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The most noteworthy thing about Susan Boyle’s stunning ascension into the public conscience may not be the fact that the she could sing so well; it could be that fact that so many assumed she couldn’t.  When Boyle stepped to the stage of Britain’s Got Talent everything from her backwoods vernacular to her age brought giggles from the audience and incredulous head cocking from Simon Cowell and his fellow judges.  Once Susan laid into “I dream the dream” you could hear the paradigm shifting like tectonic plates.  The message isn’t that talent hides in unexpected places, however – Susan Boyle is probably far more typical than you think.  The really amazing thing is how the shockwaves from this event betray a modern mindset far more youth-obsessed and superficial than any generation before it.

The last thing I want to do is take anything away from Susan Boyle.  She has clearly worked hard on her voice and has held onto a dream that many would have let drift downstream in the course of her 47 years.  The tragedy is, those very qualities – qualities that are sorely missing from our society – aren’t what is being highlighted.

When I first saw the video of Boyle’s Britain’s Got Talent audition it was under the impression that if I stuck with the video, something shocking would happen.  A minute in I found myself mildly annoyed by everybody’s dismissive barbs and the overhead shots of various snotty school-girls mouthing “WTF?”, and then Susan sang.  Her voice was, as we all know, remarkable – but still, I wasn’t shocked.  Why should I be?  There are literally thousands of virtuoso musicians toiling away in the fast food kitchens of America alone, and there are stage actors that are plumper, uglier, and even older belting out tunes in low to no pay dinner theatres around the world.  What was the big deal?

Now that I know public opinion says I should have been shocked she could sing at all because of her dress, her apparent backwoods IQ, and her age, the only thing I’m shocked at is how wide-spread that very astonishment seems to be.   In many ways, this is MTV-Generation part two.  During the launch of the music video era there was widespread concern that the body image and lifestyles presented would infect our youths with unrealistic expectations.  We survived with only a few scars, only to be delivered to what can only be a mile-marker indication that the problem is much larger than we expected.

If there is truly a widespread belief that only the beautiful and young can possess talent, imagine what impact that must be having on our children struggling to find themselves in this society?  How many artistic fires are being snuffed before they get a chance to flare their passions for the world stage?  Too many?  Not enough?  I asked Paul Levinson, Professor of Communications and Media studies at Fordham University for his input.  As you might guess, Paul knows a bit about the impact of new media on society, and particularly television - his own blog, Infinite Regress, is required reading for those who like their TV with a little intellect.  According to Paul, there may be hope for us yet.

"The enormous Internet success of Susan Boyle shows two things, seemingly contradictory, but in the end very gratifying about human nature.   People were surprised that someone who looks like Susan Boyle could have such a beautiful voice.  This shows the initial shallowness that just about everyone suffers from in one way or another:  we tend to discount physically unattractive people.   But the speed with which everyone recognized the beautiful talent of Susan Boyle shows that we also have more depth than meets the eye:  we are excited, thrilled, to see that physical beauty is indeed only skin deep, and that you can't judge a book by its cover.  Susan Boyle's success speaks to the deepest and best parts of our human natures."