Attainable Fame – Game Show Shocker
Most of us have heard about the events that took place on the fake game show created for a French documentary film by Christophe Nick. The game show was designed as a social experiment to prove that people will do almost anything if they are on television. It did a great job.
Essentially, the contestant is told to ask their opponent a question. By the way, the opponent is strapped into a chair that sends a shock of electricity into them when prompted. Nothing odd there. If the opponent answers a question wrong, the contestant is then obligated to pull the lever that sends a shock into said opponent. As the game goes on, the contestant must increase the voltage of the shock. The point was to see if the contestants would actually torture their opponents to the point of losing consciousness.
They did.
Now is a good time to point out that the chair was fake the people being shocked were actors. That being said, the experiment worked. According to a BBC News article, 82% of the contestants agreed to pull the lever and actually thought they were torturing a person to unconsciousness for a prize on a game show.
This experiment is not only an amazing story, but a wake-up call for globe’s television viewing audience. This experiment has shown how our idealistic views of television and our hopes of fame and fortune are turning us blind to the lines we are crossing.
The extravagance with which this experiment was produced is, in itself, indicative of the problem it is trying to isolate. It is trying to show us that humans, now that anyone can find quick fame, will disregard their morals and beliefs when they themselves have a chance to be involved. In reality, someone could have been doing an experiment on Christophe Nick to see if someone would actually create a fake game show just to show if people would torture each other on television. To me, creating this experiment is almost as extreme as pulling the lever to shock your opponent. It seems like people can and will literally do anything to mark their name on life’s guest list.
Television has always been a touchy element of life, at the same time bringing us relaxation and laughter as it causes bad health and mental decay. This shift into reality television, however, seems to be a massive turning point for the worse.
Before the surge of reality television, the shows we watched were light years away from us. Nobody was watching Seinfeld thinking, “I need to get on the next season of this!” People could not watch a television show, become a contestant on it, and suddenly become a movie star, pop singer, and overall American icon. The road to fame was a hidden and protected one.
Today, anybody can try out for American Idol or find their “true love” on The Bachelor.
This is the status of our world today. If a person gets enough publicity, whether it is good or bad, they can use it to their advantage. Stardom has become an accessible goal, especially in the eyes of the people who want it bad enough.
The fact that we now have a more realistic ability to become famous seems to be the driving force behind people acting out of character on television. Probably without realizing it, the urge to be the center of attention pushed these French contestants to do whatever was asked of them in order to win.
If Christophe Nick has shown us anything, it’s that the dark reality depicted in Mike Judge’s satirical film “Idiocracy” will become our own; all clothes will be covered from top to bottom in advertisements, food will shoot out of vending machines, and reality television will consist of death row inmates being executed in creative ways in the middle of a coliseum.
Everyone knows we watch too much television as a whole, but again, I think the issue here is the accessibility of reality television and unrealistic hopes of stardom. In a world where people become famous for nothing, I guess the temptation to make it big is simply more powerful than the urge to not almost kill someone.
What do you think?
Read more about this story here:
BBCNews.com. “French TV Contestants Made to Inflict ‘Torture.’”
I agree that television aims to exploit the millions of people watch it, particularly those who are and more susceptible to persuasion and manipulation.
You pointed out that entertainment extremes need to be exposed for what they are…so do you believe this experimental game show works toward that goal? If you had the opportunity to approve or disapprove the experiment before it took place, what would you have done?
To me, it seems like the experimental game show, in itself, is proof that our soceity has gotten out of control in its desire for drive-thru fame, and even in its desire to expose the problem.
The more television you watch the more you’re apt to become one of the millions of idiots as a whole that TV aims to exploit. The more eccentric, idiotic, and maniacal you are the more you get ahead in the world of reality TV. The idea that people would completely toss out their morals and be willing to torture someone endlessly for a prize and a chance to BE on telivision is disgusting. This world and its entertainment extremes are completely demoralizing and attacking the character of its people and should be exposed and stopped.