Those Little Devils
I am in the U.S. for my semi-annual catch-up trip. It's not the weekend yet so I am cooped up in the hotel room ordering room service and working on late proposals, so I take a break to do a 20-minute pilates workout and watch primetime TV.
Nothing says "Welcome back to America" to me more loudly than primetime TV. The birthplace of soap glamoperas, reality TV, Donald Trump's new hairpiece, among other things. I found my attention unwillingly compelled by the following offering - (not new, I know.. )
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, gainfully employed adults who are upstanding citizens of the community are asked to pit their knowledge against a class of 11-year-olds. Each question that is asked is worth an increasing amount of money, that the player bets against his own answer or by "copying from his classmate". If the player bets incorrectly, then he walks away with US$25,000. If he bets correctly and makes his way successfully past all questions, he could win up to US$1mm. If the questions are "too difficult", the player can walk away from the game with what he has won, and say to the camera in front of national TV "I am ____, currently a _{job}_ in {employer}, and I am not smarter than a 5th Grader."
Example of the questions, ranging in difficulty from 1st to 5th grade (i.e. primary 1 to primary 5):
"How Many N's are there in the word ENVIRONMENT?" (correct answer: 3)
> This question was worth US$50,000.
"Which U.S. state is named after an English king?" (correct answer: Georgia)
> the participant here is a high-school teacher and his answer was.. New York. The kid got it right, by the way, and the teacher bet on the kid's answer by "copying", so the boy saved the teacher's butt
"All Birds are Mammals - True or False." (correct answer: False)
> The kid got it right, the participant walked away from the game.
"On What Continent is Mount Kilimanjaro?" (correct answer: Africa)
> Adult answer: (after some hand-wringing deliberation, he "copied" the 5th grader's answer)
'Asia'
> The kid got it wrong.
Granted there are questions in here that are specific to U.S. history..
eg. during what decade did James Marshall discover the first nuggets that sparked the California gold rush? (ans: 1840s)
Also there were specific questions on U.S. Geography...
eg. what was the manmade structure in New York state that connected the Hudson River to the Great Lakes? (ans: Erie Canal)
Does it take a 5th grader's intelligence to decide if you're going to be displayed as an ignoramus on National TV? Or a representative blow to the collective credibility of American teachers? Or to walk away with a boatload of cash knowing that you did it by beating 11-year-olds? How about the mischief-makers who decide to mess you up with a purposefully wrong answer? For that matter, what kind of teacher would voluntarily want to be on this show?
As it turns out, the list of participants that flunked out in the episode I watched include:
1. a high-school teacher (his students were in the audience)
2. a CFO of a technology company
3. a consultant
One reason I've always liked Jeff Foxworthy's comedy is his willingness to make fun of the perceived ignorance of the "deep south" - which, more than anything, is a reflection of his intelligence and perception - because we all know that Southerners are a lot more than rednecks. That said, I can't help noticing his wry slings at the contestants, and their complete unawareness of his veiled (and not-so-veiled) insults.
Ultimate question:
What's a representation of the average American intelligence:
a) the show's creators?
b) Jeff Foxworthy's comedy?
c) the 5th graders?
d) cos it sure as hell ain't the adults.
Nothing says "Welcome back to America" to me more loudly than primetime TV. The birthplace of soap glamoperas, reality TV, Donald Trump's new hairpiece, among other things. I found my attention unwillingly compelled by the following offering - (not new, I know.. )
Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader?
Hosted by Jeff Foxworthy, gainfully employed adults who are upstanding citizens of the community are asked to pit their knowledge against a class of 11-year-olds. Each question that is asked is worth an increasing amount of money, that the player bets against his own answer or by "copying from his classmate". If the player bets incorrectly, then he walks away with US$25,000. If he bets correctly and makes his way successfully past all questions, he could win up to US$1mm. If the questions are "too difficult", the player can walk away from the game with what he has won, and say to the camera in front of national TV "I am ____, currently a _{job}_ in {employer}, and I am not smarter than a 5th Grader."
Example of the questions, ranging in difficulty from 1st to 5th grade (i.e. primary 1 to primary 5):
"How Many N's are there in the word ENVIRONMENT?" (correct answer: 3)
> This question was worth US$50,000.
"Which U.S. state is named after an English king?" (correct answer: Georgia)
> the participant here is a high-school teacher and his answer was.. New York. The kid got it right, by the way, and the teacher bet on the kid's answer by "copying", so the boy saved the teacher's butt
"All Birds are Mammals - True or False." (correct answer: False)
> The kid got it right, the participant walked away from the game.
"On What Continent is Mount Kilimanjaro?" (correct answer: Africa)
> Adult answer: (after some hand-wringing deliberation, he "copied" the 5th grader's answer)
'Asia'
> The kid got it wrong.
Granted there are questions in here that are specific to U.S. history..
eg. during what decade did James Marshall discover the first nuggets that sparked the California gold rush? (ans: 1840s)
Also there were specific questions on U.S. Geography...
eg. what was the manmade structure in New York state that connected the Hudson River to the Great Lakes? (ans: Erie Canal)
Does it take a 5th grader's intelligence to decide if you're going to be displayed as an ignoramus on National TV? Or a representative blow to the collective credibility of American teachers? Or to walk away with a boatload of cash knowing that you did it by beating 11-year-olds? How about the mischief-makers who decide to mess you up with a purposefully wrong answer? For that matter, what kind of teacher would voluntarily want to be on this show?
As it turns out, the list of participants that flunked out in the episode I watched include:
1. a high-school teacher (his students were in the audience)
2. a CFO of a technology company
3. a consultant
One reason I've always liked Jeff Foxworthy's comedy is his willingness to make fun of the perceived ignorance of the "deep south" - which, more than anything, is a reflection of his intelligence and perception - because we all know that Southerners are a lot more than rednecks. That said, I can't help noticing his wry slings at the contestants, and their complete unawareness of his veiled (and not-so-veiled) insults.
Ultimate question:
What's a representation of the average American intelligence:
a) the show's creators?
b) Jeff Foxworthy's comedy?
c) the 5th graders?
d) cos it sure as hell ain't the adults.
posted by tygertyger at 8:27 AM
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