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Cultural science, ‘authenticity’ and American Idol
By alexbentley | May 18, 2008
Any proper cultural scientist must watch American Idol, or “Idol”, as charismatic host Ryan SeaCrest calls it. It’s all about marketing “authenticity”.
A while back, one of the guys, with bandanna, well-trimmed ’scruffy’ beard, long hair, ‘rocker’ jeans, and a propensity to say things like “it’s all good,” was of course the one most frequently referred to as “the real deal” and “authentic”.
After he was voted off, he gave a great post-interview, where he said:
“I’ve spent the past six years working my tail off in grungy bars and pulling our own trailer with our equipment… If you ever turned my CD player on while I was out on the road, you’d be hearing rock the whole time. This is me — you get what you see.”
This is the oxymoron of modern Western “authenticity,” which is to choose a pre-fabricated image that the populace has already labelled ‘real’ and ‘honest’, rather than to choose something for oneself based on a subjective assessment of intrinsic value. The fallen contestant on American Idol is simply “expressing who he is,” which happens to be in aisle 6 at TJ Maxx, where you will find the ‘rocker’ mannequin with the same outfit put together for you by their marketing directors in Kansas City.
While we know his authenticity is store-bought, whether this ‘rocker’ guy is truly conforming to an ideal is much more difficult to determine. Conformity requires an informed tracking of the majority — could you conform to public opinion without the polls telling you what it is? Humans evolved in small groups, so conforming to mass society is not natural, or even possible, without some research or surveys to characterize the majority within a certain cultural niche.
Copying at random, on the other hand, can achieve a similar result much more easily – simply walk outside and point to someone on the street, and copy what (s)he is wearing. If everyone were to do this, a clear majority would emerge, just through the feedback of the items most common being the most likely to be copied at random.
In models of cultural change, it can often be very difficult to measure the difference between random copying and conformity. Counter-intuitively, our (often unconscious) tendency to ‘do as the Romans do’ can lead to homogeneity in collective behaviour, conveying the illusion of conscious conformity or imposed control.
So, while we know the rocker guy is not authentic in any real sense, whether he is a calculating conformist, who schemed his way into the top 24 with a keen understanding of American cultural preferences, or just some guy who picked up on a prevailing trend by luck (and convinced himself it was his own idea), is quite a difficult question.
Topics: Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
May 29th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
Interesting ideas, maybe relates in some way to performativity: processes by which identities are reproduced by repeated approximations of models (e.g. Judith Butler). For instance, racialised minorities or gays will perform their identity, in the process reinforcing social norms or introducing new norms that are then copied Queer Eye for the Straight Guy). In many instances, the failure to repeat normative behaviour may actually enhance the system rather than threaten it. Performative force is understood differently in different societies, and by different audiences, and these variations impact upon how culture is invoked in different locations. The ritualised performance of difference and similarity is also celebrated as ordinary people take on the responsibility of acting according to what they believe is normative behaviour. For instance, participants on reality shows such as Big Brother fall into performing roles that are subtly scripted for them through pre-selection of stereotypes. Part of the attraction of viewing is to ‘discover’ the degree of authenticity in the performances of contestants.