Friday, April 17, 2009
Page 11
AT THE SIDEBAR (Column)
Singer Opens Eyes to Prejudgment
By J’AMY PACHECO
A long time ago, somebody cautioned against judging a book by its cover.
Never has the wisdom of that saying been more apparent to me than when watching the now famous YouTube video of Susan Boyle singing on the television show, “Britain’s Got Talent.”
The clip starts out with the frumpy, middle-aged woman sitting backstage eating a sandwich. Maybe it’s because we’re both about the same age (actually, I’m older), but I was immediately charmed by her lilting Scottish accent. In spite of that, even I didn’t expect the performance she gave.
In case you haven’t seen it, I’ll explain. “Britain’s Got Talent” is the United Kingdom’s version of “American Idol.” (I only know this because somebody once sent me a clip of a young woman’s dog delighting the show’s audience by dancing.) I’ve never seen a full episode of either show, and likely would have missed Boyle’s performance if a link to her clip hadn’t been forwarded to my e-mail inbox.
When Boyle came out on stage, both the audience and the panel of judges were noticeably not impressed. One teenaged girl was shown rolling her eyes. Another woman was shown making what had to be a catty comment about the contestant’s wish to become a professional singer.
But it only took one line of the Les Miserables song, “I Dreamed a Dream” to turn things around.
For a moment, people just seemed surprised. But by the second line, Boyle found herself singing to a standing ovation given by an incredibly enthusiastic crowd. Perhaps most touching were the close-up reactions of celebrity judge Amanda Holden, who appeared genuinely touched throughout the performance.
During her critique of Boyle’s performance, Holden admitted that she, like everyone else, was initially against Boyle’s participation.
“I honestly think that we were all being very cynical, and I think that’s the biggest wake up call ever,” she said.
Wake up call, indeed. I wish the cameras had zoomed on the eye-rolling women so I could have seen their reactions to Boyle’s beautiful voice. Now that would have been entertaining.
I wasn’t born yesterday. I know enough pre-screening has to be done that it’s unlikely everybody involved was completely surprised by Boyle’s abilities. I like a good staged surprise as much as the next guy, and I suspect the people involved in staging the show were delighted to know they’d be able to put one over on everybody so successfully.
That’s okay with me. The result was good – no, great — entertainment, and even though I’ve watched the clip at least 10 times, I still get teary-eyed when the music starts.
But Holden’s comments made me think about our collective tendency to pre-judge others by their appearance. I’m as guilty as anybody else – twice, I’ve driven away from a store simply because people lingering outside the store gave me a bad feeling.
As a parent, I’m finding it more and more difficult to know what to tell my child about judging others based upon appearance.
On one hand, I’d like her to be accepting and non-judgmental of her fellow man. On the other hand, I’d like her to be street smart enough to know that she’d be better off avoiding encounters with those who appear to be gangsters, thugs, serial killers and other nefarious beings.
When we encounter someone who is dressed in an attention-getting manner, we talk about it. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pointed out that if a girl doesn’t want to look like “a tart,” there are certain articles of clothing a girl shouldn’t wear, and certain parts of her body that shouldn’t be exposed to the world.
And if someone doesn’t want to look like a gangster, there are also ways of dressing that should be avoided. Maybe I’m getting old and stodgy, but that’s the way the world works.
It’s hard to know where to draw the line with passing judgment based upon appearance. Maybe there isn’t a place, and we have to just take each situation as it comes, relying on our own judgment, good or bad.
But when someone like Susan Boyle comes along, it serves as a reminder that every now and then, we should take a moment to assess how we look at other people, and what criteria we use to form our judgments.
I can’t say loiterers will never drive me away from a store again, but hopefully, I’ll be better about rushing to judgment.
And maybe somewhere along the way, I’ll find that line.
Copyright 2009, Metropolitan News Company