Monday, June 1, 2009

Living the dream or TV exploitation?



On the morning of 11th April 2009, Susan Boyle was an unknown middle aged woman living in West Lothian, who claims she’d never been kissed. Then she sang ‘I Dreamed A Dream’ on ITV’s Britain’s Got Talent. Within nine days her performance had been viewed by 100 million people around the world on the internet leading to a media storm. She did the rounds of TV chat shows in the US, and was hailed as an inspiration by a Hollywood star. But according to recent reports in the tabloid newspapers the strain is starting to show as she struggles to cope with all the attention. Is this a simple rags to riches story or a case of media exploitation? Jane is joined by The Times television critic Andrew Billen, and psychologist Prof. David Wilson.

No comments: