On All The Kid Acts On ‘America’s Got Talent’
Video by Anthony Ying on youtube One thing that becomes abundantly clear when you watch this season of America’s Got Talent is that there are a lot of children under the age of 18. Like, A LOT. Some of them are contenders for the crown like Darci Lynne Farmer and Chase Goehring. But is it OK to have children competing in such a high profile and competitive show against adults?
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One thing that I think about when I watch America’s Got Talent, or any of the other talent competitions, is how it is affecting the kids on the show. There is no denying the talent of Angelica Hale or Celine Tam. They appear to actually want to be there and not like they are being forced to perform by some overzealous parents like a child beauty pageant contestant. But I can’t help but wonder how well the immature mind of 9-year-old can handle the rejection, the pressure, and the crazy Hollywood lifestyle. Let’s remember that as long as these kids are in LA competing on AGT they are not in school.
I’m sure that the parents of the performers on AGT have their children’s best interest at heart. Their kid has an amazing talent and they don’t want to clip their child’s wings and not let them pursue their dreams. Again, the children, (at least on this show), seem to be really into performing. On the other hand, it’s important for kids to be allowed to be kids and not be out performing all the time. Look at all the child actors and musicians that crashed and burned over the years.
One solution that has been suggested is that they create an America’s Got Talent Jr. They would still be under similar pressure but at least they wouldn’t compete against adults that have been working in the business forever. Personally, I don’t think that child performers are necessarily a bad thing. After all, if you are shooting a movie and you need a child character, you hire child actors. It’s not like you can get away with dressing a short person up in OshKosh B’gosh and get away with it. As long as the good folks at AGT keep a close eye on these kids, I guess it’s OK. What do you think?
