This weekend, around 11 million people sat down to watch Britain's Got Talent as another parade of frankly odd people exhibited themselves on the stage in the hope of convincing the judges they have what it takes to be a star, as if they knew the real meaning of the word.

本周末有一千一百万人观看英国达人的电视选秀赛,因为又有很多雷人的表演者登上舞台,深信自己的表演能给评审留下深刻印象,从而一举成名——他们懂不懂“成名”的意义?

Lest we forget, the motley crew included former porn star fire-eater Tia Brodie, who performed topless while passing naked flames over her body, a guitar-playing dog and a cross-dressing Lady Gaga impersonator.

提醒你们,英国达人的舞台上已经出现了前色情片演员表演吞火绝技,还是裸着的;有一只弹吉他的狗也来了,还有一个男扮女装模仿Lafy Gaga的大哥。

Millions of ordinary people today have caught the fame bug, and not only do they believe their strange and frankly often unpleasant acts are going to catapult them into the public eye, so many of them also think it really is that easy. That five minutes of making a fool of themselves on screen really is going to bring them lasting success.

无数的平凡人着迷于一夜成名的神话,相信只要够搞怪够雷人,就能出名,而不管自己那些表演是不是有够恶心。他们觉得成名就是这样容易,花五分钟时间在电视上糟蹋一下自己,立刻麻雀变凤凰。

But think about it. Even if they do find notoriety on programmes like these, what is it going to get them anyway? How many people can remember who won Pop Idol or Britain's Got Talent three years ago?

想想看,就算这样的炒作能成功,又能得到什么好处?现在有多少人记得三年前选秀比赛的冠军?

And it's easy to see why the networks love these reality shows: they're very cheap to produce and they don't have to use actors! Hurrah - they have to pay actors, don't they?

电视台喜欢做这种真人秀,因为成本不高,不用请演员。请演员可是要花钱的,不是么?


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