why are Americans so quick to praise??

[Pippin]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:25pm

Recently, with all this reality competition stuff going on, I've realized that the audiences react way to quickly, and applaud every little thing a person does. for example, on American idol. these contestants will sing an "F" or something really not that impressive, but judging by the audience's response, you would think they are the second coming or something.

or like with last comic standing, they do a three minute set, and sometimes it's not even that funny, but they get a freaking standing "O" at the end of it, and they didn't do anything.

at musicals, the performances can be lackluster, but the audience always stands. it annoys the crap out of me. I'm all for giving praise where and when praise is due, but why do people nowadays applaud mediocrity so easily with no standards of what differs "good" from exceptional?

Updated On: 8/17/06 at 12:25 PM

[colleen_lee]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:33pm

I definitely agree with all you've asserted and am equally as frustrated by this fairly recent phenomenon. I think it's part of this idiotic "self-esteem society" we've tried to build for our children in which we do not allow them the opportunity to experience failure and instead continue to propagate to our children that "you be whatever you want to be" when, I'm sorry, but that just ain't true.

I refuse to give a standing ovation unless I truly feel its deserving. Unfortunately that means that 99% of the time I am the only person in the theater left sitting.

[Mother's Younger Brother]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:54pm

Stephen Sondheim offered a good take on this in the documentary film, Broadway: The Golden Age. His feeling is that, partially due to the increasing ticket costs of shows, audiences feel the need to somehow made the show MORE their own...to involve themselves in the show somehow to make them feel they've gotten their money's worth. And I tend to agree.

I also feel that mediocrity is more and more commonly accepted. Theatre, like so many other things these days, is being produced for the masses -- rather than for intelligent, discerning tastes. It's pretty easy to impress an audience who hasn't seen much to compare.

[jrb_actor]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 1:04pm

We're also a nation that is quick to beat someone down after we build them up. We get bored too easily.

[theatreboi11]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 1:07pm

I think I can answer this question. Recently I attended a taping of Rockstar: Supernova. I feel audiences are so quick to react because majority of the time it is forced. Coming back from commerical, introducing the next singer, after judges comments, exiting to commercial there would be countdowns by the producers to start clapping. Also, after the show finished taping the producers would go back to spots in the show and tell us all to clap and scream louder. At commerical breaks the warm up guy would come on stage and tell us to be more more more. I felt it got to the point where we were all being so fake in order to please the producers. Finally, when i watched the episode air I totally could tell they edited in tons more clapping then we did and random places. At least for reality tv I would have to say that is the case.

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 1:12pm

I agree with all the above. I, too, hate this standing ovation over nothing crap. I mean, Jerry Springer gets a standing ovation! I can recall when a standing ovation at a theater, was something rare and wonderful. And believe me, it isn't because the talent or performances are so much better, today. In fact, almost the opposite is true. Mediocrity is overly praised and extraordinary talent is barely recognized. So much so, that people with real abilities must want to kill themselves.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 1:27pm

I will speak to the other side of this dilemma. I love theatre, concerts, and live performances. I am not trained in voice or dance. I think this ignorance is bliss and I am SO HAPPY I have this openess. I have many friends who are musicians, singers, actors and they always seem to have a gripe. "She is singing flat" "He is off-key", "that oboe is sharp", "She's singing under the music", or "they aren't keeping time with the music."

I think if someone wants to look for the worst or is trained to single out mistakes subconsciously due to their education, I feel sorry for them. They miss so much. I stand up and scream and yell for many performers who my "trained" friends scoff at. I give credit for the performance. Performers make mistakes, sound bad, have off nights, etc. I go with the overall commitment to the piece or the evening.

I think many people are truly entertained by the package and too busy enjoying the performance to nitpick a missed note or flat delivery. I guess it means they might be in their "heart" and not their "head." Truly open to the performance and not looking for flubs. I know many would think of me and others as igonorant and "not knowing better" than to stand, but maybe we are just enjoying ourselves and having a great time.

[LostLeander]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 1:55pm

Well, when you know the difference, and hear the flat note, or chords ripping, it's hard not to wince, and/or critique.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 1:59pm

Right, which saddens me for some people that a little thing like that can ruin the experience for them. Rarely is anyone ever perfect and I am so glad that my ears are not trained to pick out imperfections. Critique is one thing-singling out mistakes with a fine tooth comb is another.

[nomdeplume]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 2:01pm

It takes training, experience, skill and time to attain discernment.

[broadway86]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 2:07pm

for example, on American idol. these contestants will sing an "F" or something really not that impressive, but judging by the audience's response, you would think they are the second coming or something.

Totally agree. For example, I didn't care for Chris Daughtry at all, yet most of America did. *shrug*

Also... It really confuses me when Emeril throws a garlic glove onto a hot skillet and everyone freaks out.

Posted: 8/17/06 at 2:19pm

OK: My pet peeve is mis-use of the word "Hero."

Little baby Jessica got stuck in well. When they pulled her out she was hailed as 'the littlest hero.' Nope. Maybe the people who pulled her out were heroes. But you aren't a hero for falling in a well. I've heard American Idol winners hailed as heroes and folks killed in tragic circumstances called heroes.

[Calvin]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 2:20pm

Also... It really confuses me when Emeril throws a garlic glove onto a hot skillet and everyone freaks out.

That's nothing compared to what they'll do when Ron Popeil injects some garlic into a chicken.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 3:03pm

These posts just go to prove that what "butters" one person's bread does not necesssarily do it for another. For some, if Liza manages to walk onstage, it is a triumphant return. However, for others, if her voice is slurred and she sounds like crap, it is a total disappointment. To each his own I guess. I saw Rachel Ray make a sandwich once and I clapped. I think it was just because she's a dynamic person, not because she made a sandwich. Plus, you have to give a girl some credit. She became a millionaire making sandwiches and meatloaf that people had been making for years, but because she cuts up the ingredients ahead of time she is a revolutionary. :)

[JailyardGuy]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 3:09pm

"...is trained to single out mistakes subconsciously due to their education..."

That is it in one. Some of us are TRAINED to notice these things, because we DO these things. We're not just audience members, and when someone goes to see a show with one of us, you need to understand that it is virtually impossible for us to simply enjoy the process, because in our heads, we're going through it with the people onstage.

I have played many theatrical scores, and because I have actually *performed* these works, I have internalized them, and when I hear a wrong note in the oboe or one of the second altos in the chorus is flat and screws up the whole chord, my response is immediate and organic. I don't sit there and LOOK for these mistakes...I notice them right away because my body and my mind are finely trained TO RESPOND to them.

It's a fine distinction, but one that must be made.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/17/06 at 3:14pm

I appreciate the sacrifice professional actors and musicians make. I know it is hard to take off the "performer" hat when watching others.

I guess what professionals also get that me, as a civilian, does not, is the unbridled JOY that comes from watching a stellar performance that is note-perfect. My friends who are musicians lose their mind when something is exceptional in a way that I cannot. So that is a value as well. :)