Conflicted

Last night I watched the Idols Give Back special. In a previous life I have watched way too much of American Idol, so what's two more hours? And this one is supposed to be about Africa, so that's good, right? And Bono will be on, right?

First - the negative.

The show was an interlacing of a usual cheesy elimination show, a concert and clips from charities around the world. Interesting mix.
- In the clips of children it seemed like the kids were coached when to start crying. I was suspicious the first time, but the little girl in LA seriously can't act.
- Also, I thought this was about Africa. Since when are LA, New Orleans and Kentucky in Africa?
- Since when is anywhere in the US considered "extreme poverty" on the level with some of the African conditions?
- Why did Ryan have to follow every clip of the horrors in Africa with a comment about half the money staying in America to help American kids? What's wrong with helping African kids?
- Watching Simon Cowell in an African hut telling the family that their "home" was unacceptable was pretty hard to take. I get that the conditions are deplorable, but it seemed uncomfortable to here a rich Brit say that to the family.
- What exactly are Simon, Ryan, Randy and Paula doing on these issues? When Ryan asked Simon that he quickly deflected the question.
- The Quincy Jones song was awful. In a "this is a horrible song" awful, and also in a "love isn't going to fix everything" awful.
- Having Exxon executives pretending to care about Africa turned my stomach.
- How can you cut from the clips of children in poverty to the AI elimination? It was way too jarring.
- Paula, showing us cleavage within millimeters of getting censored is not what I would consider "Idol gives back". Just sayin.

So, having said all that and having steeled myself for the cheesefest that is AI...
yes, I ended up crying. The brother and sister living in a single room because their parents were dead. The "family" of fourteen children (mostly AIDS orphans) living in a room. Carrie Underwood singing to those kids.

Yes, I went through lots of kleenex. Even I'm not cold enough to stay dry eyed during it.

And, I guess if all the AI watchers gained a greater understanding of the poverty issues in our country and the crisis in Africa, then the sacrifice of two hours of my life is worth is. Kudos to Ellen Degeneres for pledging $100,000 on air and challenging the rich friends she watches AI with to do the same. I hope lots of people are really bothered by the show (in the good way) and follow up by asking lots of questions. I know www.one.org was down most of the night because it's servers were swamped. I also hope those 6 finalists on the show were impacted and when one (or more) of them gets famous they remember what their fame and money can do.

$30 million is nothing to sneeze at. I hope the money makes it's way swiftly to buy malaria medication, nets, ARV medication and all the other things they promised last night.

As much as the cheesy stuff made me snicker and some of the "edge of tasteful" stuff made me wince, mostly the show made me want to go to Africa with suitcases of malaria medication and support those communities torn apart by AIDS however I can.

Bono Sighting

Though it pains me to promote American Idol, according to the press releases (and the emails I've gotten from the ONE Campaign, Bono will be on American Idol tomorrow night. It's supposed to be a relief show for Africa, so he's there to talk to the contestants about the ONE campaign. Though it's sure to be cheesy, it is bringing attention to the issues in Africa. Tune in, but be prepared with the mute or fast forward button for when you hit your limit of cheese!

Are You Paranoid If.....

I was pretty disturbed at this news this morning. Yes, to the outside world it might seem like the not-so-surprising expansion of the American Idol franchise into summer camps.

What disturbs me is that this is on the campus of Northfield/Mt. Hermon. This is a school that was founded by Dwight Moody. From the website:

When Moody founded the Northfield Seminary for Young Ladies (1879) and Mount Hermon School for Boys (1881), he selected students who were talented but came from impoverished backgrounds. As he did in his revival campaigns, Moody drew his students from all over the world, from all over America, and from every race.

Dwight Lyman Moody died in Northfield on December 22, 1899. Condolences were mailed and wired from around the world, and an estimated 3,000 people were on campus during the day of the funeral, held on December 26 in the Congregational Church. He is buried on a hill called Round Top on the Northfield campus, the site of both his birth and death.

I know that there were other options for this unused part of the campus, including an international missions center.

So, a school that was set up by Moody with the intent to fuel international revival and missions is now being used to fuel "American Idol". Hmm.... no, that's not disturbing at all.

I've always been torn about American Idol. The name always makes me cringe. But, then there are some people that have come out of it who say that they are Christian and have released Christian (or crossover) music (Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken, for example). Then there is the Canadian Idol who took a stand and sang "I Can Only Imagine" on Canadian network television. It seemed like God was playing a good joke by using American Idol to allow Christian young people to talk about their faith on popular television.

But this just really hits me the wrong way. Somehow it just screams of the work of the enemy. Laughing at the godly tradition of this place and twisting it.