h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Do you know the TV show The Voice? It's a variation of a Dutch reality singing competition, which was adapted in several countries over the world. Contestants try and convince four "coaches", themselves popular performing artists, to train them (contestants) in their (coaches) group. Talents are selected in blind auditions, where the coaches cannot see, but only hear the singers.

So far so good.

I did notice an intriguing pattern though. In most of the international versions, female coaches are outnumbered by male ones*. And this puzzles me. I mean, it's not like there is any shortage of women pop singers, or is there?

I'm quite aware that we cannot get a representative cross-section of pop singers condensed in just 4 people. Still, isn't it revealing of a general gender bias in the media? (The same sort which is brought to light by the Bechdel test A44922486, which cropped up again recently along with the Academy Awards.)



* Unless I have made a mistake:

1 woman / 3** men: Australia, Flanders, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, UK, Ukraine, US.

2 women / 2 men: Albania, Denmark, Poland, Wallonia.

Thailand and Vietnam are planning to air the show, but haven't announced the cast yet.

** or four, like in Germany where one coach is actually a team of two.

I hate those reality shows. They give so much false hope to so many

I hate these talent shows in particular because now no place with a TV is safe from karaoke.

I didn't know how the percentage was in other countries.

Although I generally dislike this sort of show, I have to say that I quite enjoyed this one. It was refreshingly different from other shows of that ilk in that the coaches were totally nice and encouraging. They always had something positive to say and they thanked the candidates.

Like Bel, I usually dislike this sort of shows, but that one was different.

Whether reality TV gives people false hopes? Hmm.... I'd say contestants do know, or at least should know by now, that competition is fierce and sometimes dirty when they participate.

Actually one different thing with The Voice is that participants were not require to play the Merry Andrew, nor were they treated as entertainment fodder. I rather saw it as a real opportunity to work with famous singers and other similarly talented wannabee musicians.

But in the end, did the show give them false hopes? Hmm.... Not sure I'd say they are false here. Maybe some of those who didn't win in the end will get a small scale career boost out of it?

As for karaoke danger: I hadn't thought of that!