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Original poster

to be amazed that something as psychologically manipulative as X Factor is allowed on air?

298 replies

moondog · 09/10/2011 20:59

I've been watcihng it for the 1st time.
I can't beleive they are allowed to toy with people's lives like this, building them up, playing with them and then casting them aside.

What an unbelievably unpleasant concept.
I feel tainted for having watched it.

OP posts:
SpectralHarrassmentPandaPop · 09/10/2011 21:35

That would be fine if they were honest from the start. But they go through loads of auditions before the judges even see them where they put through the really good singers and the 'funny' ones telling them all how good they are. Ever noticed how all the singers you see are either good or bad with hardly any average ones? That's why.

BatsUpMeNightie · 09/10/2011 21:36

Well - d'ya know what? I think 2 hours of average but completely right on singers might - just might - bore the fuck out of most people.

SpectralHarrassmentPandaPop · 09/10/2011 21:37

It's not a matter of who should be qualified to decide. It's the fact that they way the show is set up people are going to be exploited. If they were honest with people from the start they would just be left with good singers equalling no-one for the public to laugh at and crap viewing figures.

ripitupandstartagain · 09/10/2011 21:37

Moondog, you are right. I was at a friend's house last night and saw some of it for the first time. It actually caused some of my soul to die and I am not exaggerating. Really toxic, horrible, end of days terrifying stuff. If that's where the human race is heading bring on armageddon.

Princessescanclimbtreestoo · 09/10/2011 21:38

SOme interesting twisting of words going on on this thread.

no, I don't think it is right to mock anyone, fwiw.

for the majority of the contestants, however, they are making a fully informed decision to go on tv and be mocked. there are many who are not capable of making that decision. who do actually believe the lines they are fed until the moment they get through in front of the judges.

exploiting vulnerable people is not a valid form of entertainment.

bloody hell, I thought we were supposed to be a civilised society.

SpectralHarrassmentPandaPop · 09/10/2011 21:38

Well it rather depends if you think that putting vulnerable adults up on stage like some kind of modern-day freak show is morally ok in the name of entertainment.

wannaBe · 09/10/2011 21:39

which makes the point that it's not good (and actually most on this year's xfactor aren't that good) singers that the public wants.

So in fact it's not the producers that are responsible for the way the show is set up - it's the viewing public.

VampiresWearBlackVelvet · 09/10/2011 21:39

Grin at the amateur dramatics of ripitupandstartagain

notlettingthefearshow · 09/10/2011 21:43

I have no idea why people go on these shows, or why they watch them. However, as long as people watch them in droves, the shows will be made. It's depressing to me that this is the most popular TV format, and since the BBC cuts, they will be forced to spend money making this kind of show since it's guaranteed an audience.

I haven't read up on the cases of vulnerable adults being exploited so I am not sure where I stand on that.

duckdodgers · 09/10/2011 21:44

It actually caused some of my soul to die and I am not exaggerating. Really toxic, horrible, end of days terrifying stuff. If that's where the human race is heading bring on armageddon.

Hahaha

BatsUpMeNightie · 09/10/2011 21:45

Bloody hellfire! Your soul died? End of days terrifying stuff? Fuck me bandy - I bet you're a barrel of laughs at dinner parties!

TuftyFinch · 09/10/2011 21:48

I don't normally post on threads like this because there's almost no point when the OP probably isn't open to being told they are being U. However...

I do think the laughing at the people with MH and SN is in bad taste but, as has been said, it's a public entertainment show- open to the public. Would you like the producers to give everyone a diagnostic before auditioning to ensure they are NT? Wouldn't that be discriminatory?

Also, I do think that a lot of the young people can be seen as positive role models. I don't mean role models in that they want to be famous but the kids who have worked hard, practiced etc and done something positive towards their goal. I work with young adults and adults who could learn a lesson from some of the youngsters on X-Factor. There is a culture of entitlement in our society but there is also a culture of violence and gangs. I know which I would rather my child aspire to.

If you don't like it don't watch it. If you find it offensive contact Ofcom.

SpectralHarrassmentPandaPop · 09/10/2011 21:52

I don't think people should have a medical before they audition. I just don't think a show that, by it's nature, WILL exploit vulnerable adults should be allowed to be on air.

TuftyFinch · 09/10/2011 21:58

Shouldn't be allowed by who? What about Jeremy Kyle, daytime chat shows wheel all sorts of people on their shows if they support the editor's story. I don't work for Ofcom but they are there for a reason. People ar exploited on TV and in the media constantly, everyday. Unless you just want re-runs of Starsky and Hutch then what would you do? You can't just ban it. It's not that simple.

BatsUpMeNightie · 09/10/2011 21:58

So if stupid people apply for game shows what should we do with them? Shoot them or ban all game shows?

Princessescanclimbtreestoo · 09/10/2011 22:01

I think if there is difficulty in deciding where a line should be drawn then perhaps it is time for a re-think?

if it is so hard to decide who can and cannot give proper, fully informed consent (and understand that), wrt going on tv and being exploited in front of million of people, then maybe the show should not be aired at all?

if it is talent shows and hard working youngsters/good role models you want, then that would be easy enough to set up. but that isn't (primarily) what X Factor and BGT etc are about. they are more about the pointing and laughing, and hooking everyone into the drama of it all way before it comes to any actual talent.

Princessescanclimbtreestoo · 09/10/2011 22:03

just because something is happening a lot (cf Jeremy Kyle, BGT, god knows how many other lowest common denominator shows) does not make it right.

people used to be quite well entertained by tv in the days before all these dire, exploitative passes-for-entertainment-if-you-are-too-thick-to-want-anythign-else shows were on.

it is possible to lead a life that is full of entertainment opportunities without ever exploiting vulnerable (and not so vulnerable) people, you know.

theworldhasgonemad · 09/10/2011 22:04

for goodness sakes it's a game show! They decide to audition - they set themselves up - get over it!

fit2drop · 09/10/2011 22:07

Why should people with mental health illnesses not be allowed to enter? Who the hell are you to say they should not be put through. People with mental health problems are just as likely as anyone to have a talent for singing.
Are you saying someone with depression or anxiety should not be allowed on ?Or maybe someone with bi-polar or schizophrenia ( illnesses which can be managed by being compliant with meds).
By saying no they should not be allowed to enter you are stigmatising them as different and unworthy of "normal" rewards for "normal" talents.
Now if you mean a mental disability, as in vulnerable and unable to make a choice for themselves ,which is a totally different thing then yes and surely their carers should be making sure they are not setting themselves up in the first place.

makes me angry that the bleating " those poor MH people" that strive to "protect" the "poor innocent MH sufferer from the horrible public" are the ones causing more harm , and stigma than any of the people who accept them for who they are and do not define them by their illness and allow them the courtesy of being treated the same as everyone else.

TuftyFinch · 09/10/2011 22:08

Princess. Blue Peter has lots of good role models. I doubt most people watch it. X-Factor is prime time tv. This is how tv is made. They have to appeal to be the most amount of people while making the most money. It's a business. It's what the public want. You cannot have people at the door deciding if the person applying is fully able and capable of giving their consent unless you employ a panel of qualified medical staff. If someone is denied and doesn't agree that they shouldn't be allowed to audition would that be better? It's not possible. In a way I agree with you but have accepted that this is entertainment in the society in which we live. However, I turn it off if I don't like it.

fit2drop · 09/10/2011 22:10

Oh and for what it's worth ,I work in mental health. :)

duckdodgers · 09/10/2011 22:10

Im always amazed that people who claim to hate the X Factor can know so much about it. Grin

You're wrong princess - its not primarily about "pointing and laughing" - the auditions make up such a small part of the show. Its about entertainment - and quite a lot of people think it is. If you dont - then dont watch. Not all the singers left in the final live stages are brilliant singers - but on the whole they can all sing - I don't see any "pointing and laughing" going on.

And again someone thinks they have the right to judge someone that enjoys the X Factor as "thick", I watch a range of TV shows as is my choice. I think Formula 1 is pretty dire actually but I certainly wouldn't describe someone who enjoys it on TV as "thick" - just someone who likes to watch something different from me.

cardibach · 09/10/2011 22:12

Apart from anything else, the audition stages, which I agree can be a bit uncomfortable to watch, are a small part of the whole series. much more time is spent on the selected few.
I agree with fit2drop . where would you draw the line?

Princessescanclimbtreestoo · 09/10/2011 22:15

fit2drop - no one has said they should not be allowed to enter.

bats tried that "I thought we were all about inclusion" line earlier.

what shouldn't be happening is the exploitation. and it both angers and saddens me that so many people leap to defend what is disgusting behaviour, sold as prime time entertainment.

tufty: just because it is popular does not make it right. it is not as though there were no popular tv shows, which gripped the nation, before the rise of exploitative crappy reality tv.

and I do turn it off. as I said earlier -I don't need to see it on tv. I live this life anyway (and the sniggering and comments have definitely got worse since shows like BGT and X Factor became popular - making fun of vulnerable people has become acceptable in society. and that is a very sad situation)

Original poster
moondog · 09/10/2011 22:16

One feels so maniupulated.
The staged 'oh my goodness!' faces of judges, Carmina Burana, the sob stories (the wee gran in the wheelchair snivelling into her wolf fllece)

Is there a predicatable aspect each year? For example the choice of someone who patent;ly can't sing so that there is a public hate figure, like that blonde one in the catsuit?

OP posts:
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