x-factor: is it a plague on our society?

[NickCooley]

Personally I see eltism in all its ugly forms as the greater threat to modern society.
Whether its claiming moral superiority due to religion, social/intellectual superiority due to race or gender... Hell did you know some people even get elitest over preferences in music, games and other art forms.
For some reason, there are people out there who feel the need to assert their belief that they are better than others. If you ask me, this is the greatest plaue mankind has ever had to deal with.

Honestly what is with you people? I don't know what your preference is in music/entertainment but are you seriously so arrogant as to think that anything else is crap?
I know the answer is yes but I wanted to ask anyway to see if you picked up on how stupid such a belief sounds.

Taste in music is not indicative of someone's intelligence. Their personality maybe, but not their intelligence. Different things appeal to different people. Smart business people create products for these people.

Everything in this post is true. I think a lot of people need an ego deflation, myself included most certainly.

 

[ItsAChiaotzu]

I wouldn't say plague, I'd say it's a farce, and an incredible money spinning machine for SiCo (Cowell's record label) I mean for starts, the guy earns millions off the show, and then you have in the charts now : Olly Murs, Alexandra Burke, Diana Vickers and JLS, all signed to SiCo, I mean the guy is a genius. Bad for the music industry? Yeah, but shit is it clever? Yeah.

 

[BonsaiK]

do you agree with me that this program has turned our population into mindless zombies who cant make an informed decision on what music they like but instead have to get someone else to make that decision?

No. Popular music taste has been informed by TV ever since the invention of the TV. This is nothing new.

Most people couldn't make an informed decision about music even if TV didn't exist, simply because most people don't have the musical knowledge to understand why they like what they like. However, that doesn't mean that an uninformed decision isn't valid. Most people who like music know nothing about it, but their opinion still matters - just like one person who likes a particular model of car may have technical knowledge of how automobiles work and another may just like the way the car looks. Any reason to like any music at all is a good reason, whether it be "I like the beat, I can dance to it" or "it has a catchy melody" or "I like the singer" or whatever. To say that person A's opinion doesn't matter and person B's opinion does, is obviously wrong.

 

[katsumoto03]

Yep. Most bands have to work the club circuit for years and years trying to get noticed and build up a reputation. Now shows like this are teaching everyone that they can doss it for ages without putting in the work, effort and skill because X-Factor will come along with a magic wand and give them all the rewards for none of the legwork. I don't like any kind of program that gets people into the mindset of expecting something for nothing (yes, that includes the National Lottery, and yes I am a massively grumpy b*stard).

Exactly this. You need to work to become famous, it doesn't come prepared on a silver platter.

 

[DarthMudcrab]

I'm afraid you're both wrong. Simple as that.
As I said, art can be, and often is more than just something pretty. But its only requirement is that it stimulates people's senses and emotions. This can be as simple as being a picture that looks pretty, or as complex as a sculpture which invokes feelings and reflects the artists "inner soul".

If someone paints a portrait of someone is it not art? If someone paints a landscape, is it not art?
In both these cases, the artist will often intend nothing more than painting what is there as realistically as possible. Again, as with any art form, it is possible to see a deeper meaning within the work (even if the artist didn't intend it) but that is not what makes it art.

TL;DR
Dictionary.com says it quite well in my opinion.

Definition of Art
the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

Please note the "or" in bold.

Sorry, i think what i wrote may have left quite a bit of room for interpretation. i used the terms "art" and "entertainment" exclusively when i shouldn't have, but i couldn't think of another word that explained it quite as succinctly.

my point is, the segregation between the music that seeks merely to entertain (the portraits and landscapes of the industry, so to speak. by far the most common, that does little other than look pretty for a while) and the music that REALLY seeks to further the artform is growing ever wider. this is due to the general public not wanting to be challenged by their music, but entertained, and that's what brings us such shows as X factor and Idol.

i'm not saying that music purely for entertainment's sake is to be discouraged, i'm just saying that i can understand people's frustrations in relation to shows such as X factor, as they glorify that which in all honesty is quite average. it'd be like owning four paintings, one being a van gogh whilst the other three are cheap prints, then not being able to tell why the van gogh is worth more. sure, they all look pretty, but the van gogh is truly great because he pushed the boundaries of his social context.

FYI i do listen to a lot of music purely for the purpose of entertainment as well as for artistic merit. you can't listen to deconstructed post industrial alt rock all the time

 

[fletch_talon]

Sorry, i think what i wrote may have left quite a bit of room for interpretation. i used the terms "art" and "entertainment" exclusively when i shouldn't have, but i couldn't think of another word that explained it quite as succinctly.

my point is, the segregation between the music that seeks merely to entertain (the portraits and landscapes of the industry, so to speak. by far the most common, that does little other than look pretty for a while) and the music that REALLY seeks to further the artform is growing ever wider. this is due to the general public not wanting to be challenged by their music, but entertained, and that's what brings us such shows as X factor and Idol.

i'm not saying that music purely for entertainment's sake is to be discouraged, i'm just saying that i can understand people's frustrations in relation to shows such as X factor, as they glorify that which in all honesty is quite average. it'd be like owning four paintings, one being a van gogh whilst the other three are cheap prints, then not being able to tell why the van gogh is worth more. sure, they all look pretty, but the van gogh is truly great because he pushed the boundaries of his social context.

FYI i do listen to a lot of music purely for the purpose of entertainment as well as for artistic merit. you can't listen to deconstructed post industrial alt rock all the time

Nono, I wasn't saying you were dissing music that is just entertainment. I was debating the meaning of the word art.
I was saying that entertainment is art, even though not all art has the sole purpose of entertainment. Its like having a Picasso and something fairly generic from Elfwood or DeviantArt they're both art (based on my belief/definition). The first is art because it appeals to people's senses, invokes emotions and suggests a deeper meaning. The second is art because it appeals to the senses, essentially because it looks pretty.

The same goes for X-Factor competitiors. Their purpose is to entertain people by appealing to their sense of hearing and also sight with their stage preformance.
I understand people not liking the show, but its not fair to deride others that do. Not everyone needs or wants art that features deep messages and emotions, some of us want flashy shallow junk (so to speak). For example, whilst I appreciate the meaning in more abstract art, I'd much rather look at game concept art and other works whose artistic merit stems entirely from looking awesome.