Poniewozik, J. (4 June, 2007). “The Price is Righteous,” Time Magazine.

 

 

Overview

June 6, 2007 marks the end of an era in television entertainment. This will be the last day in which Bob Barker, host of The Price is Right, will sweep his arm over that skinny silver microphone and announce to a bidding contestant “. . .A NEW CAR!” The last day for spinning that giant vertical wheel, stepping over to the showcase showdown, and reminding viewers to have their pets spade or neutered as the credits roll. After thirty years of euphoric music and exuberant studio audiences, Barker and his Beauties are stepping down from the stage.

 

In this article, Poniewozik asks a question which we today, even in this era of American Idol and Who Wants to Be a Millionare, don’t usually ask of game-shows: What does The Price is Right tell us about ourselves?

 

American audiences have had a thing for game-shows since even the early days of television. The competition, the meritocracy, the big payoffs for occasional combinations of skill and chance. But Price, notes Poniewozik, has long occupied the liked-but-not-respected middle ground of daytime gaming. “Price rewards skills that are dismissed as instinctual, nonacademic—let’s be honest: housewifely.” Even Wheel of Fortune is thought to be a bit more intellectual. And yet, Price and Barker are much-loved.

 

 

Price contestants do indeed require skills – practical, capitalistic skills. Risk-taking, calculation based on prior shopping experience, interaction with a boisterous, pleading studio crowd. What the game really tests, says Poniewozik, is “how to survive in a consumer economy in which life is a constant struggle to defend the contents of your wallet.” All of this is the pragmatic side of American populism. Our economy depends on these skills.

 

In fact, that dramatic welcome – “Come on down!” may as well be an invitation to American life as we know it. Poniewozik says the game has all the elements of life in our culture: it’s random, social, even a bit savage. Barker’s career has brought consumers a chance to make a game out of what is otherwise the often mundane and dispirited side of capitalist life.

 

 

Questions for Reflection and Discussion:

 

1.      Were you a fan of The Price is Right?

 

2.      Do you or teenagers you know regularly watch game shows?

 

3.      What is the appeal of recent game shows such as American Idol and Deal Or No Deal?

 

4.      Is Poniewozik right in his interpretation of the significance of The Price Is Right?

 

 

Implications:

The retirement of Bob Barker does signal a paradigm shift in the entertainment value of television game shows. Today’s primetime shows have upped the drama, entertainment, and production value. But the appeal of everyday folks pitting themselves against big odds for big cash remains the same. Today’s shows even open up the door for contestant mockery as a source of entertainment. But the selling point remains the two-fold American desire for winning and money.

 

Christopher S. Yates cCYS