The Influence Of Bullying In Pop Culture

Bullying in Pop Culture “Bullying was hideous and relentless, and we turned it round by making us celebrities” (Julian Clary). Simon Cowell on American Idol each week would stare at hopeful singers and without even blinking, he would dash the hope of these young people. He would do this with malice and without remorse, but in his defense says it was done in order to help them, but for many Americans it came off as an example of bullying by a man with power and influence. In recent years America has been on a crusade to stop bullying in all forms, but on television it is acceptable as long as it was profitable and makes good television. Simon was disliked for his actions, but American’s still tuned in to see what he would say. He was hated, and loved at the same time and these were the actions that made this so popular at the time. Americans need to make a choice stand against bullying in all forms or stop the crusade. …show more content…
This is what Simon did, he would berate them, laugh at them, and crush them. His judgment of them could have been done with more empathy, but that would have made for bad television, although we despised the way he acted we still could not wait for him to do this to his helpless victims. What are we saying as Americans if we allow this to be the norm? To stop bullying in one area is to stop it in all areas. According to an article on the Business Insider, bullying affects nearly 1 in 3 American school age children in grades 6 through 10. 83% of girls and 79% of boys’ report experiencing harassment of some kind, and these are the same demographics that attended the American Idol at the time and had to endure the berating that Simon bestowed on these young people all in the name of “Good