quiz show

Quiz Show (1994) is well worth revisiting if you've ever been hooked on reality television. "Reality" being somewhat of a misnomer because only a simpleton would believe that reality TV isn't directed as much, if not more so, than your standard scripted fare. Thankfully most shows make transparent the unreality at hand - I think "Wifeswap" in particular does a great job of making blatant display of highly manipulative editing. It is subsequently downright hysterical. Shows like ABC's Extreme Home Makeover are actually far more shifty because they play all the emotional stuff straight, pretending that the crew crying on the bus are actually watching a video of a kid dying of cancer at the time.

At the dawn of television the illusion of reality was captivating. Instead of highly constructed films people were finally getting the raw, real deal - or not. The question of ethics in entertainment that Quiz Show raises are mostly valid... but does anyone care? It is only television after all, a fairly base medium. So why is it a big deal? For director Robert Redford it seems to be his love of movies that motivates the message. The idea that television, fraudulent quiz shows in particular, signaled a loss of innocence for American life as well as for the movie industry isn't all wrong, but one wonders if the blame isn't being misplaced. In a scam who is at fault? The scheister or the idiot who believes the scheister? If shit didn't get such high ratings, they would stop making shit. Orson Welles' F for Fake explores this same issue with a highly compelling argument for forgery in entertainment. Where Redford takes the moral high ground, Welles suggests that impish illusion is what gives vitality to entertainment and is ultimately what people really want.

But Redford doesn't just lambaste the producers of television, he also goes after the advertisers, suggesting that without the billions of dollars in advertising pressure that television could remain a far purer medium. The final suggestion that 'television will ruin us all' seems to be less about humanity and more about film making. For this reason Quiz Show remains far more potent than if it were really decrying a universal loss of innocence. Redford's prediction is largely correct as most films have become little more than long, raunchy television shows.

But entertainment ethics aside, Quiz Show is an excellent little drama. It isn't flashy or bloated or preachy. If more films were made with the economy and skill of Quiz Show it is possible that the floundering theatrical film industry might be worth reviving. Heck, just cast John Turturro in every film and I'll show up.