For the Love of Money? -- Invitation to Write #45

For Writers:

People apparently will do anything for money. NBC’s Fear Factor seemed to prove that point weekly, as contestants would willing eat Bull penises and hissing cockroaches and maggot milkshakes. Could a chance to win $50,000 really be worth that?

Next, FOX gave us The Moment of Truth. In this “game show,” contests are hooked up to a lie detector to answer thirty of the most intimate questions about their personal lives. Then, before a studio audience, family and friends, and millions of TV viewers, they answer a selection of these same questions again. If their answers correctly match the lie detector results, they have a chance to win up to one million dollars, but this show has proven that as honest as people presumably want to be, they still cannot be completely honest with themselves. No one has won the big prize.

But is money the real motivation for the people that go on these kinds of shows? I don’t think so. These people have something to prove, and while they think winning the money might be nice, there must be something else driving them. In fact, MTV's I Bet You Will asks people to do stupid, crazy, and potentially humiliating things for just a few bucks. Guess what? There are always plenty of willing participants.

What motivates you?

“Deep down even the most hardened criminal is starving for the same thing that motivates the innocent baby: Love and acceptance.” – Lily Fairchilde

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