American Idol or American Dream?

The American Dream can be described as a belief in freedom that allows all citizens and residents of the United States of America to achieve their goals in life through hard work. Today, in America it generally refers to the idea that one's prosperity depends upon one's own abilities and hard work, not on a rigid class structure, though the meaning of the phrase has changed over America's history. For some, it is the opportunity to achieve more prosperity than they could in their countries of origin; for others, it is the opportunity for their children to grow up with an education and career opportunities; for others, it is the opportunity to be an individual without the constraints imposed by class, caste, race, or ethnicity.
I think the show American Idol exploits the concept of the American Dream. American Idol is a reality show where ordinary every day people can be given the chance to show off their talent, and work towards achieving their goals and making a name for themselves in the music industry. American Idol does change people’s lives but it is a million and one chance. Thousands of hopefuls try out in different cities for the one chance of a dream career and life. Contestants have to audition to audition, meaning that they have to first audition for the show’s producers. This is where the controversy of whether or not American Idol exploits the “American Dream” or not comes in. The producers turn down many talented singers that are serious about the entire thing for people who dress up in stupid costumes, who know they can’t sing worth crap. These people are just trying to get their 15 minutes of fame, but honestly that is why a lot of people watch this show and the producers need to please their audience to keep it going.
American Idol isn’t the traditional or ethical way of achieving the American dream but it does happen. Take Carrie Underwood for instants. Before American Idol she was just a sweet innocent country girl from Oklahoma that was raised on a farm. When Carrie’s audition aired, they played a video of her background and it was her feeding her cows. When she made it to Hollywood they showed footage of her out seeing the town and Ryan Seacrest asked her if she had seen any stars yet and she very seriously looked up at the sky and said “um no it’s been pretty cloudy though”. He was referring to celebrities but her mind didn’t even work like that at the time. You can’t fake that kind of innocence. She obviously went on to win and now she is one of the most successful country artists of all time. People accepted her in spite of her none traditional way of getting there.
I think people don’t consider things like American Idol to be a way of people achieving the true American Dream because it is so different. It is a reality show and it is true that some people can and do abuse it just to try to get on T.V. Those people don’t work hard they just act stupid and it ruins the original purpose. But there is living proof that American Idol can be the gateway to someone’s American Dream no matter what race, gender, sexuality, or whatever you are.