“Forgotten Hollywood”- The First Reality Television Show…
Manny P. here…
“`With apologies to Ripley’s Believe It Or Not, Roller Derby, and Wrestling, the very first successful reality television program was Candid Camera, created by Allen Funt.
“`While employed at an advertising agency, Funt dreamed up gimmicks for radio programs. After his service during World War II, he created Candid Microphone, which had its premiere on the ABC radio network in 1947, using hidden microphones to snare everyday people. The format, though embarrassing to many of his prey, proved highly popular.
“`The man with the funny name became a reality television pioneer. Candid Camera ran from the 1940s to the 1980s. Based on familiar man-on the-streets interviews, Funt placed folks in silly situations, just for their reactions. Audiences loved the concept.
“`Using a hidden camera, his televised practical jokes were essentially harmless. Once he got the desired surprised response, his announcer would proclaim:
“`After it went off the air, his son Peter Funt hosted several updated Candid Camera specials. Audiences responded accordingly, since they love to be in on the joke.
“`In 1964, Cornell University’s Department of Psychology was given permission to maintain an archive of all Candid Camera episodes for educational research. They eventually surmised that a psychological reaction of spontaneous behavior put in embarrassing situations is similar to reactive principals of folks who today use Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, among others.
“`As I said… Audiences respond accordingly, since they love to be in on the joke. Keep that in mind as you react to a post.
Smile! You’re on Social Media!
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Monday, July 26th, 2021 at 11:09 pm and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
