Jeopardy! — Civility and Our Cultural Core
After thirteen consecutive victories and $410,000 in earnings on the American gameshow Jeopardy!, a 23-year-old paralegal named Matt Jackson enjoyed a winning streak unlike audiences had seen in some time. Jackson’s run placed him fourth in Jeopardy!’s list of returning champions and fifth in prize money.
But it’s not necessarily Jackson’s ranking in Jeopardy!’s history that most interests me. Rather it is a moment in his final episode, which epitomizes not only sportsmanship, but also civility — one reason the knowledge-based gameshow is still so refreshing to watch.
For those unaware, on Jeopardy! if a contestant mispronounces a word or multiple correct answers are possible, a team of judges is called in to decide veracity. Then, either during play or after a commercial break, the inconsistently mustachioed host, Alex Trebek, announces the judges’ decision, and the contestants’ totals are adjusted if necessary.
Matt Jackson found himself in such a predicament, and in the process, he demonstrated honesty as well as respect for the program and his fellow contestants:
Toward the end of the first round, Jackson buzzed in to respond to a clue about a two-letter French word meaning “with the.” He said “al,” but due to the pronunciation, host Alex Trebek thought he had given the correct response, “au,” so Jackson picked up $800. Then, during the commercial break, Jackson himself told the judges that he had meant to say “al,” knowing that his admission would cost him $1,600. (Mashable)
I love this guy.
Matt Jackson’s success and quirkiness were a delight for regular watchers like me, but they also reminded the general population that, yes, Jeopardy! is still a thing. You see, the gameshow’s viewership rises whenever a champion goes on a streak — even more so when said champion is as meme-able as Matt Jackson.
So yeah, people were talking about Jeopardy!.
Jackson’s appearance also reminds viewers that Jeopardy! is, by all accounts, a clean and simple show that can often represent the best of us. In an era where intelligence is marginalized (or shunned as “elitist”) and douchebag politicians fight with scientists over empirical facts, Jeopardy! remains a bastion of American Intellectualism.
Of course, one can argue the kind of intelligence Jeopardy! rewards is simply trivial recollection, not practical skills or critical thought that would solve real-world problems. And for the most part, that person would be right. Jeopardy! rewards players’ consumption and retention of classic literature, art, geography, music, and popular culture. Those schemas might not be what resolve global warming or national poverty, but they are rooted in the heart of society.
It is our cultural core that Jeopardy! exercises and invigorates.
When watching Jeopardy! I think about paideia, a term from Isocratic thought describing the broad education we should require of every member of society: for example, the learning of philosophy, grammar, arithmetic, and rhetoric — or the basis of what we call a liberal arts education. With these facets of knowledge, one becomes a contributor to society.
The common categories of Jeopardy! echo these focuses. Geography, history, or classical literature may have little do with many of our day-to-day lives, but they are important areas of academic attention, curious consumption, and human-building.
What’s more, Jeopardy! is devoid of the sarcasm and irony that some consider the blight of our age. Again, it’s just a show with smart people, answering questions and winning money. Clean, pure, consistent. No bullshit. Sure, the contestant interviews at the top of the second act can be cringe-inducing, but they’re still formal and polite.
Ultimately, Jeopardy! and Alex Trebek are proprietors of civility and sincerity. There is no yelling. There are no shenanigans. No one is the butt of the joke. And for that, we all win.
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