Why The Masked Singer is the defining show of the pandemic

SFGate

The Fox reality show "is not emblematic of the pandemic in an artful or poetic way, like how, for example, WandaVision 'tapped into our collective sublimated grief one year into the COVID-19 pandemic' or how Nomadland defined the pandemic and 'helped millions of people understand a dark time,'" says Joshua Bote. "No, The Masked Singer is emblematic of our horrible year in the most literal sense — a reflection of the people who flout social distancing and mask guidelines in an effort to create normalcy, and brush off credible warnings about coronavirus’ spread as 'media fearmongering.' When we’ve endured a year of skewed truths and distorted statistics all in the name of 'business as usual,' even the silly singing show demands a little bit of scrutiny. Unlike nearly every other reality show that released new episodes in the year of our Lord 2020, The Masked Singer inhabits a faux reality in which the coronavirus is nonexistent and the only masks are those worn by the contestants. (There’s an irony in that one far-right pundit claimed in September that The Masked Singer was propaganda for mask-wearing by the 'demonic' media.)"