Generation X - Simon Cowell And Teenage Talent
CHILDREN should not be caused any “unnecessary distress or anxiety by their involvement”.
We talk not of school exams and being weighed and measured by the Government for signs of fatness but of a youngster’s appearance on TV talent show The X Factor.
Ofcom, the broadcast regulator, tells the Times that opening up the show to 14-year-old wannabes needs to be handled with kid gloves.
Children should not be made to sweat and suffer as Simon Cowell tells them they sound like a turkey with strangulated testicles.
A spokesman for the Family and Parenting Institute says: “We are concerned about the impact a barrage of criticism can have on young people… We expect the producers to give proper support and counselling for young people who are thrust into the spotlight by the show.”
These are, presumably, the young people who have queued up for a shot at fame.
After rejection these teenagers need to be spoken to by a grief professional.
Can this scheme be extended to all children who fail their exams, miss out on the school football team and fail to make the grade for the school production of Bugsy Malone or Grease?
And in the interests of looking after the talent, can viewers vote on which therapists we think should go through to the next round, when the disappointment is more acute and the expertise more vital?
And then what of the parents? Will they need counselling as their hopes, lived vicariously through their child stars, are dashed?
A spokesman for Simon Cowell tells the paper: “Simon is honest with everyone, whether they have a genuine talent or are just wasting everyone’s time.”
Good for him. It’s a system he has prospered by.
You can see the mums and dads waiting in yet another line for yet another of Armani’s auditions.
How they are hoping that Cowell will tell the would-be star to give up her expensive, time-consuming habit and knuckle down to her studies.
Posted: 12th, March 2007 | In: Media Comments (2) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
Comments
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March 14th, 2007 at 3:56 pm
I think some people can deal with rejection better than others but there are still alot of people that can’t deal with it so counscelling is a good idea but i also think that if they can’t deal with rejection then they shouldn’t enter!
March 12th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
If they’re too young to handle criticism then they’re too young to go on TV. Experiencing distress and anxiety is just part of daily life and I don’t see why these little stage school primadonnas-in-waiting should be exempt from that. It might even be character building for them. What kind of audience is this supposed to appeal to anyway, other than the stage school mummy types? The whole thing sounds so appalling I am nearly convulsing with the sheer horror of it all, but if they insist on going ahead with it then the little gits should definitely be upset - and NOT be offered any form of “counselling” afterwards.