Wednesday, April 18, 2012

THE H_BG_B__N __ _TT_E M_NDS: According to Salon's Willa Paskin, the following things are wrong with Wheel of Fortune:

* No one explains the rules

* Pat Sajak does not ask people what they will do with the money (although some people volunteer this information)

* There are often both male and female and both black and white contestants (although never more than three of any one kind)

* Grandmothers have been enjoying the show for years

* The puzzles involve well-known and, ultimately, guessable phrases

* People can both win money and lose money very quickly

* It does not provide a sufficient parable for the American viewer to understand the dangers of oversaturation of collateralized-debt obligations or credit default swaps

* When an individual wins a car, they are not made sufficiently aware of the long-term costs associated with ownership

* Americans still watch the show despite the fact that Vanna White has gotten older in the 30 years that she has been on the show

* It is unclear whether one has to specially purchase a diaresis

15 comments:

  1. bill.8:20 PM

    Also describes Willa Paskin's prose: as if created by a person pairing adjectives and nouns found in a dictionary for second graders

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  2. isaac_spaceman9:28 PM

    This is an awesome summary of an article I haven't read.  It doesn't make me want to read the article, but it makes me glad I read the summary.  Win-win!

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  3. The show has gone downhill since they got rid of the prize rooms in which one spent one's winnings -- even though, of course, Sajak never bothered explaining the working conditions of the manufacturers of the goods or the carbon impact of their shipment to the studio.

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  4. Joseph J, Finn9:59 PM

    Can I complain just a bit about their bizzare definition of "thing" as a category?  For instance, "psychic powers" was a thing the other week.  I have to call BS on that one; I think a thing should be a) an object of some kind and b) real.

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  5. Just a general, heartfelt "like."

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  6. Also, TPE, your tagline kind of makes me need to see "Next Stop Wonderland" again.

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  7. The Pathetic Earthling11:24 PM

    I was just showing the Little Earthling a YouTube of a prize room section last night.

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  8. Genevieve1:18 AM

    I loved those prize rooms.  Even when they had to spend the last of their winnings on ceramic dalmations.

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  9. Genevieve1:19 AM

    Just saw it for the first time last month!  Heartily enjoyed.

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  10. Jenn.7:45 AM

    Don't you mean especially when they *had* to spend the last of their winnings on ceramic Dalmatians? I used to cheer for that.

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  11. Fred App8:36 AM

    Alas, this summary was so great that I ignored my instincts and clicked to the link, just to see if the article's cluelessness was being exaggerated. Sadly, it wasn't. "Perverse attitudes about money?" Isn't that a prerequisite for all game shows? Exactly what kind of politically correct lesson about money is being taught by, say, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
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  12. Joseph J, Finn9:02 AM

    If there's more of an epitome of mid-to-late 90's Miramax midlevel indies than that or Brothers McMullen, I'd like to know.

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  13. That movie left me a little bit in love wih Hope Davis and a lot in love with Bossa Nova.

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  14. Marsha10:45 AM

    I honestly just came to the comments section to lament the lack of ceramic dalmations. My sister and I got ENDLESS enjoyment over debating how we would spend our winnings in the prize room.

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  15. One can argue that Millionaire tells us about risk and consequences, because if you lose money, it's because you took a risk, and you can always choose not to take the risk by walking away or to modify the risk downward (through a lifeline).  While you can choose to spin or not to spin on Wheel, it's largely a pure-chance situation as to what you win.

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