I had a quiet Sunday night in yesterday, in front of the telly. I scanned the channels for ages; there was nothing on. Well, at least there was nothing on that I wanted to watch. I decided to close my eyes and just pick a channel at random, promising myself I would watch whatever I ended up getting stuck with. And the programme I ended up getting stuck with for an hour was 'Katie', the latest reality-TV instalment of Jordan's fascinating life, whereby she...goes on holiday, gets married, gets divorced, goes to a book signing and rides a horse...repeat ad infinitum. Occasionally she shows how much heart she's got by throwing a party for her kids, or going to visit someone who's disabled. Throwaway fluff, you might think. And I did.
But watching the programme made me question: what is it exactly that Katie Price is famous for? Why do so many little girls decide that they want to be just like her when they grow up? She seems like a nice enough person and there's no doubt that she works hard, but nowhere has it been indicated that she actually has any talent other than self-promotion and the ability to stand out in a crowd. The books she signs are ghost-written, and apparently this is OK with the people who buy them...as long as it's got her name or face on the front, they're happy.
It's strange how people are idolised simply for being in the public eye. Talent just isn't enough of a prerequisite. Katie Price isn't the only one; I remember also watching an episode of a 'fly-on-the-wall' documentary about Dannii Minogue once. In it, Dannii spent the entire time travelling from people's houses, inside which people were hard at work on her behalf. The first house she went to was the home of a fashion-designer, who had designed and put together pieces intended for the 'Dannii Minogue Project D' collection. All Dannii had to do was select which ones were going to feature in the line. Next, she went to see a songwriter who had come up with a few ideas for her next album. Following this was the perfume designer's, where she chose from a line of pre-mixed scents to put her face to. At the end of the day, Dannii told the cameras how exhausting it was to "have all these things on the go...exciting as they are!"
What I found amazing about that, and the Katie Price programme, is how blatant both women were about the fact that they're not actually doing any of the work they're supposedly famous for. They're shown on TV managing their portfolios of the work other people do for them in their name, and that's enough really, because these people might possess all the real talent, but do they look as good in a bikini or a designer frock? That's the real question. And unfortunately, it's something us women in particular seem to lap up.
The two male judges on the X Factor, Simon Cowell and Louis Walsh, are credible. They have some talent...mainly in spotting and managing it. The two female judges, Dannii Minogue (again!) and Cheryl Cole, have no such credentials. Had either of them auditioned for the show itself, it's likely they would have been turned away, or scraped through on the basis that they looked good and could be autotuned into oblivion if it was required. Which ironically, was exactly what happened! But I think that's why the media focuses on what they're wearing every week...because what else could you focus on?
Why haven't we got the female face of someone who works 'behind the scenes' in the recording industry to bring some credibility to the X Factor judging? In most of these shows, the 'credible' judge is male, while the female judge is the pretty one who's "been through the experience". Take Arlene Phillips on 'Strictly' - with a 40-year career in choreography and dance, she could more than hold her own with the men. Her advice was good; the banter crackled. But when the decision came to replace one of the 'older' judges, it was of course she who had to go, to be replaced by someone young, pretty and who had been through the 'experience' of the show. But does the show work as well? In my opinion, no.
It's no wonder that little girls grow up wanting to be Katie Price or Cheryl Cole, because the alternative - proper talent - is hidden so very well that it seems unimportant to actual success.
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