Moment of Truth: why would a contestant lie?
Asked by
jz1220 (
829
)
February 15th, 2008
This is about the FOX show.
It seems like some contestants still choose to lie even though there is absolutely no benefit in doing so, since the lie is eventually exposed. So if they were trying to hide something, they can’t. It’s as bad as telling the truth if it’s something you don’t want to reveal.
The difference is that if they lie, they lose all their money! So why would someone lie? Why not just tell the truth or call game over at a certain point? That way, they get to keep the money.
The only explanation I can think of is that the question enters a gray area, and the contestant truly doesn’t know what the right answer is, but I haven’t seen that happen yet.
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8 Answers
Maybe they think they can beat the lie detector.
I’m not exactly sure what example you are referring to, but I can tell you that 90% of “reality” shows on FOX are completely scripted.
The only one that’s worse is MTV with an even staggeringly higher percentage.
Really? I thought they were airing all these reality shows to get around the writers strike? Who’s writing the scripts for these shows? And why wouldn’t they have them just write sitcoms?
Yeah, I’d debate those shows being scripted isn’t true. @Spargett where do you get your numbers?
The numbers were meant to be taken so literally. Sorry if I wasn’t clear on that. Producers are constantly involved in helping “spice up the plot” if not completely scripted. I’ve done some work with MTV reality show producers/directors (who shall remain nameless) and most of those shows have very heavy scripting and cast coaching.
If not the former, there’s always a special team of editors that work day and night pouring over hundreds of hours of footage trying to find ways to build exciting stories that don’t necessarily exist, or that compliment the producers scripting.
Again, I don’t know the exact scenario jz1220 is referring to so I am speaking generally. Reality TV is usually more improve acting than anything.
Spargett, one contestant who lost all his money was the guy in the second to last episode. If I remember correctly, he lied about not having ever stuffed his underwear. Now, that is a question that the contestant would know the answer to – no gray area. But he still lied, and got caught. So not only does the public end up knowing the truth anyway, he lost all his money.
Maybe they lie to avoid a future question. They are asked the questions before hand so they know whats coming.
They get paid no matter what they say. There is a participant stipend for every person, so it doesn’t matter what they say, they are still guaranteed to get something.
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