I
had seen either a film or a TV programme, I don't remember which,
called 'Fame', about a dance school where youngsters with aspiration of
becoming professionals work long and painful hours training and
practicing. On the Spanish TV 4 channel 'Fame' is more of a dance
contest, where dancers, amateurs and semi-professional dancers, sweat
out their claim with their body and foot work, hopeful for a future in
television, maybe in the big screen too or even on the world stage.
The truth is another. With excuse of learning, training and exhibition, It's more like a Guantanamo of incipient dancers, submitted by nearly inhuman physical and psychological pressure in front of the cameras, for the entertainment and enjoyment of the television viewers. The fact that Channel 4 has succeeded winning 1.5 million TV spectators each day, more than other competing channels at the same time slot, is encouraging enough for this show to press on, with the same formula but even more severe and burning ardour. The enthusiastic following of the public confirms the expected reaction, The dance teacher certainly seems to enjoy the pushing and twisting on limbs of the students, to such extreme that more resembles torture, but to which the students are willing to accept as the unavoidable procedure, necessary part of the road to success. Putting on the screen an almighty authority, exercising his absolute power, over groups of young masochistic dancers hungry for fame, is a guaranteed winner, and satisfying audience's latent sadism. Television is often an ersatz or substitute of the human dark side, hidden or suppressed, but exists. |
Current Mood: 
Anxious
Anxious
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