Joshua (who won) and Katee: the BEST dancers from last year. Srsly. Via ~08.08.08 @ Flickr.
I’m not a fan of reality-competition TV in general, because I’m already quite convinced that humanity is a pretty vile lot, and I don’t need endless footage of “backstage” drama as further evidence to that point. I also don’t watch celebrity-driven reality shows of any sort–The Apprentice, Circus of the Stars, Dancing With the Stars. But I have one reality TV weakness: I love Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance. Love. It. Though I started watching it intermittently during the second season on a sort of lazy lark, I quickly became invested, and for the subsequent three summers have eagerly anticipated Wednesday nights, when I can settle in with refreshments and a leetle bit of snark. Just a little, because the dancers are amazing athletes, stunning to watch for both their beauty (no matter what sort of beauty you fancy) and ability, and at least seem like genuinely kind, well-intentioned young people who are thrilled to be doing what they love. The dancing is generally delightful, the host, Cat Deely, is completely charming, and if I can’t be there to watch the show, I record it, and/or obsessively watch clips on YouTube. (Seriously, if you’ve never seen this show, go to YouTube right now and watch Katee and Josh do their Bollywood routine. Go. Now. The dance starts around 1:18.)
But every week that I tune in, I find myself wincing and occasionally throwing something at the TV. And it’s mostly because a show never passes but I hear multiple infuriating comments from the panel of judges based on ridiculous, offensive, outdated ideas of gender performance. The worst offender is executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, who is completely obsessed with making sure everyone knows that he’s no poofter! by a) insulting any male dancer whose performance he deems insufficiently macho and b) openly leering at the female dancers in their revealing costumes. But Nigel is in good company with Mary Murphy and a rotating cast of choreographer/judges who seem to be as invested in policing gender lines as they are in critiquing dance.
A big part of the problem is the language of dance styles, particularly in the more traditional ballroom categories—rhumba, samba, cha-cha, tango, and the fucking paso doble, among others—which seem to always be built around one of three narrative patterns: conventional love story where man pursues woman; unconventional love story where woman pursues man, which perversion of nature comically alarms the man (and the judges); and the hate-fuck story, where the “romantic” relationship is figured as a Battle of the Sexes!!!, complete with faux violence and one dancer triumphing over the other.
But it’s not just the choreographers’ fault. Occasions where this heteronormative story is thrown away send the judges into a tailspin. An infamous number from Season Three, where the two dancers were supposed to be woodland creatures of some sort, was terribly received. The judges simply couldn’t understand what was going on, and they penalized the dancers for it. Now, I’m a big fan of narrative, but if you can’t just accept “they’re foxes! …sorta” as the conceit for a two-minute routine, your imagination is severely impoverished. Watch them move!
There are other problems with the show, too. A certain number of dancers who don’t have typical dancer’s bodies are always subject to mockery, derision, or special-olympics-style pity in the cattle-call audition episodes, and hip-hop/street dancers are often treated like idiot savants if they skillfully execute a quick step or Viennese waltz. Which is not at all based on racially-coded ideas about what “real” dancing is, no indeed. It makes me all ragey on a regular basis.
And yet I watch, because those kids (I use the term with affection) are, more often than not, thrilling.
I suppose I can’t be terribly surprised that a sexist, heterosexist, ableist, racist culture has produced a program that is sexist, heterosexist, ableist, and racist. But I still struggle with my desire to consume cultural products that embrace, along with things I value and enjoy, things that I find utterly repellent. A lot of them are easy for me to reject outright (fashion magazines, bad-mommy reality shows, celebrity gossip features, anything with Adam Carolla in it), but some–like SYTYCD–aren’t, and I’m never quite sure where to draw the line.
Is it enough to recognize the poisonous crap for what it is, to voice my critique of it, and enjoy what is good and valuable, or by watching (and consuming the adverts that fund the shows), am I tacitly endorsing the things I hate the most? I don’t believe that personal “purity” is possible, but neither do I think that pop culture is “harmless” or meaningless escapism.
Do you have conflicted relationships with shows, or websites, or other pop detritus? How do you decide what to consume, and what to reject? Where do you draw the line?
I am slavishly devoted to “Dancing With the Stars”, which is even more sexist, lookist adn heteronormative becuase it features celebrities who have nearly always achieved fame by embracing our sexist, lookist, heteronormative media culture (with the exception of contestants like Steve Wozniak and Tucker Carlson, neither of whom could dance worth a damn).
But it’s fun to watch people dance. We humans have been dancing and watching each other dance since we mastered bi-pedalism. It’s thrilling and fun and sexy and a display of an amazing athleticism and physical intelligence that I know I will never, ever have. I also like watching the novices learn to dance on “Dancing With the Stars” because it’s a tremendous undertaking for them–eight hours in a dance studio for a week is no joke–and I always admire people who start out totally ignorant and work REALLY hard to master something.
I love SYTYCD, but this season has been driving me nuts. (Disclaimer: I am a few eps behind.) I have been searching for it on Britni’s blog–I swear she did a post about it–but Nigel is WTF this season.
From blog.zap2it.com:
“Lythgoe told a male dancing duo (– one partner of which was gay, the other not — that auditioned for the program: “I think you probably alienate a lot of our audience. I mean, we’ve always had the guys dance together on the show, but I’ve — they’ve never really done it in each other’s arms before.”
Lythgoe later wrote on Twitter: “The same sex ballroom guys did remind me of ‘Blades of Glory.’ However, I’m not a fan of ‘Brokeback’ Ballroom.””
Later, he apologized, and he said he wasn’t homophobic. He also is clearly ignorant of who is audience is–I think that, unlike DWTS, it is a younger crowd, and people who are pro-dance are usually a-okay with the gays.
Ideally, I’d have a DVR and just watch the brilliant routines with zero commentary.
I feel very much the same way, but I feel like the benefits of watching talented people perform thrilling dances outweighs the damage I might be doing.
I should probably be more vocal on the social media available to me about the times I feel uncomfortable with the rigidity of the show in regards to dance forms and gender representation. The previous commenter’s words about Lythgoe’s ridiculous statements about the ballroom dancers are case in point; that was a low point for the show and they should be ashamed for keeping those negative comments in the editing process. But they will never know unless we’re watching (because we love the idea, and the dancing) and we tell them.
If they are really as devoted to seeing something “new” that’s going to “wow” them as they sometimes say they are (and we know they will pretty much say whatever is convenient for the commentary at the time) then maybe they can praise the breaking of gender boundaries instead of mocking it.
I don’t have a television, which cuts down on the passive-watching aspect — when I live with a tv, I somehow end up watching a lot of trash I otherwise wouldn’t. Having to actively seek it out on the internet sort of gives me a higher bar for trashy stuff. And now, when I visit home or stay with a friend who has cable, I’m much more easily shocked at the pervasive sexism/heterosexism/ableism/racism etc., ad nauseum, on a lot of shows. It’s very easy for me to become desensitized to it, so I just avoid having a tv.
And I’ve never watched SYTYCD, but that clip of Katee & Josh was awesome. I watched it with the sound off at work!
That Bollywood routine was aweseome. In my next life, I want to come back as a dancer…
@DangerMouse – the “Brokeback Ballroom” thing pissed me off, big time. Guess Nigel wouldn’t care for the all-male Swan Lake?
I mostly fast-forward through the judges’ comments now. I do like it when they tell the dancers what they did wrong and illustrate it with a replay. But otherwise it’s a lot of Nigel telling the girls they looked good and Mary screeching about hot tamales. No thanks.
The performers they have on the Thursday show are often more interesting than the strictly gendered routines – the modern ballet dancers last week were awesome, and although it was a man and a woman, didn’t fall into the male/female rolea that, say, the classical pas de deux did on Wednesday’s show.
I stay on the edges. I like to watch things that are a little more highbrow, like Mad Men or Rome, where the gender issues, etc. are commented upon directly. I also like to watch things like VH1 reality shows that don’t even try to pretend that they’re not prejudiced in all sorts of ways. That way, at least I know that it’s going to be out in the open. For some reason, I don’t want to watch a show that’s not about sexism (and is, instead, about dancing or something) and come across sexism — I’d much rather watch a show that’s almost entirely based on stereotypes because I know exactly what I’m signing up for.
I don’t understand why the judges can’t limit their critique to the technique – the form, the footwork, the expressions etc? Accept the narrative presented to you by the dancers and then evaluate whether they can perform it faithfully or not? Who cares if they are wood nymphs or lovers if they can portray it flawlessly and in an engaging manner?
I really don’t have the patience for reality shows because of the behind the camera clips; I’d much rather watch the participants compete than hear their back-stabby comments. The only exception is the Next Food Network Star because they really keep the negativity to a minimum. Most of the criticisms tend to be work-related rather than person-related. At least the ones I’ve watched so far.
Does anyone else feel exhausted wading through sexist and racist crap on television, online media and even in real life?
The Bollywood dance you linked to was just jaw-dropping. I think I am going to hunt all past episodes on YouTube now.
I loooove SYTYCD, but…a lot of the things you cited here make me uncomfortable or annoyed on a regular basis. I still love the dancing, though, so I keep watching. I feel the same way, though, about 90% of the books I read, the movies I watch, etc.
Ah yes, DangerMouse (and allow me to pause for a brief ovation to honor your recent successful defense: YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY!!!), I considered mentioning the male pair of ballroom dancers and the horrible reception the judges gave them. The smirking, the nose-wrinkling, the “uhhhh, homos are icky” comments, followed by Nigel’s “jokes.” Gah. They weren’t the greatest dancers, but there’s really no reason to show them if you’re only going to point at the freaks. What am I saying? This is reality tv here…
Anyway, yeah. I would love it if the judges stuck to their areas of expertise. As a fan, I love to hear Mary talk about the various technical aspects, because I know there’s so much more in it than what I can discern, but the screeching is unbearable (yes it is! yes! it! is!). I suppose the producers think that too much dance-speak would be alienating to a general audience?
I don’t have cable, so I’m mostly stuck with “offensive” and “really offensive” programming, although I have ferreted out (through means legal and perhaps extra-legal) and gobbled up, both seasons of Mad Men, which is possibly the best show in the History of Ever, and I may have to bribe someone with AMC to let me come over on a weekly basis starting next month. Are you in NYC, baraqiel? (HINT HINT)
Ahahaha, oh PhDork, I am but a poor college student. As if I had cable! Moreover, I am not in NYC. I can, however, direct you to certain extra-legal websites that update on a daily basis with high-quality divx files of recent television episodes.
As for the talking about technical stuff — I find that Bravo’s reality shows are good for this sort of thing. As a person who cooks and sews (a little), Top Chef and Project Runway (in its halcyon days) were entertaining because they included some commentary about how the actual cooking and sewing were done. I know Bravo had a dancing show, but I never watched it. Did anyone find it to be well done?
I, like DangerMouse and Maritsa, immediately thought of the two male ballroom dancers from the auditions. (Clip here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7LFGUMFShg but for your own sanity, avoid the comments.) Nigel said, “I like for guys to be guys and girls to be girls on stage,” but because their technique was good, the judges sent them to the next round of auditions… to dance with women.
I also hate when a female dancer does not do particularly well, the judges always default to “Well, you look beautiful tonight.”
But I’ll keep watching because the dancing is brilliant. The judges’ commentary is sexist at times, and almost always heteronormative, but the show doesn’t cross my “That’s offensive!” threshold enough to merit a personal boycott, though I feel conflicted a lot of the time.
I do wish they would challenge typical gender roles more, but there’s a long history of dances, especially in ballroom, that have a traditional male-female storyline. However, I think the hip hop, crumping, and some of the more modern dances don’t always promote the strict masculine/feminine “ideals”.
WORD on all of this. I adore SYTYCD, but yes, I watch it despite the gendered-ness and inane, offensive comments that asshat Nigel likes to spout.
There are some pop culture favorites that I just have to accept will never fit into my feminist molds, and this is one of them.
If anyone’s interested, my absolute favorite SYTYCD dances are Bleeding Love from last year (Chellsie and Mark http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4131666758878232172) and Katee and Joshua’s No Air (even though, ugh, the song http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3676536309632867935 ) and Sabre and Neil’s table dance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_niqt1BftHI). I watch these repeatedly when I’m having a bad day.
Nigel is horrible, yes, but I cannot stand Mia Michaels’ commentary. I (mostly) love her choreography (aside from the ‘crazed ex-girlfriend’ dance Twitch and Katee did last season), but her comments drive me batty. She usually fawns all over the male dancers and ignores the women or critiques them for silly reasons. Last season I think she told Kherington not to smile so much. And then she said something about another female contestant being so beautiful that she wanted to stab said contestant. I mean, wtf? Generally I zone out during critiques and focus solely on the performances.
PHDork – you can come and watch it with me – i am addicted to Mad Men and not just in New York but in Brooklyn, ta da.
I am a big, uncoordinated mess of a person whose long, floppy, and unpredictable arms and legs have actually done damage to myself and others. As such, I have always looked upon the grace, skill, and elegance with which dancers move in sheer and utter awe. I love SYTYCD. But, after season 3, I started watching the clips on YouTube instead of watching the whole show so I can cut out the oftentimes offensive commentary, Mary’s screeching, and some of the cheesy filler.
@PhDork: I felt the same way you did about the foxes dance. I was like, what don’t you “get” about it?
ppg and bb: Thanks for those links (recommended, all). After I wrote this, I watched clips from old shows for an hour, and they are lovely to revisit. I was so thrilled when Sabra won S3.
ppg, I wonder if there’s a connection between the judges’ disdain for hip-hop, krumping, etc., and the relatively less gendered roles (and often costumes) that come with it. Again, they might just not get a story about classmates, or robots, or whatever.
teacups, MM has toned down her assiness somewhat this season, I think. I do generally like her stuff (that bitches be krayzay! door routine though…) but you’re right, there typically seems to be some weird competitive angle to her comments to the women.
emilyanne, you tempt me with your Brooklyny teevee goodness. Once your new behbeh arrives, though, you mightn’t want the additional stress of company. Unless I promise to bring dinner and change nappies, anyway.
I do so love SYTYCD, in part because it’s not about the backstage drama, or who can act the vilest. Talent, skill, and hard work rule. I fast-forward through the commentary, which I find to be mostly useless (that, and Mary’s eerily expressionless face freaks me out). My 5 year-old and I watch the dances over and over. Same with America’s Best Dance Crew, which unfortunately, since we just got rid of cable, we’re going to be missing (seriously, if you’ve never watched ABDC before, check out the all-female crew that went to the finals last season http://www.watchabdc.com/category/abdc/season-3/beat-freaks/ – the dance starts ~1:30 in). I find these shows (along with DVDs of Project Runway) to be some of the most kid-friendly evening programming on TV. None of these shows are perfect, but heteronormativity and ableism aside (teachable moments!), when we skip the commentary, I like that my son gets a broader view of masculinity (Men sew! Men dance!) that doesn’t involve super heroes, fighting, or cars. Out-and-proud gay men along side gay-panic-free straight men, working or competing as equals with competent women, that is a rare find on TV.
Oops! I forgot to say, if you follow that link (http://www.watchabdc.com/category/abdc/season-3/beat-freaks/), scroll down to Episode 6.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE SYTYCD. This season is starting to irritate me, though. The camera work is horrible, the judges have been less-than-helpful, and I feel like the choreography has just been meh. I wish that shows like this and American Idol would just pre-tape the shows, get rid of the studio audience, and have the judges critique the contestants on their actual body of work (like Top Model, but without Tyra’s self-obsession).
Nigel needs to GFTO, to be honest. His comment about the alien dance last week irked me (something to the tune of, “If you’re trying to impregnate the man, you’re wearing an awful lot of clothing. You look like a dancing condom.”) Like, really? Shut up, creepy old man.
As for heteronormativity… I feel like that territory kind of comes with dance. The stories have to be very simple (see the Bleeding Love dance… really simple story, executed beautifully), so a lot of times the choreographers have to stick with heteronormative stories to avoid confusing the audience (I can see Joe Six Pack scratching his head, wondering why them two girls are dancing so close). That said, I feel like the show WOULD be a great beginning point for mixing up some of the heteronormativity in the dance world. A gay/lesbian love story, perhaps?
Finally, because this comment has dragged on forever, I feel like the overwhelming amount of contemporary dancers this season kind of ties in with the sexist, homophobic, ableist, racist sentiment that PhDork brought up. There’s so much diversity and talent in the dance world, why does the show limit its pool by allowing mediocre contemporary dancers in over amazing non-contemporary dancers (Ryan Kasperczak, anyone? e.g. the man of my dreams?). At the end of the day, they want asses in the seats, and they’ll stick to the status quo to get there.
SYTYCD is the only reality TV show I watch, and I adore it. To add to the sexist language you’ve already mentioned, ever notice how the host/judges refer to the male/female dancers on every single show.
“Guys” and “Girls.”
I cringe every time. Why are the females infantilized but the males are not? If you’re going to use “guys”, why not use “gals”, then? Would you call them “boys”? So why is it okay to call the WOMEN “girls”?
Seriously pisses me off!
Dork: Thanks! I don’t have cable either, so I understand the offensive/more offensive dichotomy (really, only Jeopardy feels safe these days). My TV actually offed itself yesterday and stopped showing the top half, so I suppose I’ll just watch things online for a while. I hate watching blurry dancing though.
HA, I’m watching SYTYCD right now. I’ve watched literally every episode since the first one, mostly live, and I tape the results shows to avoid the (mostly) horrible singers they always seem to feature.
Nigel has ALWAYS been a dirty old man, albeit a dirty old man who seems to know enough about correct technique and dance styles to add intelligent commentary when he’s not being sexist and homophobic.
I’ve actually found the judges to be much more accepting of different body types/disabilities during the audition process. Season 2 featured a couple of plus sized contestants, one of which just couldn’t keep up in Vegas due to his weight. And there have been at least two contestants with physical deformities (and one with a fake leg) who the judges have given very very high praise. Unfortunately they use the “impossible to partner” excuse to keep them off the show. Which is at least 50% true.
I also love how varied the dancers bodies are – the women are often very athletic (compared to the stick-thin celebrities on DWTS) and the guys range all over the place. I feel BETTER about the size of my thighs after watching instead of worse.
Sooooo….I pretty much love love love this show and choose to ignore the bad parts.
Oh man, I just watched that video (no vids at work) and if you guys liked it, you should watch the movie the song came from, Om Shanti Om, (or something more classic like Dilwale Dulhania le Jayenge if you don’t know the genre at all, that one’s sort of in-jokey). Bollywood movies have *great* dancing.
Just cant stop my self to comment on your blog. Thanks for sharing and good dress.
Pinky
Ballroom Dance Teacher
oohhhhh, vegkitty, the camerawork. Don’t get me started. Yes, yes, you’ve got a fancy camera crane, I see that. Could you quit it with the spinny-spinny and cutting the dancers off at the ankle?
And Blondegrlz, I like seeing all those ass-kicking bodies, too. Some are very slim and attenuated, of course, but it’s great to see that “beautiful” and “athletic” isn’t limited to the genetically willowy. (Although Mia’s comment a couple eps ago to Randi about her dancing “heavy” sounded like not-so-secret code to me.)