Reflection on The Quiz Show and Its Impact on an Individual

After finishing, “Quiz Show” on Netflix, it let me baffled as to not only how easy it was to fake the show was, but also how much of an effect one change in direction had for each individual. I believe the rigging of the game was easily distinguishable as a terribly bad idea and ultimately the shutdown was for the better.

In regards to the game show and my personal viewpoints, I would have never accepted the rigged game. Despite all the fame and glory Charles Van Doren received during his reign, it was ultimately wrong for a multitude of reasons. For one, it presents a bad image to the public and puts me in a position to be someone I am truly not. I am not at all as intelligent as some of the honest individuals on the show, and putting myself in the shoes of someone who claims to have incredible knowledge is deceitful and can impact the lives of those who truly do have such knowledge.

Secondly, lying the general public is never a good idea, especially when over 50 million were watching at a time. The backlash can be truly devastating and can ruin lives for all caught within. It is morally wrong to accept such a villainous position as it can negatively affect all those involved within the show and I could never burden such a fate for those individuals knowing it was my fault.

Moral Permissibility

The understanding of “Twenty-One” was to display to the public multiple figures of incredible knowledge and pitch them one on one in a battle of wits. When a game such as this is rigged in such a fashion that knowledge no longer has no jurisdiction in the show based on the individuals being told to not answer certain questions, it corrupts the mindset of the show and ultimately puts it in a negative light. The moral permissibility displayed to clearly flawed and not permitted as the produces, actors, background writers, etc, etc. were all lying to the general public. If the show was to present these details as the show released, then no individual would find it interesting as it proves that the individual is not at all who they appear to be. As stated earlier, its being put in someone else’s shoes, and that person just so happens to possess an incredible knowledge base that many people only dream to have. In turn, faking this through the use of rigged questions and diving opponents puts the show in a realistic state and draws in ratings as the battle of the brains draws in audiences. A true battle of the brains would have truly incredible people despite their backgrounds and history’s, thus bringing the sense of realism to these shows. The fact that producer Dan Enright decided to debut Charles Van Doren due to his background and not his expertise details this point.

Parallels to Today

Unfortunately, corruption and greed will still find its way not matter the time or place. Such an example would be the show House Hunters on HGTV. The show is based around a couple simply going and shopping for houses based on a budget, necessities, family space, etc. However, back in 2010 it was reported that the show detailed which house the contestants were going to buy before the show even started filming, “They didn’t even “accept” us being a subject for the show until we closed on the house we were buying. ” This is easily an example of this as the producers detailed their housing situation as boring and simplistic and added drama would bolster ratings.

Another example is Storage Wars and how one of the stars filed a lawsuit against the show for its fake ideology. It details a group of individuals who are coined as treasure hunters and search “abandoned” containers in hopes for rare loot. The lawsuit issued to A&E accused them of committing fraud to the public and firing the star when he started asking questions. “He (David Hester) alleges that producers "regularly plant valuable items or memorabilia" in the storage units on the show and have even gone "so far as to stage entire storage units. "