Battleship Curves and American Idol

Have a look at the picture above. It shows New England grave stone styles across a period running from 1720-1829. The horizontal bars indicate the numbers of tombstones found for any one period, and one can see that they form the shape of a battleship as they gain in popularity and then wane. If one were to find one of these tombstones, perhaps with the dates of the deceased unreadable, one would surmise that it probably belongs to the period when that particular style was the most popular. These curves, then, are used as dating systems, and they represent relative popularity of artifacts.

In the movie The Devil Wears Prada, Meryl Streep's character berates the sweater her minion (Anne Hathaway's character) is wearing. Streep's character explains that a chic designer had introduced the colour a few years ago at a big exposition, it had caught on, mainstream culture had embraced it, it had gone out of fashion, at which point Hathaway's character had probably found it in the bargain bin at a large department store. The message was clear. Streep's character is scolding her underling for being a 'late adopter', rather than an early adopter or even originator. Wearing a sweater of such a passe colour was a slap in the face to the whole industry of haute couture which prides itself on being at the cutting edge.

This concept intrigues me. Where are we all on the battleship curve? If American Idol is a reliable indicator, then I am a really late adopter. This year, the show's ninth season, marks the first time that I have understood what everyone has found so compelling about it. I appreciate the extremely high production values of the show, judging, music, and raw talent of the performers. I like Crystal's outrageous musical talent, Siobhan's quirkiness, Michael's sincerity, and Casey's blues.

Most likely all of the early adopters of American Idol have long since jumped ship and found something else more compelling. However, here I am, embracing American Idol probabaly just as it has begun to wane. However, I can always look forward to enjoying the next craze just as the early adopters are abandoning it. Maybe in a few years I will even buy a Mac. Sigh.