Day 27: Vote For The Worst?

If you haven't heard yet, Vote for the Worst is a movement to sabotage American Idol by mobilizing the internet faithful to vote the worst contestant currently on the show. This week, the contestant is Sanjaya Malakar, the South Asian brother with Paula's hair. The goal of the campaign is to piss of the producers, execs, and fans of the show who actually give a crap.

I endorse this movement for many reasons. First off, it's hilarious. Secondly, it's a good example of the so-called Web 2.0 being used for something other than self importance. And most importantly, it's a great experiment. I've long suspected that America's votes don't matter one bit in deciding who gets kicked off each week. Think about it. Do we ever see the votes being tallied or the margins of victory? Do we even know where our calls are routed to?

Reality shows have a history of being heavily scripted. I'm sure American Idol is no different. Here's what I think actually happens. A group of crusty old execs sit around a table every week and choose who gets kicked off. Then, they hold a fake vote to make viewers feel like they're participating.

Will Sanjaya Malakar get kicked off eventually? Yes. But the execs will probably keep him around for just a little longer for ratings. After all, people who hate American Idol are now watching the show to see what happens to Sanjaya. He's a piper, goading the internet hordes into the sea. Once it looks like ratings have hit the proverbial ceiling, they'll forget about Sanjaya like a farmer forgets an old cow's dry teat.

In any case, the Vote for the Worst movement is awesome because it pisses off the people who care way too much about something so utterly trivial. For example, there's even a heavily ridiculed starvation campaign on MySpace. Some drama queen sits in front of her cam (eclipsing the lights in the room) and tells the internet that she refuses to eat until Sanjaya is kicked off. Judging from the video, going on a diet might not be such a bad idea.

Well, she has sure convinced me. In the interest of keeping her away from transfats, I implore you to continue voting for Sanjaya. Vote early and vote often.