Smile! You're on Candid Camera
The original hidden camera prankster show, Candid Camera came
into people’s homes as a radio program in 1947. The first episode
aired on NBC August 10, 1948. Allen Funt, the creator and host of
the shows, would bring his genius into the homes of people until
May 23, 2004.
The show is so popular that it has been broadcast on every major network and even has several DVDs with the most popular stunts. Peter Funt’s genius came into being after he worked in the army during the 1940s by recording GI’s messages to their families back home. The gag is to catch people in an everyday activity, such a s bowling (which the clip shows) and there’s a catch or something that doesn’t operate correctly, but the public at large isn’t aware of that. After staring in disbelief, Peter or his co-host Dina Eastwood (in costume of course) would tell them to look at the camera and smile because... “You’re on Candid Camera!”
The last episode of Candid Camera aired in 2004, but the LA Times recently reported that the show will make a comeback this summer on TV Land.
IMPRACTICAL JOKERS
Since December 2011 Murr, Sal, Q, and Joe have been gracing the television sets of America with their hilarious antics on the TruTV Network. Friends since their college days, this group of men goes out into public with microphones and earphones and play an epic game of truth or dare.
The catch? Much like Candid Camera, their audience doesn’t have a clue that a joke is being played on them. Most of the time the audience is either completely unresponsive or enjoys playing along.
In this example the guys play the game called “Inappropriate Touching Game” where the guys are on microphones while one of their friends is strolling around the grocery store until they give him a dare..
WHAT WOULD YOU DO?
Hidden camera shows don’t just permeate our society in the form of magic or joking; it’s also a tool used by several different news programs, as well as individuals, to test the morality of society.
In one such experiment, Fox News Insider highlighted an experiment done by Yousef Erakat in which he wanted to show the heroes as well as the inactive participants in his social experiment. He acted as a kidnapper and used a child to act panicky and go up to random individuals to see how they would respond.
Many videos and shows offer the question in various situations addressing morality in society; and they turn the question outwards: what would you do?
As Erakat and many others argue: let’s bring about social change. By doing shows such as this, it brings a greater self-awareness and a greater sense of morality. Candid Camera, Impractical Jokers, and Social Experiments make society aware that there is a larger world and sometimes one that isn’t visible to the eye. By doing experiments such as these, society as a whole can become aware of the influence of themselves and others on each other.
--Hannah Gamble
