*So “Sex” Thinks He Can Dance
May 25, 2007
Last night I watched So You Think You Can Dance and while there were the usual mix of delusional young people who somehow believe they are very good at something they are in fact very bad at, I found the plight of the man who calls himself “Sex” deeply disturbing.
How can it be that he has been encouraged in his delusion by his mother who excuses her behaviour by saying garbage like, “he has a dream and one day he will make it” and ranting at the judges who are, in fact, doing the poor guy a favor in letting him know he will never be a dancer.
I’ve done some time in the performing arts and it is true that if you think you are good you can bluff those who don’t know any better to shell out good money to watch you do what you do and even get a few of them to stand at the end and applaud you. Those who have a more discerning sense of the art stand amazed on the sidelines wondering where those people get the gall to pull it off. But that is just a matter of degree that thankfully only a few are aware of. This guy “Sex” couldn’t entertain at a 6 year old birthday party without incurring harsh judgement.
What I see here is a life wasted on the pursuit of something, that is for him, clearly unattainable. While I am the first to say you are made of “god stuff” and therefore can create anything at all, it is clear to me, after watching “sex” “dance”, that we really need to qualify that fairly rigorously. I thought that was a given – that people naturally follow the dreams they have some innate qualification for. Boy oh boy was I wrong about that!
So maybe the man’s talent lies in showing all the rest of us how misguided we can be without even noticing.
Breathing 
May 28, 2007 at 6:48 pm
Hiya Trish,
I felt so disturbed by this pair when I saw them on the show. Partly, it was what you say about the nature of delusion. And then it really bothered me that they showcased them on the show at all. Clearly, they’re not well, and clearly they made a fool of him on national TV. The 2 of them reminded me of a mother & daughter who lived in my neighborhood in new york. I’d see them together, shopping, walking, drinking coffee at the local cafe, both of them clearly mentally ill in a functional kind of way. Not badly enough they couldn’t live on their own, but compromised enough that you knew they were simply in their own world, in a kind of illusionary world, of confidence and okayness, and always, always together, definitely joined at the hip. I guess they supported each other’s reality in some very basic way.
Can you imagine encouraging your kid to go through this? I can’t! I wonder what *her* talent is.
I do love your point about the limitations of that “you can do whatever you wish” mindset. I think it can cause great difficulty for folks when not understood with a pragmatic perspective and a dose of *reality*.
Oh, and KUDOS on your new ebook! Many blessings on its happy birth.
Pamela
May 28, 2007 at 7:40 pm
Good points. And THANKS for the KUDOS!
May 23, 2008 at 12:01 pm
I think Sex & The Mask Comebacks should be BANNED from So You Think You Can Dance auditions. Not only can they NOT DANCE but they are totally from a different plannet called MIND BENDERS. These 2 boys need psychiatric help. They were both very angry with the rejection. For all our sanity please DO NOT COMEBACK NEXT YEAR!
May 24, 2008 at 12:43 am
I think it is possible that David and his mother both have high functioning autism. Watching him and seeing his hesitation when spoken to and his anger at rejection i see my young 8 year old grandson. David wants to be a dancer. He does not see himself as others do. He sees only his desires not reality. It is apparent that He does have intelligence, it is his social and self awareness that is distorted. i think it is a shame that this show keeps exploiting this man.
May 24, 2008 at 7:31 am
DeDe, you make very good point. I expect you are right about the diagnosis.
maitai, I too hope we don’t have to endure watching others acting out their psychiatric problems this year.
I love these shows where there is so much amazing talent shown that we would miss otherwise – and it’s fun to see the bits that are just so bad they are good. Unfortunately “So You Think You Can Dance” is peppered with a modern day freak show aspect that IS disturbing. I do hope they clean up their act this season.
Thanks to you both for dropping by.