Linda N. Edelstein, Ph.D.

The Voice vs. Project Runway

by | Jun 10, 2013 | Creativity, Life Ain't For Sissies, Personal Growth, Writing and Editing | 0 comments

I confess to watching 2 reality shows:  Project Runway (I haven’tdreamstimefree_63450
missed a season) and, in the last year or so, The Voice.  I can’t help analyzing
my reactions to the shows – this endless analysis is a professional hazard and may bore you.  I sometimes bore myself.  If so, don’t read further.  However, if you are up for another reality show analysis, read on.

I find that I am getting tired of The Voice already (4 seasons) and didn’t get
tired of Project Runway (10 seasons plus specials) so, of course, I have to try
to understand why.

The similarities of The Voice and Project Runway are:
Both shows have people with REAL talent.
Both have emerging stars in their fields.
Both are connected to the arts.
Both produce pretty good products.
Both have celebrities who mentor/coach contestants.
Both have a component of judging.

I consider all the above similarities to be strengths.

The main difference between the two shows is:

The Voice is giving too much time to celebrity nonsense and hokey gimmicks.  It is fun to ‘get to know’ the coaches on the Voice but, like most seasonings, a little goes a long way.

They are just not that fascinating; they are also quite self-referent, talking in ways that make it clear that the show is really about them; their talents and their fierce competitiveness (maybe their target audience is the pre-teen set).  However, when they are actually coaching and giving pointers to the singers, it’s  great and the audience can learn from observing these super stars.  The actual coaching, thinking, training, song choices, and advice are terrific. When they are just babbling, we only see people who like to hear their own voices (good pun, no?).  Project Runway has better control over the celebrities; although I have no doubt that Heidi could give Adam a run for air time.

Years ago, a friend gave me good advice – if you have a good product, you don’t need to overdo the decorations.  Both shows have great products; they ought to be going easier on personal ‘sharing’ before they begin to look like ‘ The Desperate Super Stars of LA.’

Want to create interesting characters for your next novel?

witers book cover 002

0 Comments

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

 

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.