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Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

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Here are some suggested organisations that offer expert advice on special needs.

SN children

Anyone else feel that the X Factor exploits people with learning difficulties?

49 replies

Blossomhill · 03/09/2006 20:00

The more I watch it the more I realise that quite a few of the people auditioning (usually the people laughed at ) have some kind of learning difficulty. It makes me so upset to basically see them taken the piss out of these people for the sake of good television.

OP posts:

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Socci · 03/09/2006 20:07

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misdee · 03/09/2006 20:07

i have noticed that this time. i was wondering if i was being ultra sensitive. there was the deaf chap, and the older man with a clear speech impediment.

Blossomhill · 03/09/2006 20:13

Socci ~ yes it was the same girl I was thinking of. It was so obvious that she had problems though.

Thing is I agree everyone should get a chance but they basically laugh in their faces and I don't like it.

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MrsFio · 03/09/2006 20:14

I have started to really cringe

I think only MRs O is ever sympathetic, but hey she is a woman!

Socci · 03/09/2006 20:16

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Blossomhill · 03/09/2006 20:19

socci ~ not sure if they did with her but they have in the past

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CountTo10 · 03/09/2006 20:22

I know what you're saying but where are the responsible ones in these individuals lives who should be steering them away from doing it or at least speaking to the producers about it not being shown etc?

chocybickie · 03/09/2006 20:23

in a word - no.
it's an open audition, anyone is allowed and they agree to it being televised and for us to laugh at it. at what point do they decide it's exploitive?
it ALL is.
if you don't like it, turn over, i do.

LIZS · 03/09/2006 20:28

but do remember what we see is only a small snapshot of each audition and the judges reaction It may be edited such that it doesn't accurately reflect the actual interaction which takes place.

dinny · 03/09/2006 20:30

BH, yes, I thought that last week especially. left a bad taste in mouth, won't be watching it again.

Blossomhill · 03/09/2006 20:47

chockybickie ~ you obv. don't understand what I am talking about.

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brimfull · 03/09/2006 20:56

I agree blossomhill.I seem to agree with you a lot.
I have heard that 90% of the people queing don't get seen by simon etal.I do think they are guilty of filming the slightly vulnerable folks with learning difficulties who don't realise they are being mawked.I have stopped watching as ,with another poster,it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Davros · 03/09/2006 20:56

I've always thought that all the judges are kind and polite to those who prob have some learning disability or who are older or "unusual" for want of a better word. I haven't seen all of it (hence taping re-showing tonight so I can ff through ads etc). I think they are much more harsh on the clearly deluded (was it Kylie last week?). Maybe any exploitation comes in when these specific clips are shown which is not up to the judges..... I dunno, I watch it and enjoy it

chocybickie · 03/09/2006 20:57

erm you are concerned that the show makes money out of exploiting people with learning difficulties. that they are unable to make sensible choices for themselves and that the show should be resonsible for spotting those particular people and then decide not to show those auditions. am i right?
so who has learning difficulties? at what point do you draw the line?
they have free will, they sign their audition piece over. WE decide with our remotes whether it is tasteful or not.
but i do understand your upset and concern.

orangegiraffe · 03/09/2006 20:59

I love the X factor. I think the program is edited quite alot, shots of the judges are taken at different angles iyswim to encourage ratings and cheesy one liners are thrown in.
I don't think it's right to take the piss out of people.

MoreTeaAnyone · 03/09/2006 20:59

I've been talking about that to my family. Laughing at people who think they can sing is one thing but to do think that the TV shows a lot of people who could have learning difficulties.
Can't wait for the 'proper' show to start. Love it so much.

giddy1 · 03/09/2006 21:05

Message deleted

anniebear · 03/09/2006 21:06

Me to Davros!!!!!!

wannaBe1974 · 03/09/2006 21:44

No I don't think x factor exploits people with learning difficulties specifically. I think x factor exploits everyone. When they start the auditions they are looking for two types of people, those who are very good, and who will likely make for good ratings when they reach the latter stages, people that the public are likely to vote for, and those who are exceptionally bad, and who, quite frankly, make the first few episodes worth watching because most of them are completely deluded and it is hard to understand why anyone who is "that bad" would want to put themselves through that on national television.

One of the reasons why applicants have to be over 16 to participate is because they can't be seen to be exploiting minors, because when you sign up to x-factor you have to sign and agree to a long range of terms and conditions. You don't just show up at audition and go in front of simon and co, you have to complete a long, detailed application form, in which you have to give details about yourself, your influences etc, and you also have to read and agree to a list of terms and conditions, one of which states that your performance is effectively the property of said production commpany and that it can be used, effectively, in any way they see fit. If someone is capable of filling in all that kind of detail, then they are aware that they might be shown making a prat of themselves on national television. And tbh, if someone has severe learning difficulties, then it is unlikely they would be able to fill in all the details on that form without help from someone else, in which case, the person helping them should have more sense than to send someone they care about into a situation where they might be exploited for the entertainment of others.

Imo it's not the job of the production company to decide who has learning difficulties and who doesn't, if they have people close to them who care about them, then those people should be discouraging them from going on the show in the first place.♦

mamadadawahwah · 04/09/2006 10:10

Blossomhill, for the sake of "good" television. This show is on a part with the same mind numbing crap as big brother. Its cheap television and panders to the wickedness in people who like to see people humiliated.

I was forced to watch 10 minutes of it at a friends house. I watched some star from the 80s sit and laugh at a woman who was singing, i mean she actually went off stage and was hysterical with laughter.

Simon whatever his name is is a complete twit as are the rest of the panel and not the sort of person i would ever mingle with in mixed company. Bitter and twisted. The dumbing down of tv has surely hit an all time low with these sorts of programs but the worst part is that so many people enjoy watching people, just average joe bloggs being ridiculed and embarrassed. Its the age we are in, everyone trying to find "stardom", to be a "celebrity".

I would love to go on that show and tell them what a bunch of arseholes they were, that they are wasting their lives and contributing absolutely nothing to society. They should all be ashamed of themselves. The people who go on the show should wise up as well. I am sure they are paid for their "embarrassment" and i have little sympathy for them either. Its not like they dont know what they are up against.

Best thing to do is turn the idiot box off when this comes on. I remember a thread about big brother and people were debating it and lauding it as great tv, a respite from the everyday drone of life. Puhlease. Read a book, free your mind from the shackles of tv brainwashing. And PLEASE dont let your kids watch this drivel. The amount of people who do watch it dosent say a lot for the intellectual level of brits. The yanks are the same by the way.

anniebear · 04/09/2006 11:27

simon whatever his name is??

Lol lol lol I bet you know his second name really

anniebear · 04/09/2006 11:28

he can't be that much of a twit to have made the monmey he has lol

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noddyholder · 04/09/2006 11:30

I think a lot of reality tv has sunk to these levels and it really is open season on anyone as long as they get a cheap laugh and a quick buck.Several people on big brother would have been better off spending 13 weeks having intense therapy and education rather than subjecting themselves to ridicule in their pursuit of 'fame'

MrsFio · 04/09/2006 11:41

Simon does something weird to me and I have no idea why as he is hardly my type

redbull · 04/09/2006 11:42

completely agree blossomhill, SN should not be stopped for auditioning but its down to the tv company to decide if they show it on air or not and sadly to say they have no compashion on others needs, it makes for uncomftable viewing when you see it, have to say me and dp have boycotted it this year just fed up of seeing people humiliated.

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