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• Thursday, May 22, 2008 11:51 AM

  The Mirror Crack'd

  Like Bayard, I was stunned--albeit elated--to watch Cook take home the prize. I fully expected the legions of pre-pubescent Arch-drones to overwhelm the switchboard. As the penultimate episode concluded, I mused to my wife that the difference between Cook and Archuleta--beyond age and experience--was the difference between an artist and a balladeer. Since AI has consistently proven more interested in market-ready bubblegum than real talent, I prepared for disappointment, knowing that DC would find an HOV lane to a recording contract nonetheless, and that I would buy his wares.

  American Idol seems to reflect so much of what we have become as a nation, and the irony is that, in my view, the party largely responsible for the transformation is the television medium. That sounds trite, sure, and it's a process that's been ongoing since the debut of commercial television in the 1950s, but our national preoccupation with consuming images has led us to favor those who present the appearance of quality over those who actually possess quality. To my great relief, Cook's significant margin of victory suggests that not everyone has given up the fight. AI does not (yet) reflect the superficial hive consciousness that defines so many other venues of the American character--not least of which, our political discourse.

  Someone evidently still cares about motorcycle maintenance, and as trivial as the outcome of AI truly is, I find some hope there.

  —Somewhere in Time Read Somewhere in Time's other letters
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