Monday 27 April 2009

Susan Boyle

If you haven't been swept up by this unlikely diva from Brittain's Got Talent 2009 yet, be sure to check her out and be prepared to be blown away.

We've been so conditioned by popular media to think that talent and beauty always goes hand in hand that it is almost impossible for us to conceive of this un-beautiful lady, with her rather course mannerisms, to be the vehicle of such a divine voice. It reminds me of the enigma faced by the students of Socrates: "The well-born young Athenians who gathered around Socrates found it quite paradoxical that their hero was so intelligent, so brave, so honorable, so seductive -- and so ugly", writes Susan Sontag in her great essay on beauty, "A Woman's Beaty: Put-Down or Power Source?"

3 comments:

Einstein's Brain said...

Sanko! That was my idea! My co-worker and I were watching her in the staff room. I was thinking of making a blog post like this one. I do think it's a shame that society has to make such a big deal about looks. Women do take it worse than men do to a degree. I remember when opera singer Deborah Voigt was told she was "too fat" for a certain role". I doubt Pavarotti was ever told that.

I followed the American version last year and I was cheering for this man (who won): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8oR91K7gZ8

Skryfblok said...

Ha! If you snooze you lose ;)

I agree, men do have it easier.

The link of Neal Boyd is pretty impressive. Who won?

Einstein's Brain said...

Neil Boyd won. I was happy for him. I am no fan of Black Sabbath, but this Ozzie Osbourne impersonator cracked me up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrwCjNPNrC0