Listen to the money talk
So I'm watching "Trading Spouses: Meet Your New Mommy" on Fox (Yes, I admit it) in which families swap mothers for a week, in exchange for $50,000. And it occurs to me, and I realize this is a cliche, that there is no end to what people will do for money, no matter how demeaning. Reality television proves this. And then it occurs to me that a book written in 1959 predicted this--"The Magic Christian" by Terry Southern. It's about a billionaire who offers people money in exchange for performing demeaning acts. And invariably, they say yes. Check it out.
posted by Jonathan Potts at
7:41 PM
3 Comments:
But we will always love him for Dr. Strangelove.
9:02 PM
The "would you rather" game we used to play before they made us go sit next to the teacher is just a variation of a "how much" game I used to play with friends. "For $100,000, would you bang so-and-so on pay-per-view?" etc.
Both games, of course, were replaced by our favorite, "kill, marry, f--k." But the friend I used to play "how much" with has considered pitching it; I'm just surprised no one else has gotten it on the air already.
6:24 AM
In answer to Urban Fox, another network here, ABC, has a version of Wife Swap, in which there is no prize money. That is even more inexplicable. The thing about Trading Spouses that is also bothersome to me is that, with one or two exceptions, most of these families do not appear to need the money, unless they are living far above their means.
10:18 AM
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