In class we were talking about freak show television with things like the Jerry Springer show, and how they exploited people with problems for views. This really made me think about the show American Idol and how that show was the epidemy of freak show tv during its glory years. They had a group of judges that were more about the entertainment than actually carrying about music. For those of you who don’t know American Idol was a show that was first aired in 2002 to 2016 but was most popular up until 2010, this show featured three grudges who where originally Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson and was hosted by Ryan Seacrest. This show was an American singing compotation that had contestants first addition infant of the three judges by singing their favorite song. Somewhere pretty good, somewhere actually good, and somewhere so bad you could laugh. Those ones that were so bad you could laugh at left you asking yourself “how do they even get on the show?” and that’s where they become freak show tv. That’s because they let the really bad ones through so the judges can make fun of them on national tv for a laugh.

This is the something as having people come on the Jerry Springer show to have them fight and tell their story for people to sit home and laugh at them. This is almost how I remember tv as a kid growing up in the early 2000s, it just felt like entertainment was very much based off laughing at other people’s problems. That might be why our society as a whole is so sensitive or seems so sensitive because we are so used to being attached from so many different angels.