With much attention these days focused on American Idol and such pseudo-democratic phenomenon, my thoughts are more aligned with H.L. Mencken and his general view of public opinion (and taste). I think the famous quote of his was something like "no one ever went broke underestimating the taste of the American public". Certainly television in general has been the evidence to support that statement, and the "vast wasteland" of the 1960s is even more vast now. I would almost go to the extreme to say that almost all forms of popular entertainment are devoid of artistic merit, but some are more so than others. Yet, the entertainment industry continues to generate huge revenues for itself, and so they would, of course, suggest that this is evidence to the contrary. Most consistent in their formulaic approach towards maximizing revenue is the return to tried and true formats, such as the "amateur hour". Such is the history of American Idol, borne from such shows as "Major Bowes" on radio, and other similar shows on television, such as the local program in Boston, Community Auditions. They also perpetuate the myths that "anyone could be a star" and "I just need that lucky break". Perhaps the lyrics of Pink Floyd's "Have A Cigar" are more characteristic of what goes on behind the scenes in the music and other entertainment fields. Stars are manufactured much in the same way as hamburgers are made by McDonalds, but, of course, fewer are needed. The "myth" that you don't need much talent to be successful in the entertainment world is hard to refute, although there are some exceptions to the general observation that the public cannot tell the difference. In that sense, I genuinely was entertained by the Gong Show, another show in the same vein as American Idol, which answered the question "how low can you go?" and still be called entertaining for some of its acts. Presumably those that lasted longer before being gonged were the ones for which there was perhaps some question about their "validity" or not, as opposed to those that were immediately gonged. I also liked the idea of having performers (or other celebrities) being judges. This does raise the issue of whether they thought they are acting on their own or as a representative of the audience (which was live, in the case of the Gong Show). Having a voting process is almost like a model of the marketplace, and perhaps this is the other reason why the entertainment industry is so supportive of the American Idol concept--it is to their own interest to do test marketing of "new" ideas (which, of course, they cannot come up with on their own), before investing capital in them. Fortunately, this too shall pass...