Last night my Tivo, based on some bogus program data, missed the first hour of the So You Think You can Dance finale. Facebook to the rescue, one complaint later (bracelet moved to other wrist) and I had friends telling me their online sources for the videos. Hooray! For those of you who missed it:
check it out here.
Over on Bhuz, there is a thread about this season, and some talk about why Evan has made it this far on the show. After the jump, have a look-see at my thoughts on it. What do you think?
I have felt two ways about this season--I love watching the dancing, yet I less often find myself truly moved. And I think it's because I *expect* them to be good..does that make sense? Part of the excitement of reality TV is seeing the humanity! I want to see them struggle and yes even fumble, so that the successes seem so much more epic. This season has had so many incredibly strong and talented dancers who came with all the tools to succeed...where is the challenge in that? Yes I KNOW this is incredibly difficult, and they are being pushed and challenged incredibly, but we're not getting to SEE that so much this year. You know the old addage, "Justice must not just be done, it must be SEEN to be done"? I think the struggle to succeed must not just happen, but must need to be SEEN to be happening.
This year, I feel like everything has been either good or great, never regular-guy/gal so-so or bad; and the things I didn't necessarily like were mostly due to the choreography and not a failure by the dancers. Well, that is not entirely true. Sometimes I felt like what was lacking was emotional expression, but almost never was it a lack of actual skill in the dancing itself. It's like the dancers were TOO GOOD. Sounds crazy, I know. But it gets blase if you're like "okay here comes another flawless routine by amazing dancers..." and then it becomes more a competition between choreographers rather than the dancers, which I am not interested in.
Essentially I think that Evan has had the personality to carry him, and has shown us enough of the "underdog" struggle to keep us wanting to see what he can do that we *don't* expect him to be able to do. Everyone else I EXPECT to be wonderful. But Evan is the only one left who amazes me because I am not confident he will be able to do what they ask...and he keeps doing it! That plus his undeniable charisma, and it makes you cheer for him! We are seeing him struggle and grow, and succeed despite his obvious limitations, which makes him more human, relateable, and interesting (to me). I don't think he should win, but I look forward to seeing him dance each week in a way I don't anticipate with the other three. Part of that is charisma, and the other part is his humanity.
This apathy toward an ever-increasingly skilled group of dancers is certainly tied to Modern Media Killing the Organic Process, wouldn't you say...?
check it out here.
Over on Bhuz, there is a thread about this season, and some talk about why Evan has made it this far on the show. After the jump, have a look-see at my thoughts on it. What do you think?
I have felt two ways about this season--I love watching the dancing, yet I less often find myself truly moved. And I think it's because I *expect* them to be good..does that make sense? Part of the excitement of reality TV is seeing the humanity! I want to see them struggle and yes even fumble, so that the successes seem so much more epic. This season has had so many incredibly strong and talented dancers who came with all the tools to succeed...where is the challenge in that? Yes I KNOW this is incredibly difficult, and they are being pushed and challenged incredibly, but we're not getting to SEE that so much this year. You know the old addage, "Justice must not just be done, it must be SEEN to be done"? I think the struggle to succeed must not just happen, but must need to be SEEN to be happening.
This year, I feel like everything has been either good or great, never regular-guy/gal so-so or bad; and the things I didn't necessarily like were mostly due to the choreography and not a failure by the dancers. Well, that is not entirely true. Sometimes I felt like what was lacking was emotional expression, but almost never was it a lack of actual skill in the dancing itself. It's like the dancers were TOO GOOD. Sounds crazy, I know. But it gets blase if you're like "okay here comes another flawless routine by amazing dancers..." and then it becomes more a competition between choreographers rather than the dancers, which I am not interested in.
Essentially I think that Evan has had the personality to carry him, and has shown us enough of the "underdog" struggle to keep us wanting to see what he can do that we *don't* expect him to be able to do. Everyone else I EXPECT to be wonderful. But Evan is the only one left who amazes me because I am not confident he will be able to do what they ask...and he keeps doing it! That plus his undeniable charisma, and it makes you cheer for him! We are seeing him struggle and grow, and succeed despite his obvious limitations, which makes him more human, relateable, and interesting (to me). I don't think he should win, but I look forward to seeing him dance each week in a way I don't anticipate with the other three. Part of that is charisma, and the other part is his humanity.
This apathy toward an ever-increasingly skilled group of dancers is certainly tied to Modern Media Killing the Organic Process, wouldn't you say...?
