Page 80 - PowerE-L05-D

Lesson 20

Candid Camera

Have you been a victim of a candid camera?

Or have you ever seen one on TV? Spoofs are

those hilarious, at times outrageous, shows in-
volving a hidden camera that catches an unsus-

pecting bystander with his “pants down”. Well,
not literally (that would be the perverse version

that the sexually inclined among us love), but
those just made for laughs. A spoof catches us at our most vulnerable, embar-

rassing moments, and beams these to the TV satellites, for all the world to see.

It normally starts with a seductive babe enticing a stranger to participate in a
seemingly innocuous event. The victim is led on to reveal his raw self, all the

while believing that he is alone with this mysterious but exciting stranger, when
in fact there is a hidden camera with zoom lens and hyper sensitive micro-

phones recording the interchange. While the victim stripteases, pours his hear
out, or led to do things he does only when he is either drunk or just crazy, the

watching public, safe and secure in their sanitized dinner tables, laugh uproari-
ously. Then the gag is revealed, the situation, explained apologies are offered.

The victim’s reactions paints a thousand words: his face turns red, or he shrugs
his shoulders stoically, or pretends to be sport about it, or he just runs out of

camera sight. The viewers chuckle, and heave a sigh of relief,” Thank God, that

isn’t me!”

Comprehension
1. How does a prank usually start?
2. What are the usual reactions of the victims of pranks?

Questions

1. Talk about candid camera shows in Korea.
2. Why do you think prank shows are funny?

Vocabulary & Expressions
Spoof: a mocking imitation of someone or something, usually light and goodhumored
Prank: a trick of an amusing, playful, or sometimes malicious nature.
Outrageous: highly unusual or unconventional; extravagant; remarkable
Vulnerable: open to assault; difficult to defend
Innocuous: not harmful or injurious; harmless
Stoically: One who is seemingly indifferent to or unaffected by joy, grief, pleasure, or pain.

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