American Idol

I’m a casual watcher/follower of AI probably just because it’s become such a part of the entertainment spectacle over the last decade or so that it’s fairly unavoidable. And sometimes it’s great spectacle, even — there’s something about the whole “dreaming the dream” thing, manufactured as it can be on that show, that’s nearly irresistible. And of course, there’s the inevitable train wreck or five that’s irresistible as well. That said, it’s not at all appointment television for me in any way, and I’ve never picked up the phone to try to vote for anybody.

But, hey, look, one of the contestants this year is putting people with Down syndrome in the spotlight. It doesn’t hurt that she can apparently sing as well, but it’s always such a relief to have any sort of disability in the spotlight on television and not have it mined for some sort of tragedy. Maddy Curtis and her family seem like normal, everyday folks, even though they’ve got four — three adopted — kids with DS in their family. Out of a total of 12 kids altogether! Holy crap, but somebody’s got good health insurance. Maybe they can adopt us…

I kind of love Cowell’s comment about how she’s the only non-annoying 16-year-old they’ve met… I, of course, would ascribe that to her additional perspective on the world from having experience with DS, but I recognize at the same time that that’s pure conjecture on my part. Either way, I guess I’ll be keeping an eye on the Idol this year and might even have somebody to root for as the weeks go on…

Between this and Glee and last year’s So You Think You Can Dance — and maybe even House if you really want to stretch it — FOX for some reason is the go-to place for mainstream media attention on disability in general and Down syndrome specifically.