I hate the American version of The X Factor and here are 5 reasons why.
 

(I hate the original too, but that's a different post)

1) Cultural Tunnel Vision: the whole "watch Simon Cowell's NEW show", tune in to see what happens on the NEW show, blahblahblah. Except it's not the new show at all, is it? It's the almost-ten-years-old show, regurgitated for an audience for whom all television knowledge begins and ends with American network TV.

2) We know what you're doing: The UK version of the show, while already bearing some strong similarities to Pop Idol (or American Idol, as the case may be), was about as lazy effortwise as you could get while still being its own part of that original group (Pop Idol, X Factor, Britain's Got Talent). Not only did each of these shows get an American makeover and proclaim themselves as new things to an insulting level, but really. Why not call this American Idol 2? The judge lineup is so formulaic you just re-used two of them and chucked in someone who image and background-wise might as well be the third. All of the original shows might as well have been the same thing anyway, and now all the new shows are just like shoveling some more manure on the pile.

3) Hubris. Formulaic hubris, no less. I'm getting tired of how heavy-handed it is.

4) It's all meticulously staged bullshit. Does anyone really believe for one moment that the pants-dropping gentleman would have gotten to the stage? Does anyone for a moment think that the lipglossed elites on the dais are going to sit through thousands upon thousands of cattle call auditions, and that this wacky guy just happened to make it through? Really?

5) If seeing some random idiot's bobbing peen makes you run and throw up, you've got bigger problems.

I could go on, about overproduction and unlikable "personalities", but I'll stop there. I hate these shows and don't know why I held off changing the channel as long as I did. Won't make that mistake again.

Is no one else insulted that producers would think you're that stupid?

I'm gonna use this thread to complain that America's Got Talent is bullshit. None of the judges were born in America, which is ok, but they also have a lot of talent that isn't from america. African jumping dudes and such. And they really should take out the fucking singers. Have a big sign that says "No singers, fuck off". Because that's all America votes for in the end is the singer with the sob story that's manufactured. They come up to the singer "Who is the closest family member to you that died? Good, talk about that person and cry, mentioning how they're the reason you're doing this." I'm done with that shit.

I hate America's Got Talent cause my GF won't shut up about it

But to be honest, i am more than done with the whole 'reality television' era. There's not been an ounce of reality in any of these shows where suits tell Paris Hilton how to react while working in a rendering plant, or tell Kim Kardashian how to react to getting proposed to, or tell Gene Simmons to propose to Shannon Tweed and tell Shannon Tweed to say no. I get reality TV was born out of the writers' strike, but shouldn't the writers guild be up in arms at all the non guild writing the reality show producers are doing?

Could be worse. It could be a show about ponies.

I could live with that, there's a whole thread devoted to it here and I haven't gotten tired of it yet

I have seen behind the curtain of these reality shows , and they are anything but reality.

But I do like Project Runway, I like seeing the artistic process involved.

I can honestly say I've never watched an episode of any reality television show. Unless you count game shows I guess.

I did some work with someone who did camera work for "reality" shows and he said they are fake, fake, fake.

Real life is fake and contrived and shown in such a way that people only believe what they are supposed to believe. I'd say these shows are microcosms of reality, sure.

Intellectualism has no place in this sphere :lol