On Oct. 17, 2012, the crew from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” asked people on Hollywood Boulevard who won the First Lady debate between Michelle Obama and Ann Romney. Both sides received support, with one man saying Obama “was more aggressive,” while one woman thought Romney was “a very classy and wonderful lady.” However, there was no First Lady debate. It was a hoax set up by Jimmy Kimmel’s crew for a bit of humor. Although I got a good laugh out of the video, which has over 320,000 views on the “Jimmy Kimmel Live” Youtube page, I wonder why the people in the video lied about something they did not know.
Perhaps the people who were interviewed were afraid to look like they did not know anything. I am assuming the people who were filmed had agreed to be before they were asked any questions. Once they were on camera and they were asked about the debate, a subject of which they had no knowledge, they panicked. They thought that if they said, “I don’t know” or something along those lines, they would look stupid and uninformed. As a result, they lied. However, the people interviewed by Kimmel’s crew still looked dumb, because they pretended to know about something that did not actually happen. They should have been honest and admitted to not knowing about the debate. Even if the debate HAD occurred and they knew nothing about it, a television show would not show someone admitting, “Sorry, I didn’t watch it.” That would be boring. I think what bothers me the most about this is that the people in the video saw telling the truth as a sort of weakness. Being truthful is never a weakness.
Since Election Day is only a few days away, the American people are also under pressure to know something about politics. It is kind of hard not to know something about President Obama or Mitt Romney, especially with ads on TV and online and with news channels discussing the two candidates on a daily basis. Although I encourage everyone to be politically involved, there are definitely people who simply do not care for politics. People should know about the choices their leaders are making, but if you would rather stay away from political talk, that is fine with me. However, the people in the video may have felt as if they had to know something about the debate because the nation has been talking about the election for months now. It is difficult not to know what is going on politically in America with all the commercials and debates on TV. It is another case of people trying to look informed and looking dumb in the process.
The Huffington Post also made a good point by noting the people who hang around Hollywood Boulevard “are genetically predisposed to flock to the chance to be on TV like moths to a flame.” I have no doubt that there are hundreds of thousands of people who would jump at the chance to be on TV, even if it is only for a few seconds. People like to have the opportunity to give their opinion and to show they exist. Even though the people filmed did not see the First Lady debate, it did not stop them from giving their opinion. There have been plenty of people who are willing to make a fool out of themselves for the camera for some exposure, for example: “Jersey Shore,” “Survivor,” “Big Brother,” the numerous “Real Housewives” shows… need I go on? However, most of the people on those shows are not the kind of people we should emulate. It can be entertaining to laugh at someone’s stupidity, but it is not worth your dignity, even if it is only for a few seconds on camera.
Although Kimmel’s prank was funny, it shows that people are scared to look uninformed on TV and are willing to lie without checking the facts in order to appear informed. Honesty is not always easy, but nothing bad would happen by admitting the truth in this situation. If it is because they thought it was their one shot at being on TV, it is still not a good excuse. I would have more respect for someone for being honest and uninformed than being dishonest and uninformed.
Jake Koniszewski can be reached at john.koniszewski@spartans.ut.edu