'These programs are not educational'
The various talent contests being aired on TV offer similar blends of big payouts, entertainment and reality TV, where viewers share the ups and downs of their favorite contestants. The Jakarta Post asked some Jakartans for their views on the rapidly increasing number of talent shows on TV.
Lydia A. Long, 30, works as a media officer at the Office of the State Minister for the Environment. She lives with her husband and daughter in Casablanca, South Jakarta:
My husband and I are not too keen on such competitions. They seem to be inhuman sometimes.
Basically, it's OK to participate in these competitions. But if I were the parent of one of the children taking part, I would seriously consider the interests of my child. Some kids are happy with such contests, but others are not. It depends on each individual.
I'm not the kind of person who would be up to challenge. After I saw an episode of American Idol -- the one with the Chinese boy singing She Bang and Simon (the judge) mocked him, saying "you can't sing, you can't dance" -- I cried. In my opinion, it was too cruel.
Of course, there are some people who enjoy challenges and would just regard this kind of remark as another challenge.
Iqbal, 25, is a reporter with a radio station in Central Jakarta. He resides in Pejaten, South Jakarta, with his family:
I think such talent shows are not effective in ensuring that real talent wins the contests as the final decisions are made not by the judges but by the viewers, who vote by sending text messages via their cell phones.
In my opinion, it is natural that most TV stations copy the successful formulas of other stations that air such programs in order to generate greater revenue.
I have no problems with how the programs affect the public. These kind of programs offer entertainment that does not contain violence or stupidity, unlike all the programs about supernatural experiences on TV. Although talent contests are not educational, at least they are entertaining.
--The Jakarta Post