Seventeen year-old Filipino-American Jasmine Trias bid us all aloha replete with her trademark dazzling smile in this week's results show. The judges had unanimously deemed her the weakest of the three finalists and perhaps, their wishes had not been thwarted this time (although Jazzy's home state of Hawaii was third in the number of votes cast, behind only New York and California). However, to leave at this juncture in the competition does not mean that Jazzy is a sore loser. With her sunny disposition, attractive looks and millions of tween fans, I'm certain a record deal would be in the works pretty soon. And she can hit those notes... though probably not in the way AI's fastidious panel of judges would want her to.
To have come this far in the competition, is I think, quite a mean feat in itself. I am rather envious of jasmine trias... Despite her youth and apparent asian roots, she had overcome all odds to come to a third-placing in a competition where accusations of racism abound. Jasmine had achieved her American Dream, so-to-speak; that seemingly impossible aspiration for fame and fortune. Such dreams nevertheless, are not confined to any one society or class of people but the very nature of them (ie. these aspirations) being based on the material aspects of life make them seem shallow. Yet, isnt that what most people dream of? A life where worldly comforts are easily accessible?
Somehow, despite being in an ethnic monority group, Jasmine's goals are relevant to a majority. Nonetheless, her accomplishments seem rather predictable to me; she is blessed with youth and a more than pleasant countenance. Looking at her, I unconsciously recollect seeing similar youths strutting their stuff at a Miss Teen America pageant. That's what American Idol, sadly, has become; a pageant where one's outer appearance is a determinant of one's results.
Yes, I am lamenting at how superficial our society is. No matter how hard we deny it, people of all backgrounds, even the most liberal, practice discrimination albeit to varying degrees. It is true that jasmine trias wasnt the subject of prejudice in AI, but she should thank her lucky stars that she's attractive and has assimilated American culture to a pat; had she been as rotund as Jennifer Hudson, or as distinctively foreign as Leah Labelle, she wouldnt have even gotten a hair's breadth of the top three position.
PS: I have nothing personal against Jazzy; in fact, i am almost an ardent of hers.. All hail the american dream (to which i am also guilty of aspiring to)!
