Misplaced confidence on the rise...

When children of the future look back upon the last decade or so they will do so with ugly (but futuristic) grimaces and cringes from here to yaya. And it won't be just because the times in which we live are to be defined by the throngs of morons getting excited about the slick features on their cellphones, nor the war in Iraq, nor the fountains of blood from knife attacks flowing down by the garbage in the gutters. No, there is a much filthier and more insidious scourge plaguing our society, something that we all seemingly want a piece of regardless of the consequences: 'talent'.

As if all those crappy TV shows weren't bad enough, the latest group to jump on the talent bandwagon is the government. Announced today, their new £25m "find your talent" programme will encourage young children to 'discover and develop their talents in the cultural sphere'. Certainly sounds wonderful if it works out, but is it really going to help students fine-tune their artistic skills? Or will it simply serve to feed the fire of assholes with dangerous levels of misplaced confidence in their abilities and a hubris that can only lead to alienation and disappointment later on in life?

A simple look at the TV guide will tell you that Britain is starting to go a little over the top with its talent obsession. Most prime time slots on the mainstream channels are reserved for the opportunity to watch a singing postman from Wales or a cat juggler from Milton Keynes strut their stuff. Perhaps some of the appeal comes in watching them fail, but for a lot of people the shows seem to provide the opportunity to walk down similar paths, share their 'talents' with the world, add a little colour to their dull lives, and get the attention that they feel they deserve.

Children's secretary Ed Balls assures us that: "Giving young people the opportunity to take part in cultural activities will not only enrich their lives - but also help them learn."

Of course, there's always the theory that those who do have talent can do something with it if they fine-tune it, and perhaps the programme will serve to teach them how to. If it doesn't though we risk having a future in which we have a thousand dilettantes, tyros and neophytes on every street corner, all screaming out to be recognised, and, more dangerously, killing the chances of those few genuinely talented people in reaching their goals.

We all know how much Gordon Brown love his talent shows, but if we're not careful we'll be remembered as the generation that trivialised talent, turned it into cheap entertainment and killed any chances of cultural progression.

Written by Oli Anderson on 29 May 2008 1:15 PM. There are 1 comments so far. Permalink