Mary Beard, possibly the smartest person in Britain, watches "Britain Got Talent", aka, The "We'll Abuse Small Children For Your Amusement & We'll Mix You A Martini With Their Tears" Show, possibly the dumbest TV show in Britain -- and reports back:
I had a pretty clear view of the whole process, Not so very different from the display of 'cripples', 'freaks' or 'exotic foreigners' in nineteenth-century spectacles (or from gladiatorial shows, for that matter), this was another version of mass-market exploitation of the disadvantaged. How could people -- or a parent -- subject a 10 year old child to that?
So it was with the intention of enjoying some righteous indignation that I switched on.
By the end of the show, I decided I would vote.
Still, ταυρομαχία sounds more fun than that -- Opera Chic would have voted for Mithras.