TV Review: The X-Factor is corporate profit margin, not artistic quality

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So Eden Roberts, a singer/songwriter whom I considered one of the few original talents on X-Factor, got kicked off last nights show.

I have enjoyed watching the judges stress that they are are looking for the ‘X-Factor’ when selecting the possibles. The X-Factor isn’t original talent (which Eden had), it is of course profit margin for the corporate who is investing the time and energy.

Normally such crass bastardization of pop culture doesn’t really surprise, disappoint or frustrate. Manufactured corporate pop culture is nothing new, but the X-Factor is different in that it is being funded by NZ on Air.

$1.6 million taxpayers dollars are being pumped into X-Factor.

From the networks point of view, they are so desperate for advertising cash they require state sponsorship to create even the most crassly commercial of products.

From NZ on Air’s point of view, they are desperate to put their name to something the kids will like with plump ratings numbers.

From the corporate involvement, they want cultural dominance and a hefty profit from everything including the sales of the music to the commercial partnerships.

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From the taxpayers point of view, it’s difficult to explain why such commercial endeavors need propping up for a foreign owned media company when the product is as heavily produced as a Big Mac combo.

In the commercial utopia the National Party promote, culture is as open to taxpayer funded privatization as our assets. It’s a world where artistic quality is second to Coke product tie ins.

This is New Zealand off air, not New Zealand on air.

3 COMMENTS

    • Nope – so called pop culture has produced most of the most memorable television and music over the past 50 years. Take “pop music” for example which was more or less the term used to describe chart topping hits. Was Hogan’s Heros and Dr Who not pop culture? Street fashion is pop culture.The majority of films are pop culture.

      However, pop culture has always stood or fallen on its popularity (and as a follow through its commercial success). It could be argued that this version of the X Factor is not in fact true pop culture because it has been subsidised by the taxpayer. So its existence does not depend on its popularity.

  1. Wasn’t she voted off by the NZ public as least popular contestant? Is that not how this show works?

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