I've rarely watched American Idol. But, it is so omniprescient that anyone who keeps up with current events becomes aware of it. I have been paying attention this time around because a woman from my native North Carolina is currently considered the leader of the pack. Fantasia Barrino is a 19-year-old from High Point (part of the Golden Triangle of textile towns with Greensboro and High Point). She is photogenic, fashion model thin and, of real importance, has pipes. I made my first ever visits to American Idol's message boards to read up on Fantasia. I did learn more about the gifted young woman. But, I also learned or relearned what I already know about Americans. The message the site hopes to convey, one of respect for talent I hope, is marred by the bigotry of the posters. Currently, there are at least a dozen threads attacking Fantasia, the black performers and black judge on American Idol or African-Americans more broadly. Let's consider one of the benighted's entries at length.
I have, in the past, enjoyed watching the American Idol show.
But it has run its course and is now Motown Idol, certainly not American Idol.
I am just sick and tired of hearing the same old 60s and 70s Motown selections by the contestants who all seem to want to duplicate sounding like Aretha Franklin or some other Black warble-voiced church choir screamer and jive performer. This is not a racial comment, this is a question of style and vocal technique and song selection.
This is not supposed to be Black Entertainment Network or the Motown Contest. It is supposed to be American Idol, which spans all types of music and backgrounds.
There is a LOT of good music out there. The judges and the contestants need to quit appeasing the BET audience and appeal to some of us who appreciate all sides of music, including country (like Rascal Flatts or Faith Hill), or how about some nice Beatles tunes, or even some Green Day, or Alanis Morissette? Eh? I would even take a Fiona Apple song over the crap I heard last night for the 10,000th time. Why don't you encourage your contestants to be judged on uniqueness, not just tone and pitch and bellowing.
I am no longer interested in listening to the same old boring, regurgitated crap that was brainwashed into us during the 60s, 70s and 80s from Motown because of record promotion companies incessantly playing songs that made it to the top ten. Oh please. We all understand brainwashing and marketing. But this does not equate to talent.
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Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - Scott Pepper
Couldn't agree with you more about the AI message boards. Even though they aren't hosted on Fox's site, the network really should do some sort of monitoring, considering they have direct links to these posts on every page of the show's official site.
However, I'd like to think that the bigots on these boards don't represent the majority of Americans. Bear in mind that those who post racist remarks there represent a tiny fraction of a percent of the viewing audience.
18 million votes were cast for the finalists last night, and it was a white girl (Leah LaBelle) who was voted off.
You can't look at this year's finalists and make the argument that those millions of votes that gave us this group came from bigots.
2 - Mac Diva
I didn't say the selection of finalists reflects bigotry. My focus is on the message boards in this piece. And, according to further reading and emails I've received, the threads I cited are mild, compared to others. Apparently, Fox removes the most glaringly offensive threads, but there are so many with racist overtones it would take a lot of monitoring to prune most or all of them. For reasons of the length, I went with examining just one of the threads in my entry. The attacks on Fantasia Barrino also include some that are more masked, but not convincingly. They attack her for having a Southern accent (often writing in dialect), being a single mother (though she isn't the first and her child is well cared for) or looking pretty West African. It becomes clear that singing, the raison d'etre for the show, matters little to the people who make such posts to the American Idol message boards. I think that is often the case with bigots. Their discomfiture with a person of color getting out of what they consider to be her place subsumes anything else.
3 - Scott Pepper
The title of your post is American Idol site reflects racism of society.
Are there a bunch of racist loons who post on the AI message boards? Yes.
Is this indicative of the "blight" of racism permeating American culture? Clearly not.
As prime evidence, I'll point again to the millions of Americans who called in to give us a racially and ethnically diverse group of finalists.
It seems to me unfair to assume that the worst elements of society, which make up a minority, are a reflection on the majority.
It's easy to troll through online message boards and pull out dozens of posts that are offensive. It's dishonest to hold up a few idiots as indicative of a nationwide trend.
Additionally, someone seems to have finally cleaned up the message board and gotten the discussion back on track.
4 - andy
Well said Mac.
And my question to these posters are, why in the great name of Jebus are they tired of hearing 60s and 70s soul but they enjoy themselves when the contestants all sing trashy wannabe R&B like Christina Agelwhatever?
5 - Eric Olsen
Certainly there is some element of racism in the quoted threads, but it is always out there if you look for it. I think it far more meaningful that the actual voting seems to totally ignore race entirely.
Randy Jackson wasn't in the Jackson 5, nor is he in THAT Jackson family. That's a different Randy jackson.
6 - sheri
Fantasia is awesome.
The thing is, you can go with me about 10 miles down the road here, to an African American church, and I'll have you sit and take a listen at several singers present in their church choir, who will bring you to your knees, or get you up out of your seat, depending on your present spiritual state ;0)
I would almost say, hands down, African Americans are better performers overall, and I believe in giving credit where credit is due. Maybe it comes down to a matter of personal preference.
As for racisim...you certainly can't ignore it in hopes it will go away. As for me, I strive to see people as individuals, regardless of race, and for that reason, I can count African Americans amongst my list of friends.
7 - Al Barger
You are SO utterly determined to see Klansmen everywhere that you conjure them up and put them where they aren't. Jebus H Criminy. You find ONE very lukewarm jackass on a message board about a tv show and pick THAT out to somehow taint the whole show and our whole racist society. This has NOTHING to do with American Idol, the judges, contestants or 99.9% of the viewers.
Even this dummy from the message board was pretty mild. Why would ANYBODY even care? He's not oppressing anyone, nor showing any particular intention. He's hardly even calling names. He's just an idiot. Ignore him.
You need some new material here Diva. Seriously.
8 - BRICKLAYER
"I would almost say, hands down, African Americans are better performers overall"
Well thank you kindly, Miss Sherry, now, may I please shine your shoes, or dribble a basketball for you? Howsabout I perform a little soft shoe while I serve your dinner?
9 - sheri
No thank you, I can't afford such luxury.:0)
I do think Michael Jordan is the best basketball player that has ever lived though!
10 - Gerald Ball
I agree with Mac Diva: American Idol reflects racism in America quite well! It reflects how racism is DECLINING! First off, a great many of the contestants are of mixed race. Second, the contestants all appreciate, perform, and enjoy different styles of music. Third, they all get along fabulously, there seems to be no reports of them getting into camps or playing favorites among one another by race; both the contestants and the families. Finally, the show and the winners and meritorious losers have been embraced all over mainstream America. Were I a racial separatist of hater of any stripe, American Idol would let me know that me and my ilk are a rapidly vanishing breed in this country. And people who claim otherwise obviously have agendas that have nothing to do with helping legitimate victims of discrimination at work.
11 - Natalie Davis
I agree tha Michael Jordan was probably the best ever, but I don't believe for an instant that his skin color or societally mandated classification has a thing to do with his hard work and talent.
Bricklayer, awesome!
12 - sheri
Lik I said, I give credit where credit is due.
And when I said African Americans are better performers, I was referring to singing. I grew up in the south, and have been influenced by African American gospel all my life. That means...that they could just...do something to Amazing Grace, far better than the stodgy, stuffy, way my church sang it. Peace Out !
13 - Dawn
This is so weird, as I was going to write a post about how I felt watching the American Idol show this past Tuesday.
Very simply put, I thank God that this country has such wonderful diversity and that without African-American influence in our cultural mainstream that we would be utterly devoid of soul and rhythm, and all the other amazing qualities that culture (and all the others) bring to our melting pot we call America.
Actually what I said was "I love black people," but my above statement was what I meant.
Mac, I encourage you to avoid message boards ('cept Blogcritics) I have always found the most ignorant people seeking attention frequent them.
14 - BRICKLAYER
I should point out, for the sake of honesty and accuracy, that I am not myself an African American individual, at least so much that I am aware of, because for all I really know, there may very well be some ancestors of mine who may be of African descent, of course most of the people in my family do have that Eastern European been standing out in the cold too long, industrialized look, not that you can go strictly by that, however, I am VERY empathetic (and somewhat pa-thetic, ba da bum!), and also that I feel Wilt Chamberlain was the best professional basketball player of all time. Or maybe it was Larry Bird. Who is white. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Or maybe, Yao Ming. Who is not white. Not that there's anything wrong with that either. Oh, and I can't dance soft shoe either. I do, however, do a mean jazz ballet interpretation of Metallica's "Ride the Lightning". And one more thing...ah, crap, I forgot what I was gonna say. Oh, yeah, what about the posterior on that Kelly Clarkson? Yowza, that is some fine junk in that trunk.
15 - Mark Saleski
hey, does this mean that if i admit i don't like motown that i'm a racist?
dammit.
16 - Eric Olsen
Gerald, exactly my feelings but better put, thanks!
And the discussion Dawn refers to went along the lines of "thank God we have had strong African-American influence on our culture or we would be ... Europe."
Sheri meant only good things - there isn't the slightest stereotyping involved in saying she is moved by African-American-derived, gospel-style singing.
17 - Gerald Ball
Mark:
Whether it means you are racist or not is of no consequence. What is important is if anyone cares if you are a racist or not. I say that people (other than those who know and love you and whom you have some sort of influence of you) should have more important things to do than care about what is in your head and heart and concern themselves with your actions.
18 - Eric Olsen
No Mark, if you don't like Motown it means they wren't black enough for you.
19 - Gerald Ball
Eric:
Good one! Familiar with the shameless (or should I say shameful) Berry Gordy crossover ambitions, eh?
20 - Eric Olsen
Thanks, I am deeply familiar with Motown on many levels. But were Gordy's attempts to walk boldly down Mainstreet, USA - coaching the homies on diction, decorum, dress, etc, so much so that the Beatles thought the Supremes were stuck up debs - shameful? Or was he simply chasing the American "melting pot" dream? Where does assimilation end and pandering begin? I thought our national goal was a colorblind society - didn't Motown contribute greatly to that aim?
21 - Mark Saleski
i just couldn't stand that damned everpresent tambourine in the wall of sound.
22 - Craig Lyndall
Despite the racial overtones, the one thing I do agree with is that I could do without all the warbled singing on American Idol. So many of these contestants oversing (as Simon said the other day) and try and hit 200,000 notes per measure like they were singing a Kirk Hammett guitar solo. There is no need to try and identify this as some sort of "black" trait as the commenter on that message board did. It is just as bad when Celine Dion, Christina Aguilera and other performers do it.
23 - Gerald Ball
Eric Olsen:
Berry Gordy was only interested in money. He did his bit for the civil rights movement, but the way he handled his artists was purely financially motivated. I don't much care about how he packaged and sold his artists. What I care about is how he had them all making the same songs over and over again and forcing them to sing mindless pop ditties. It (and his shafting them of royalties) is why many performers left and many others threatened to. Imagine if, say, Stevie Wonder hadn't rebelled against Gordy in order to force Gordy to let him make his own music. He would have been a musical footnote that disappeared in the 70s if he had. Well, a lot of people who weren't as brave as Stevie Wonder or didn't have his talent had their potential crushed.
Mark Saleski:
Oversinging is a problem that comes from not having formal music training. Once you receive formal music training, you will know when to wail (and how to do it) and when not to. Sort of like a power hitter in baseball having to be coached into not having three times as many home runs as strikeouts. The really terrible thing is that we now regard the shrieking and modulating as singing. Go listen to MOTOWN (or better yet gospel music from the 60s and 70s) and you will hear the "oooh yeah uh uh huh uh huh yeah yeah yeah" were MINOR PARTS of the songs, not the songs themselves. Unfortunately, those were the parts that certain people seemed to have liked the most, and the "oversinging" is all that remains. Back in the day, artists (if they were allowed to at all) were only allowed to cut loose at the end of the song to give the radio stations the option of not playing it. It was common among those seeking the "crossover" market.
24 - Eric Olsen
GB, Yes, your assessment of Gordy's business ethic and modus operandi makes perfect sense. You would think he would have learned when his biggest hit-makers HDH left, but at least he did loosen up artistically in the '70s, and allowed Stevie, Marvin Gaye, Norman Whitfield and some others to do their thing.
25 - Mac Diva
Let me clarify what I did and did not say once more. I said the AI message boards reflect a strong current of racism online and in the American psyche. I did not write about the show American Idol, just its messsage boards. Maybe someday I will write an entry about AI. The people who are under the impression I've written about the show already, such as Scott and Gerald, will just have to hold their horses until I do.
I agree that people with some rather despiscable ideas tend to dominate message boards. That is why so many media have had to shut theirs down since the influx of the masses to the Internet. And, I don't mean just mainstream newspapers and broadcast media. Places like MacWorld and Nerve have had to limit comments because too many Mikes showed up. However, I believe it is fatuous to not notice that there is a strong current of racism among such people and that they represent that current in American society. Doing so is like saying, 'Sure, there is a lot of pornography on line, but it doesn't tell us anything about what people are interested in or like.' Not true. It does.
What can AI do to improve its message boards? The monitoring isn't working and, like other sites, Fox is probably unwilling to spend the money to assign people to the seemingly endless task of cleaning them up. One thing it could do is try to focus on news and information about the contestants, thereby stealing the thunder of the Mikes. Though I went to the comment boards to get information about Fantasia, I learned much more about her from news accounts. It would be a good idea to post a links section for each entertainer that takes people to real information. Then, many of us would forgo the message boards, preferring substance to silliness.
Finally, I did not post the entry to provide a place where one of Blogcritic's believers in the genetic inferiority of black people, Al Barger, could promote his beliefs. I regret that he has soiled the thread with his presence.