[setanta]

Originally Posted by Fom

Jeez I think this article takes it all a little too seriously, it isn't that cruel, the contestants are living in luxury at the moment, behind the camera. They have the biggest opportunities of their lives, and all these really bad auditions... well those people even get a bit of fame thats dragged throughout the whole show, probably getting them a lot of money.

It really isn't that cruel... and compared to human entertainment we have had in history, this is mild. The writer of this article has clearly never been in the performing arts industry, because it gets a hell of a lot harder than any puny X Factor, the contestants get it easy... a hell of a lot easier than anyone trying to make it on their own.

Have you ever considered the long term psychological effects that a show like this can have on both the finalists and the bad auditionees who, having been plucked from obscurity and exposed to millions of critical viewers, could carry the ordeal - and it is an ordeal for many them, particularly the also rans - with them for the rest of their lives?

Struggling to gain recognition on your own and being pushed into a media frenzy such as the contestants are subjected to, where every minute detail of their lives is scrutinized and ridiculed, are on different planets alltogether in terms of pressure. They didn't work for their celebrity and it comes and goes in a blink of an eye, with many of their experiences not worth remembering.

You're looking at this through your own eyes right now and not taking the time to analyse from a social stand point. The X Factor serves to illustrate the kind of society that we're living in right now.