Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past week there’s no way you won’t have heard of Susan Boyle, in fact there’s a good chance you’re one of the 28 million viewers of the You Tube video featuring Susan’s outstanding performance on Britain’s Got Talent. So I’ll keep this brief as I think there’s a danger we’re all a bit Susan Boyle-d out.
As the media frenzy surrounding Susan’s amazing talent has unfolded, I’ve felt increasingly uncomfortable. Not because I don’t think it’s a story to be told, believe me I was as dewy eyed as Piers Morgan when I first saw the clip on You Tube, no what has led to the uneasiness in the pit of my stomach is the way the media have concentrated on the oh so personal issue of Susan’s looks.
In the Sunday Star Times this morning an article states, and I quote, “She walked out on stage sporting large, bushy eyebrows and hair that hadn’t been styled in decades, and she wore no makeup”, hello, did this reporter miss the bit where Susan Boyle said she was unemployed, I think she may have higher financial priorities than a jaunt to the day spa!
At the end of the day, did you ever read a headline saying, “Pavarotti, great voice, but he’s not exactly Brad Pitt”? No of course not, too personal, so why does the media get away with doing exactly this to Susan Boyle, is it because she’s been plucked from obscurity? Does the fact that she dared to venture on to a prime time TV talent show give the worlds reporter’s carte blanche to comment on her looks in such a cruel and judgmental manner? Personally, I think not, the only story here is that this incredible singer has finally found an outlet to share her amazing talent with the world!