Of the possible reality game shows she could have selected to watch, it's one of the more innocuous things I could deal with. It's not dubious, karaoke-style singing a la American Idol. And it's not about a panel of judges that I know nothing about, a la The Voice. It doesn't make me hate humanity (see: any reality programming gameshow on MTV). And it's not as relentlessly depressing as most dating or "unscripted" things that, for real, I cannot get my head around at all.
But I also know next to nothing about the art of dance. If it didn't feature Madonna expressing herself circa 1989 or the ladies of En Vogue instructing me to "free my mind", I am not sure how much attention I paid to anyone dancing anywhere during my formative years.
I believe we are now in season 478 of So You Think You Can Dance? and I feel no closer to understanding dance any better. I listen to the critiques, shrug, and have little to no opinion.
I am also aware of the multitude of factors at play. Of course the dancers must not just be good dancers, they must be telegenic and must fit within certain televisable demographics. This rule does not include the audition rounds where anything outside of those demographics is treated with contempt and, often, humiliation (I would say the show has always been better about not picking on the socially awkward or those with disabilities in a way that American Idol chose to do, as if the program were run by middle schoolers).
And, of course, even when the show puts forth a varied cast in the early episodes from their own elimination rounds, on more than one season, the show has said good-bye to anyone not looking like they belong in a McDonald's commercial within a few episodes.
I dunno. This is one of the few gameshows I watch these days (and, it is a gameshow, let's not kid ourselves), so I don't have a great feel for what else is out there. It's certainly not as manipulated and scripted as, say, The Bachelor (which I have only seen under duress), or any of the ridiculous dating shows on Fox from the mid-00's. But there's still managed through-lines for each dancer as the judges push and pull on the phone votes. And, let's be honest, we have no way of knowing if any of the call-in-stuff is any way legitimate.
All of this is 10-year-old navel gazing, I am sure. But I am also about to immerse myself in another few months of this business, so pardon me while I brace myself.
9 comments:
I think you need to host a "So You Think You Can Dance?" party at your place- not to watch the show, but to stage your own amateur dance competition among friends and family. I will bring queso and start practicing my moonwalk...
Don't say it if you don't mean it...
Most of the time when I dance my feet don't actually move.
You are the Baryshnikov of not moving. But let's be honest - the only reason to have a dancing competition is to see how into it Mom gets.
This show has been on for so long (yes, it is season 478) that the dancing is starting to all look alike to me. This is especially true in the audition rounds, where the contestants do a lot of their own choreography and know what works on this show/ copy what they've seen before.
The good news for you, Ryan, is that because I am weary of the program, there will be more and more fast forwarding. If you note, I made a 2 hour program into a half hour on Monday. I no longer have any use for the judges' comments, so this will be a performance-only viewing season.
Your mom would totally win our SYTYCD knockoff show. No contest.
Mostly I want to participate in our homespun SYTYCD contest so I can make my wife proud. Again.
If there's one thing my living room needs, it's a lot more of your "contempor-classic-crump" style of dancing.
*Sigh* It's "krump", Ryan, get it right. Geez.
not when it involves crumpets.
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