'It's about instan success, not hard work'

'It's about instan success, not hard work'

Talent shows in the form of singing, beauty and modeling contests
have become increasingly popular recently, attracting big
audiences with corporations lining up to be sponsors. The Jakarta
Post ask some residents about their opinion of this phenomena.

Danang, 27, is an employee at an IT company on Jl. Cideng
Barat, Central Jakarta. He lives at a rented house in Bendungan
Hilir, Central Jakarta:

I think these talent shows have a negative influence on our
social values. More and more people are trying their luck,
wanting the instant success gained from participating in such
shows, rather than success gained through hard work and
education.

This phenomenon is more obvious in talent shows for children
as the parents usually push their kids to become celebrities,
neglecting their education needs.

These shows often don't use valid systems to determine the
quality of their winners. Even if each show has a panel of
judges, the winners are decided by the spectators through a
popular vote, using SMS messages and phone voting. There are
times a person emerges as a winner because of his or her looks,
instead of his or her talent.

Wita, 25, is on the administrative staff of a private company
on Jl. Thamrin, Central Jakarta. She lives with her family in
Cilandak, South Jakarta:

The talent shows are good as they provide opportunities for
anybody to take a shot at becoming a popular star.

Even losers can still 'win', like the former American Idol
reject, who is now a star on his own terms because people
actually like his bad singing and dance moves.

If the shows are professionally organized in screening their
participants and selecting their final winners, then we will also
benefit by having future singers, models, movie stars and the
like, who are better prepared and qualified.

The only negative thing is that many of these programs are
just jumping on a fad and the shows have become copycats of each
other.

First it was the talent shows for cover magazine models, now
it's the time of the American Idol-style contests. At some point
soon people will get bored of them.

-- The Jakarta Post