going through the regime through the pathway, being moulded and transformed into something different. When this model is placed on Idol, the show itself is like the regime, a functional coordinated program. Idol’s pathway would then be the way of how the television series is created through a search for talent, and how that whole process is commodified. And the Subjects in Idol, are the contestants and audiences who are shaped and altered through Idol’s regime and pathway.
An example of a subject going through the American Idol machine is Kelly Clarkson. First is of her at the primary auditions, a very bubbly American girl-next-door, natural and unpolished. Then she goes through the pathway of Idol, the performances, being judged and altered. And now, she is a superstar, accompanied with heavy make up and expensive clothes, selling million of records and traveling all over the world.
In a global commodity industry context, the Idol franchise followed the steps of globalization and from one phenomenon in a single country created a global industry that profit billions through producing televised talent searches that simply manufacture stars. It has also spread the
In addressing of local in this global commodity industry, Idol and its spin-offs has allowed local citizens participate in this global craze while still catering to local tastes of what is talent and the local translation as to how the show should be like. The show would not be reality to audiences it was just the same American Idol broadcasted all over the world, even if it used different language voiceovers. It is the local culture that the show embeds in it that makes the local version of Idol a reality series to the locals. Locals want to see locals on the show; it is this identity that makes the show realistic.
Talent shows in similar formats to Pop Idol from different countries include American Idol (USA), Indian Idol, Super Girls (
The shows are all supposedly aimed at searching for great talents across the countries and let them be heard. However, in catering to the taste of the audience in different cultures, performances throughout the shows vary.
Here are some examples of Idol, and similar spin-offs from all over the world.
Australian Idol
Run in extremely similar format to American Idol, Australian Idol offers audiences the Australian culture through the locals who audition, and the cultural icons that the performances are held at. A great example of culture is characters like Shannon Nole, the outback-Australian farmer boy who grew up singing in a band with his brothers.
Search for the Next Pussycat Doll
This search for talent differs from the normal Idol as it is specific in what they are looking for and to whom the show caters. Search for the Next Pussycat Doll is primarily targeted at Pussycat Doll fans, and as the group itself has a sexy image, the performances are slightly raunchier as well.
One Million Stars is an Idol spin-off from
The show very successfully embedded the local culture and captured large amounts of audiences all over the country primarily through the selections it held across all the major cities of
Indian is famous for their Bollywood culture, the fun dances and the happy songs. Indian Idol blends this culture into their shows using performances that are very ‘Bollywood’ in style.
Also, through differences in culture, rejections and opinions may be projected differently. An example could be drawn from two rejections, one from Idol spin-off, Super Girl in
Translation: The second girl that was rejected, the judges suggested her to audition to be a DJ, and said 'you will definitely be chosen' instead of being straightforward and telling her that you cannot sing.
After listening to a couple lines, Simon tells the girl 'you can't sing', very straight forward.
The difference is clear, in Super Girl, despite the contestant’s total lack of talent, the judges used a more reserved approach explain to the girl she cannot sing without hurting her. While on the other hand, Simon is very cruel and straightforward, as it is what’s required to gain the ratings in
Without this embed of culture in the local versions of Idol, consumers will feel more distant from the show and Idol will be less likely to succeed as consumer will feel it is a staged production, a soap series that is not ‘real’. For example, Australia could not succeed in producing a local version of Punk’d, the reality show hosted by Ashton Kutcher playing pranks on celebrities in the U.S. Australia just do not have the celebrity filled environment like LA and we do not have that many famous stars to play pranks on.
In conclusion, Idol is a global franchise with a local touch, just like the McDonald’s in
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