My family and I are big fan's of the world's largest talent show, America's Got Talent. We have watched the show since it's conception, and have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the hidden talents of Americans across the country. It is amazing to see what people do for fun or as odd jobs, and as an Alaskan, it was a lot of fun to watch the magician from Wasilla, Alaska get as far in the contest as he did last year.
With reality TV shows, as a viewer, you always have to question how real the story the people are telling is. In every show, there are people who have a "sob story", forgive the heartless connotation that this phrase has, but in this particular instance I feel that it is pretty fitting. In many cases, this story is real, and does tug on the audience's heart strings. However, there are exceptions and Monday's America's Got Talent's episode is possibly one such exception.
While accepting auditions in Austin, Texas, Sgt. Timothy Michael Poe performed a beautiful country song that brought tears to the eyes of his fiancee and many others in the audience. The song was not all that he offered on the stage, but also the story of his service in the Minnesota National Guard, his time spent in Afghanistan, and a grenade attack that he survived, but left him with severe physical and mental ailments, one of them being a severe stutter. Since the show aired, the military has released that Sgt. Poe lied about the amount of time that he spent in the military and about the grenade that he fell victim too. His ex-wife has also shared that the stutter that made him so sympathetic is a fake. When questioned about these findings, NBC and all affiliates of America's Got Talent have not answered, some speculating that they are extremely embarrassed for falling for these lies.
Although I am saddened that this man has nationally lied, I am more saddened for the military and its' members who have suffered in combat. What has he done to all of their credibility?! I am a fan of Fox's Master Chef, and in their latest episode, they had a soldier trying out who shared a very sad personal story; and the entire time I was watching him, I couldn't help questioning whether or not it was true. Although TV is rarely ever as "real" as they want you to believe, his story may have been true - but because of the lies told earlier in the week, I had no trust in him. It's so sad! I think that after this heinous event, reality shows like this need to have a better screening process, or at least do a little background check on the people and the stories that they share before airing it nationally, especially considering that the at home audience are the ones who ultimately decide if the contestants win the grand prize at the end. Let's face it - we are not always voting based on the talent that they show on stage, but also because we feel a connection or have sympathy for the contestant. Don't we deserve to know if we are voting for someone who is scamming us?
For more of the facts on this story, please visit :
http://social.entertainment.msn.com/tv/blogs/reality-tv-blogpost.aspx?post=2a561c50-c008-4e44-83e7-b1c6418fcd53
I remember being stunned when I heard that it was all a lie. I know that we should not take everything said on television as honest truth, but most television stations have a reputation to uphold, so a story like this must have been pretty embarassing! The problem with lies like this is like you wrote, when you start to hear a similar story, you start to question how much is truth. I feel very sorry for those men and women who really have served our country that will now be questioned due to this mans lies.
ReplyDeleteSeems everyone is trying to get rich off of something these days, even our own military. We all are aware of what has been going on in our nation for over a decade and undoubtedly have some emotional attachment in some form or another to the circumstance. No one will disagree that it’s wrong to falsely state something like this, in order to gain sympathy. What kind of people are we as parents raising? Apparently ones that find it easier to lie instead of to work at having a talent. It’s so sad, disappointing and to many very enraging. Hopefully he has remorse and apologizes to all involved.
ReplyDeleteI felt bad reading this story; I know most of the time these things about lies occur in movies so seeing it on national TV was a big shock. I would not put all the blame on the one who lied but also the television station and the panel that did the screening. I believe a lot of checks and balances should be put into place so that something like this doesn't happen again, because at the end it discredits other people’s true stories. Stories that would help us show more respect to people in that position, like a soldier leaving his family to fight for his country.
ReplyDeleteFirst thought since this story is new to me was what his response was when confronted on his lies? A very important lesson I learned in Interpersonal Communications last semester is the significance of "perception is reality". Reality shows of any sort should be taken lightly. Everyone has a "sob-story" to tell, true or not. This man either perceived things to be the way he told or believed his lies would help him somehow with his fame. Anything a person says can potentially be lies and it is up to our own selves to decide what to believe. Did anyone think of the hope, faith and light his story gave?
ReplyDeleteThe story of George Washington cutting the cherry tree down holds no truth but is told to teach the importance of honesty. From a made up story children are taught to tell the truth. Perhaps rather than be discouraged and disappointed it could benefit to find some good in it.
Hopefully it does not seem as if I support what this man did, I do not. There is no doubt there are apologies in order. The severity of his crime seems superficial to me though. First of all it is reality television which to me says enough but, the embarrassment and shame he must feel should be punishment enough so everyone can move onto the next surprise on "reality tv".
My family watches “America’s Got Talent” faithfully. I have frequently thought people played on America’s pity because America votes to determine which act deserves a million dollars.
ReplyDeleteLast week, Andrew De Leon took the stage in a reserved and noticeably nervous state. He swept the audience off their feet and seats. I never saw it coming; he could sing opera of all music styles! He also had a story to tell; the story of rejection and stated he never been heard singing ever before, by anyone. Once he left the stage, I immediately had overwhelming feelings that his story could be a stretch, but that is just my opinion.