American Idol and Race Relations

Despite anything else you might think about American Idol, what can’t be denied about the show is the space it opens up surrounding racial discourse in American society. Idol provides a relevant forum to discuss race in a country that despite being one of the most racially diverse in the world, is still very close-lipped on the subject.

However through the anonymity of the voting system of American Idol, America is able to voice its views on race, gender, looks and regional preference reflective of societal opinion and catalysing discourse on the results. However despite the fact that the show has always contained a diverse racial makeup, starting from the top down with its’ judges, it has by no means escaped calls of racism. Elton John called the show “incredibly racist” when the three he considered to be the most talented, Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia Barrino and LaToya London all young, black women, landed in the bottom three. In relation to the other contestant’s talent, there is evidence that this audience made decision had a racial bias. However, Elton John was missing the point that this was reflective of a racist American society rather than an American Idol lead decision.

To counter Elton John, I feel that American Idol is one of the most racially progressive shows on American television. As such the repercussions that inevitably arise, such as the Hudson/ Barrino/ London highlight the troubled racial climate of the country and indict the audience’s prejudices. That three black women were even in the top six on the country’s highest rating television program is a step forward when one looks at other program’s shown on American prime time. There is not one other program that would have half the main characters being black women. Similarly the appearance of Sanjaya Malakar has elicited both cries of racism and progression on the show. Theories have abounded on his presence on the show as the ‘worst’ finalist in Idol history. There is a popular assumption that part of his popularity lies in his race, and its’ unusual presence on prime time TV.

He has thus been simultaneously praised as a positive role model for Indian Americans, and lambasted as an unfair representation of Indian Americans leading to reports of schoolyard bullying by an Indian journalist. What is clear from the debate that has arisen over his continuing presence on the show is the anomaly of being Indian on American TV.

Executive producer Nigel Lythgoe has tried to play down the racial statements expressed by the show and audience voting patterns saying that “American Idol is a talent show…let’s not lose perspective on what it is. Outside of that it doesn’t really mean anything in real life”. In saying this, I feel Lythgoe is knocking the importance of American Idol as a cultural artefact, perhaps because of the contentious nature of audience decisions. Lythgoe’s playing down of the show’s importance is an often stated commentary on the frivolous nature of popular culture. However in a country where the voting of American Idol beats the voting for the President, one can’t write off the results of the American Idol elections. Instead the diverse racial and ethnic makeup of the show and subsequent results provide crucial insights into the racial climate of the country, both reflecting and amplifying the nation’s complicated relationship with race in an unparalleled manner.