The Deal Or No Deal Australian
Opening in 2003 is a memory of mine. Nine year old me
was upset that our Sunday night family ritual of sitting in front of the
television watching Who Wants To Be A
Millionaire was disrupted by my father’s decision to change the channel to
the Seven Network to try the talked about, Deal
Or No Deal. We were instantly hooked and although today the show has made
many changes I still enjoy watching the program during weekly dinners with my
mother. Many people enjoy the game show, especially older women who come into
my Intencity store to play the Deal
Or No Deal video game.
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Maybe
I hold this particular game show close to my heart as the last time I saw my
late Maltese grandmother, we watched Deal
Or No Deal together. Realising this made me stop and think about the show
and question why so many people from different cultures enjoy it. I came to
realise that it was because winning money is desired by all people in different
countries. Is this a global desire? I think so.
I
then stumbled upon the Italian version of Deal Or No Deal and found my Italian grandparents enjoyed the show
too. With some research I found that 17 other countries had a version of Deal Or No Deal. This means that Deal Or No Deal is a global game show
and makes clear to me that all people in all countries have a desire to win
money. I now view all cultures and the people in those cultures in a similar
way to myself as I know we all have at least something in common- We have the
desire to win money.
In 1995, Malcom Waters defined globalisation as “… a social
process in which the constraints of geography on social and cultural
arrangements recede and in which people become increasingly aware that they are
receding”. I believe this aligns well with the global Deal Or No Deal. With this game show all cultural restrictions are faded
and other thinkers like me are aware that they are receding. This allows people
in different countries to enjoy the show.
Although, like Jan Nederveen Pieterse said in 2004, ‘Globalisation
is uneven’. This is true for Deal Or No
Deal which differs from country to country in many, many ways. Deal Or No Deal is just an example of
this statement showing that many countries develop at different speeds and at
different times making globalisation an uneven ‘playing field’. For example the
Italian version of Deal Or No Deal
use boxes instead of brief cases.
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| (Image: http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/dec/12/time-warner-bid-endemol) |
A simple game show has driven me to see globalisation in a
new way. To become aware of a shared desire and to learn that yes,
globalisation may be uneven but we can all still be connected.
Reference List
Blackwood Company, 2008, ‘Deal Or No Deal Australia Opening’,
online video, accessed 5 August 2013, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWceF0izO2A
Deal Or No Deal, 2011, ‘Worldwide’, 5 August 2013, http://www.dealornodeal.co.uk/show/worldwide/
Intencity, 2013, ‘Home’, 5 August 2013, http://www.intencity.com.au/
National Spelling Bee, 2013, ‘Get to know the competition’, 5 August 2013, http://www.spellingbee.com/
Nederveen Pieterse, J 2004,Globalization:
consensus and controversies, Globalization and culture:
global mélange, Rowan & Littlefield, Lanham, Md.
Rai1, 2013, ‘Affari tuoi’, 5 August 2013, http://www.affarituoi.rai.it/dl/portali/site/articolo/ContentItem-6c509d7d-34b3-443c-ae49-816a5930fa13.html?homepage
Sega Amusements, 2012, ‘Deal Or No Deal Street’, 5 August
2013, http://www.segaarcade.com/dond-street
Sweney, M 2011, ‘Deal or no deal? Time Warner makes €1bn bid for Endemol’, The
Guardian, 13 December, Accessed 5 August 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/dec/12/time-warner-bid-endemol
Tv.com, 2012, ‘The Price is Right’, 5 August 2013, http://www.tv.com/shows/the-price-is-right/
While the game show is far from a new concept I really enjoyed how you made Deal or No Deal relevant to globalisation. Andrew O'Keefe told me that the Australian version of the show is the most popular in the world. I'm not sure how true that is but I can definitely imagine it.
ReplyDeleteI know that the popularity of the Australian version launched the show into other countries. When I was in the studio I learnt the meaning of the show, and I find it funny. The meaning of the game is greed but it is also about sharing. When you are watching Deal or No Deal you want to person with the briefcase to walk away with as little money as possible.
I can't speak for every show but when I was in the audience I was vocally encouraging the person on the podium to lose as much money as I could make him. Over the course of the day I think I was personally responsible for making people lose upwards of $50,000. That was definitely the highlight from my terrible day. I was situated in a good position so that when the player asked the audience they looked directly at me. I don't know why these people think I have their best intentions at heart, I wanted to be that guy, and I wanted to be the one who was going to win $75,000. I digress. It is amazing how people will follow the whims of a crowd and sacrifice months of pay because some people are saying "Just One More".
I have a question for you, when you watch the show do you want people to walk away with more or less money?