There’s a post over at NPR’s blog world entitled “Scot MacIntyre and Soft Bigotry” (or maybe its the other way around–I could check again but I don’t want to)–and the gist of this post is that when Mr. MacIntyre was voted off the island known as “American Idol” last evening he was treated to a heapin’ helpin’ of paternalism even as he was being shown the door.
“Heavens to Murgatroid! Exit, stage left you blind guy you!”
Scott MacIntyre is a musician first and foremost. He’s also a scholar. He happens to be blind. A useful analogy is to say that Ernest Hemingway was a writer first and a smart dude and he happened to be 6 feet tall with a nice moustache when he kept it trimmed.
American TV doesn’t know how to handle disability. Accordingly it can’t present real people with disabilities because in North American TV Land disability must always (and here we need to emphasize “always squared” be represented in quaint, saccharine or monstrous Victorian symbolism.
So despite his classical musicianship and his superb scholarship Mr. MacIntyre had to be represented as Tiny Tim–he had to be inspiring and so forth and so on.
People with disabilities struggle with this cultural dynamic every day and I’ll bet that Scott MacIntyre can tell us plenty about the matter.
I kept thinking about Scott during his Idol sojourn in terms of another famous singer and musician. You won’t guess who I’m talking about. Let’s see how long it takes you?
He was part of a rock band that sold more than 400 million records.
He was most likely “legally blind” but he kept the matter hidden.
When his band used to play in dark clubs the others would have to lead him through the tables and clutter.
When he was younger he refused to wear his glasses.
He could scream when he sang but he wasn’t a superb singer by any means.
Are you guessing John Lennon yet?
My point, such as it is, is that John Lennon wouldn’t make it on “American Idol” because they’d be asking him to sing the songs of Tammy Wynette or Marvin Gaye or what have you and his own brand of talent wouldn’t have had a chance.
I think Scott MacIntyre has more raw talent than the Mormon Tabernacle and he’s going places. He will be an artist “first” as Mr.Lennon was an artist first.
The judges and viewers and producers at “American Idol” made a big honking deal out of Scott’s blindness because that’s what TV does–the only narrative for blindness is the “overcoming” narrative and its silly and trivial and tiresome and they do it every single time they get their hands on a real life blind person who manages to do anything outside his or her house.
I wrote a book about it.
Meantime Scott knows how to twist and shout and fans everywhere will rattle their jewelry when he comes to a town near you.
I’d like to hear him sing what he prefers.
Mazel Tov! Mr. MacIntyre.
S.K.
Planet of the Blind 