Over the past couple of years, a culture of reality TV satire has emerged (nothing beats "Series 7", for those who are yet to indulge), suggesting that there is a large enough group of people who "get" how it all operates, to market a product to them, whereby they get to laugh at the larger mainstream who clearly do not get it, at all. This is why I always herald the further arrival of such culture to signify wonderful currents of change and awareness in society. If the current wasn't real, and large enough, there would be no corresponding product range. You can't sell to a market who don't exist, and don't exist in large enough numbers to make money off. We must remember that even behind the most alternative, "independent" works (a dubious term, conceptually, as it is), though not to the same extent, there is still a marketing reality that guides production.

 

Therefore, it was with great pleasure that I returned from my local Video Ezy with a copy of American Dreamz, an American satire of the Idol series. On the whole, while I wasn't blown away, I certainly wasn't disappointed.

 

I have long suggested that the lines between politics and mass-consumption media are very blurred, and in fact, one of the motivations for this site came from the idea that behind any dividing lines, there was a governing public dynamic that linked politics to reality TV (propaganda). After all, reality TV is a manifestation of democracy (that supposedly altruistic ideology we conquer other countries in the name of). Quite logically, democracy has limitations for those who would like to be numero uno, and marketing propaganda is the disease of this system, as public "free will" becomes a manipulated component for those who must first win over the masses to triumph in a democratic system. It's all showbusiness, baby - and increasingly, one cultural aspect is (in terms of psychodynamics) impossible to tell apart from the other. We are consumers, and we consume politics no differently to  how we consume everything else in front of the TV screen. One of the most infamous signs of the time came when more people voted for the US Idol finale than they did for the national elections. In the end, Bush won. Karma's a bitch, 'aint it?

The creators of American Dreamz have also observed the connection, and the end result is a commentary on both global politics and consumer mentality that whilst not packing the punch it ultimately could, makes a smart enough hit to warrant your $7. In the throws of the current Australian Idol series, what could be more timely?

The narrative weaves together three governing subplots around the production of the latest series of American Dreamz by bastard media manipulator, Martin Tweed (a piss-take on Simon Cowell played by Hugh Grant, who is perhaps a little cooler than we thought). Firstly, there is Dennis Quaid's ode to George Bush, President Jo - a culturally ignorant, delusionally religious president who finds himself a pawn in the marketing of his presidency by Willem Dafoe's ode to Dick Cheney. Jo is a president who is astounded to learn that he doesn't know quite so much about the world he governs as he thought he did, but is deliberately kept naive, and forced like a puppet to mouth only the words uttered into his ear-piece by the demography-savvy Dafoe, who decides to rebuild the president's falling public popularity by securing him a position as guest judge on the American Dreamz finale. 

No prizes for guessing where the plot is headed for, when we meet Omar, a fan of all-American show tunes, who is sent to the US on a terrorist mission, staying with his blissfully unaware cousins (a wonderfully clever juxtaposition of an Americanised Middle Eastern family, where black and white concepts are complimented by smarter shades of grey) until the details of his suicide mission are relayed to him, and his terrible act is to be carried out. In the middle of this, he accidentally finds himself cast on the show. Gee, I wonder what his terrorist mission will be?

He will take on Sally Kendoo (Mandy Moore), the all-American blonde-haired, sweet-faced bitch, who, with her media-savvy tendency to sacrifice integrity and reality for the manipulation of the masses, is singled out as a star in the making by executive producer, Tweed. The initial fashioning of her image, including the callous casting of an American soldier (fresh from the ongoing Iraq invasion) as her beloved, is both cutting and perhaps closer to the mark than many presume.

Unfortunately, with some of the film, this is a somewhat disturbing irony we see in this kind of satire; it's not just close to the mark - occasionally, it's below it. As I alluded to last night in the latest Idol blog, such media has stooped so low, it's difficult to capture that horror with fiction. So often, the reality of these shows outdoes the satires that attack them. Take, for example, the Today Tonight Wah-Wah scandal. Hold it beside satires like Frontline, and if you were none the wiser, you'd probably presume Today Tonight to be the work of fiction. I don't think Frontline ever had a story as genius and seemingly extreme as the bungled kidnapping (by a rival network) of a young boy about to be eaten for being the anti-Christ. The truth is increasingly stranger than fiction.

If there was someone holding a sign in the audience of American Dreamz that referred to a contestant as "chosen by God... chosen by me", I probably would have credited the hilarious writing team. And yet, we saw this not in a satire, but on the actual show itself (the film features signs that read, "I've been Omarized" - not half as amusing). It doesn't make the need for satire any less pressing, of course. But it does represent a precedent that means any satire has to create something analytical, beyond extreme storylines that so much satire relies on.

I'm not quite sure if American Dreamz manages to pull this off. Ultimately, it's an often condescending joke for the left-oriented to indulge. But it's an adequately funny one, just the same. And while it makes no new point, and no doubt fails to change the minds of the mainstream who may stumble upon this in their local Video Ezy, it's well worth the effort for those who already understand the joke. I can't help but lament that Matt and Trey (creators of South Park and Team America) didn't get their hands on this idea - while it may have given it nothing extra to say, it certainly would have given it both an extremity and oomph that the film occasionally misses, and a political freedom that ultimately restrains the film (in an environment where big studios are forced to tow the line, to some extent). The final image is clear in subtext as an ironic anti-war statement (in fact, the script's use of the Iraqi soldier is by far the strongest element), and the dark twist of the public's manipulated adoration is welcome - but it is lessened by being cushioned in an idealistic ending to the President Jo subplot (counter-acting the force of moments like his admission that the Iraq war is a failure, in order to avoid any lynching in the American market, by casting him as stupid, but somewhat "innocent"), and a far too gushy ribbon around the story of Omar (that lingers dangerously close to an ambiguity that could be easily misread by conservatives and right-wingers). American Dreamz has some problems, but it's easy to be picky. In all fairness, this is a big budget Hollywood film starring Hugh Grant - that it was made at all, says wonderful things. And while it's occasionally hit and miss with the political statement, the cut at the manipulation of reality TV is loud and clear, and extremely well done.

 

For a public so fooled by media and politics, it is a timely film that with any luck, some may find illuminating, or at very least, provocative in conjunction with louder messages of similar sentiment. With such a gap between Monday's elimination and Sunday's extravaganza, it's a worthwhile way for all Idol fans and voyeurs to pass the time.  It gets my vote.