Identity

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Iffy concept relies on making snap judgments.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Not yet rated

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that this game show asks contestants (and, by extension, viewers) to make assumptions about people based on their appearance, but the pros and cons of using superficial characteristics like race, age, and body size to categorize someone are never discussed. Some of the people involved in the show wear skimpy, sexy clothing (like a bikini top and sarong), and occasionally a contestant makes a flirtatious comment toward one of them.

  • Forces players to judge others by their appearance -- some are obvious (potentially reinforcing stereotypes), and others aren't. What does this teach us? Standard game show greed.
  • Not applicable.
  • Occasional sexual innuendo, especially related to how someone looks (athletic, etc.). Some skimpy clothes.

What's the story?

Hosted by Penn Jillette (of comedy duo Penn & Teller), game show IDENTITY asks contestants to match 12 strangers with their avocations simply by looking at them. Contestants are provided with a list of professions or characteristics -- such as "painter" or "IRS agent" or "heart transplant recipient" -- with which to connect the 12. As Jillette says, "It's all about snap judgments" -- and with a rotund Asian man on stage wearing nothing but a loincloth, it's not hard to quickly locate the sumo wrestler in the bunch. (Yes, some of the connections are that easy, but it gets harder as the money pot grows closer to the $500,000 grand prize.) Contestants do get three "helps": one missed match, one "tridentity" (in which the group shrinks down to three possible matches), and one chance to consult the experts (an FBI agent, a body language expert, and a psychologist), and mid-game contestants also get some help from friends or relatives on the sidelines.


Is it any good?

 

While the concept of judging people by the way they look seems ripe for discussion (and controversy), Identity does nothing to engage the subject -- showing only that yes, sometimes a person's clothes help you figure out what kind of work they do (duh!) and sometimes your assumptions are wrong (a young woman in a dress might be a termite inspector -- double duh!). Once players take a guess and "seal the identity" by pressing their hand on a futuristic-looking cylinder, an annoyingly long period of time elapses in an attempt to build suspense before the stranger-on-a-pedestal reveals his or her identity with a silly quip (retired English professor? "You passed the test!").

Jillette is a pleasant enough host, and he doesn't have the tinge of creepiness of 1 vs 100's Bob Saget or the self-mocking exaggeration of Show Me the Money's William Shatner. But overall, the show doesn't have much to latch on to -- no clever strategies to employ, no trivia to guess at -- and once the easy choices are eliminated, players would be fools not to take the stack of accumulated cash and go home a little bit richer.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about judging people based on their appearance. What's wrong with making assumptions based on looks? Is it ever helpful to guess who someone is by looking at them? Have you ever been judged on your appearance? Have you ever made a mistake when making an assumption about someone? What messages is this show sending to kids and other viewers?


This review was written by Sierra Filucci
Teen, 18 years old
April 9, 2008
 
I laughed

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Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
 
I love this show! I wish the week long premere never ends!

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Teen, 16 years old
April 9, 2008
 
i lost 6 brain cells watching this
i hate this show its so dumb and stupid i am glad that it got canceled

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This review was written by Sierra Filucci
TV rating:TV-PG
Network:NBC
Cast:Penn Jillette
Genre:Game Shows

This review was written by Sierra Filucci
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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