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April 24, 2005
Miss America...Survivor Style?
The Miss America pageant is in need of a tremendous boost. Gone are the days when goody-two-shoes young misses with fabulous smiles in modest-yet-sexy swimwear could titillate audiences in the blink of an eye.
According to the San Francisco Gate, only 9.8 million people tuned in last fall on ABC, which then jettisoned the pageant. For the first time in 50 years it's without a television station to broadcast it, and officials are scrambling for a fix.
Whether the pageant is ready to resort to "Fear Factor"-inspired gross-outs, "Survivor"-style conniving or week-to-week eliminations a la "American Idol" remains to be seen. If the fates of rival Miss USA are any indication, though, future contestants may need strong stomachs more than singing ability.
Let's see...finalists could be chosen from those who didn't vomit after eating bat guano. Or perhaps a physical challenge such as a relay race while climbing a rock wall could help narrow the field. Wait, wait, the one who waits longest to scream after being dangled over a pit of hungry crocodiles could be the next Miss America! "Here she comes..."
The problem is, Miss America may have seen its day. Women in swimsuits competing for scholarship money used to be exciting TV. (Remember how I Dream of Jeannie's Barbara Eden wasn't allowed to show her belly button while wearing her genie ensemble because it was considered too risque?)
There are so many more choices on television these days. While the quality certainly can be debated, what can't be argued with is that audiences have become used to more and more "shock value" shows. Shows like (the now-defunct) Jackass, Survivor, Fear Factor and others are known for their dangerous stunts and disgusting eating contests. Even the more mild reality shows such as the Apprentice and American Idol use some degree of humiliation in order to boost ratings. Imgaine being "fired" on television by business icon Donald Trump or being told your singing sucks by record producer Simon Cowle (in that oh-so-posh British accent of his).
Shows that don't fit the reality genre are also raising the bar (or lowering it, depending on your point of view) as far as shock value. Desperate Houswives follows the sexual (mis)adventures of "normal" women living in the suburbs. Sex and the City followed the sexual (mis)adventures of single thirty-somethings in New York City. The popular CSI series make crime detection a lot more graphic than good old Columbo with nasty morgue scenes and "follow the bullet through the body" sequences. And sitcoms rely more on sex-related humor than ever.
Can Miss America survive? Who knows? I'll personally be surprised if it is still around in five years. Of course, if it became Miss Deformed America, featuring women with either congenital or accident-induced deformities performing death-defying stunts, maybe it'll have a chance.
Welcome to the modern Roman Coliseum, otherwise known as American television...where the masses demand more and more outrageous entertainment to mollify them.
Posted by at April 24, 2005 10:46 AM
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Comments
The Miss America Pageant was originally created as a gimick to draw tourists to Atlantic City.
Taking the pageant off TV might not be such a bad idea.
Posted by: Dodo David at April 24, 2005 01:55 PM
Was it really? I didn't know that, but I am of the mind that it's pretty much a dinosaur.
Posted by: Pam M. at April 24, 2005 04:44 PM