[waitinginthewings]

Originally Posted by sun-toon´

Not to be "negative", but is anyone paying attention to how manipulative this is? I mean, it's not just a little bit manipulative, it's brilliantly manipulative.

I'm assuming that the judges are not told about the performers ahead of time, but the production staff was certainly aware of Susan Boyle and her age, appearance and mannerisms vs her abilities as a vocalist. They played up the dowdy spinster bit, had her dressed like she was going to church in 1965 and gave her a powerful song of hope to sing. They remixed the video with the goofy backstage guys, the sneering audience members who were apparently so transformed by the talented singer in the frumpy body, the cynicism of Simon turned on its heels, and then they painted in the other gushing judges.

None of that was spontaneous, but it looked as though it was and it worked like a charm. It worked on me, and it worked on everyone I know who's seen it, no matter how cynical they are...and it was just as effective the 2nd time through, even though we knew it was coming.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's great for Susan Boyle...more power to her, but on another level this is a way of hijacking the transmutational energy that people are feeling. Everywhere people have elevated energy, they're in emotional flux, and with this kind of media presentation that energy is pulled from us and redirected into the corporate machine. Just one of the You Tube clips of that performance has had over 36 million hits in less than a week. All of this translates into a river of cash for the show's investors.

Those sneering people in the audience who loved her would have torn her to pieces if she had sucked. They didn't, and still don't care about her, and neither do the producers of the show. Of course it's better than playing up some tragedy, but is this kind of emotional trickery for profit really that much different?

If we're going to ride the shift we need to become aware of the alchemy that's sewn into every line of the matrix and of all the forces which are in play.

She choose that particular song herself, because it was meaningful to her. It was her dream for herself.

I also believe Simon & the panel knew exactly who was going to be on stage and what their talent was. The whole thing is staged.