Smile! You're on Candid Camera!
Such a quaint idea through the lens of time
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“When it’s least expected, you’re elected, you’re the star today. SMILE! You’re on Candid Camera!”
If you’re singing along with this song in your head, you may be a Gen-Xer.
Candid Camera - a television staple for decades starting in the late 1940s and continuing in various iterations until 2014 - was a classic as soon as it launched.
The premise of the show was simple: set up pranks on unsuspecting people and film it for the TV cameras. Reveal the set-up on the exasperated/confused/frightened victim and everyone has a good laugh at said victim’s expense.
It was a recipe for popular television and a cultural touchstone in an age when “entertainment” was a very limited enterprise. In a world devoid of cable TV and a 24/7 plethora of viewing options, to say that Candid Camera was entertaining would be an understatement. The set-ups which now seem quaint, were novel and always good for a laugh.
Candid Camera was a recipe for popular television and a cultural touchstone in an age when “entertainment” was a very limited enterprise.
No one was exempt from the pranks that occurred in the most mundane places. Schools, sidewalks, shopping malls, grocery stores - they were all fair game. When victims people thought that they were out doing their regular daily errands, that’s when Allan Funt et al would start the prank, which would range from the merely humorous to the downright ridiculous.
Examples of some of the memorable (and very tame) pranks aired on the show include:
Being stuck in a never-ending bank line (watch below)
A sweet old lady smacking a pedestrian on the behind with a broom then denying it
Making a car suddenly disappear from a gas station
The list goes on…
Of course reading these examples of pranks that were perpetrated on unsuspecting participants is likely accompanied by questioning the “entertainment” value of what sounds, frankly, boring. Seriously - what was up with the audience of yesteryear who clearly were entertained by the most uninspiring and dull hijinks?
What was up?
Lots.
And also - not much at all.
You see, Candid Camera, at its inception and for the decades that it remained a television favourite, was a reflection of the cultural and societal norms that existed during its run. Life was more simple back then. There were cultural mores that were much more adhered to during that time than they are today. The jokes and pranks that were showcased on the program reflected not only society’s perceptions of what constituted humour, but more broadly, the very clear parameters of what did and did not “cross the line.”
The jokes and pranks that were showcased on the program reflected not only society’s perceptions of what constituted humour, but more broadly, the very clear parameters of what did and did not “cross the line.”
No crossing the line
Not crossing the line and understanding where that line actually was, was understood by all. Some things were just off limits, period.
As well, the censorship and very-tightly regulated television space of the time wouldn’t dream of allowing the range and types of videos and shows that we’ve become accustomed to today.
Remember: this was a time when there were three TV stations and cable television with its plethora of choices that would come decades later, didn’t exist. In many ways, we were a captive audience: watch what’s on or turn the TV off. There was no TikTok, YouTube or Instagram to entertain you for hours.
In many ways, we were a captive audience: watch what’s on or turn the TV off. There was no TikTok, YouTube or Instagram to entertain you for hours.
The choices were slim and the times were simple. Simple enough that what would now be seen to be corny pranks were then enough to keep us entertained and engaged. The parameters within which we had to reside in terms of what was allowed and accepted on television were clear. Crossing the moral line was not to be done - ever.
And so, it is of no great surprise that in this particular era, humour meant something wholly different than what it does now. Back then, we didn’t have the range of content that is readily at our fingertips today. There were no “citizen journalists,” no immediate breaking news via social media, no viral stories shared around the world in milliseconds. We were spoon-fed our content like pablum, which was needed, considering that we were in our technological infancy. No digital, just analogue. No 3D, VR or augmented reality worlds; just two-dimensional television sets that may have had rabbit ears attached - if we were lucky.
That’s why shows like Candid Camera worked.
The show reflected the simplicity that underpinned our daily lives. Pranks weren’t complicated, they shouldn’t be. And on Candid Camera, they weren’t.
Let’s face it: what we watch and how we entertain ourselves is really a reflection of who we are as a society. Television, movies, books…the cultural touchstones that we devour say more about us than anything we could verbally say ourselves.
So what did that say about what we found funny and entertaining back then?
Candid Camera Theme Song - 1970s
The more things change…
Certainly society has changed in many ways, but some things remain a constant.
We are much more confident in who we are and how we present ourselves to the world.
For example: Asking a woman’s age and weight. This prank on the classic TV show would be answered differently by a lot of women who don’t have a problem revealing this information. Of course, many do, but things have shifted somewhat since earlier times.
Some things in society have drastically changed, oftentimes for the better.
Some, however, have not; the more things change, the more they stay the same.
We’re still fascinated in the human psyche, about our fellow citizens and about how they’d react to an unsuspected event (read: prank). Perhaps it’s because these events force us to look inward; to ask ourselves how we’d respond if presented with the same set of circumstances. That secondhand embarrassment? It wouldn’t be a thing if we weren’t putting ourselves in the shoes of the person who is the unsuspecting butt of the joke.
That “cringe factor.”
That relief in knowing that it was "better them than me.”
Perhaps human beings need a longer time along the evolutionary path before they shake off feelings of shame, embarrassment and guilt about being caught unawares.
While Candid Camera and similar shows from yesteryear may seem antiquated today, there are some threads that continue from those earlier times. And although, there are many, there’s one particular constant that still exists today.
The throughline that traverses the decades is simple: our need to laugh at ourselves and each other, in order to find common ground. When we let down our defences, take off our stoic masks and allow ourselves to feel what that hapless stranger is feeling, we realize that we’re not so different after all.
The forerunner of Just for Laughs pranks, but a little edgier now. I remember this show and my parents having a good time watching and even anticipating it. I must have opened the door for the "reality shows".
I Loved this show So Much!
I think we could all see ourselves being fooled by these pranks and were relieved to see other people falling for them 😄
We didn’t have YouTube back then, so we never got to see strangers in hilarious situations unless we were lucky enough to have them happen right in front of us. 😁
My favorite part was when they’d let their victims off the hook by pointing to the camera! Their relief/embarrassment was extremely satisfying! 😄😄😄