MAJOR goof
-
CrashRiley — 20 years ago(September 18, 2005 04:03 PM)
It would be interesting to see just exactly what Charles Van Doren actually said to the congressional committee (not a "court", if we're going to be picky).
He might actually have said "easy", if he happened to be nervous, or was attempting to be colloquial. -
torreydeluca — 20 years ago(September 19, 2005 05:27 AM)
I know that the speech which Ralph Fiennes makes at the end of the movie pretty much follows what Charles van Doren said word-for-word at his Congressional testimony. I'll have to look it up in a book I have around somewhere and see what Charlie really said; but there's a good chance he did say "easy" and not "easily".
-
cableaddict — 20 years ago(October 30, 2005 11:55 AM)
torreydeluca,
If you have such a resource, please do look it up and let us know. I guess it's a minor point, but I sure would like to know the answer.
-thanks.
BTW: Maybe I should have written, "I SURELY would like to know the answer." That's what happens with this kind of thing, eventually the incorrect grammar starts to sound correct to you. Makes me nuts -
walrus29 — 20 years ago(November 07, 2005 11:47 AM)
Really. Testifying before Congress about an extremely scandalous situation would make any man nervous. (And, if you watch Fiennes's performance, he does appear to be understandably tense.)
I don't see how this is a "MAJOR goof." Many intelligent and educated people frequently use adjectives in place of adverbs while speaking, although they would never dare to do so in writing. And, even in prepared speeches, the most distinguished of all people can slip into a less composed state and speak with errors. Just look at some famous politicians' infamously ridiculous vocalized blunders. -
avenark — 20 years ago(November 20, 2005 12:15 AM)
Maybe it's insane of me to point this out, but the word "easy" can be used as an adjective and as an adverb. So "everything came too easy" is actually totally fine. But this is debatable, since I looked it up in Webster's and Oxford, and Oxford did not have "easy" down as anything more than an adjective, though Webster's did.
-
lizardking1726 — 20 years ago(November 20, 2005 12:24 PM)
guys really now, who really cares, its 2 letters, get over it, and whats wrong with that statement it was really fun. Theres no improper grammar there.An adverb can describe an adjective. Same with it was over very quick. Adverb describes and adjective. it would be like me saying this board is really stupid and pointless or i cant believe i wasted my time posting on this incredibly uptight board.
-
jrtf83 — 20 years ago(January 10, 2006 01:11 AM)
jesus, and they let people like you VOTE?!? haha, j/k. but the problem with the sentence "it was over very quick." is that the proper useage is "it was over very quickly." the issue is not the use of the word very, but with the use of the word quick. I'm not sure what's wrong with saying something is fun though
-
jbartelone — 16 years ago(December 02, 2009 01:23 PM)
Van Doren's speech in the movie is condensed for time. In reality it was about 3-4 pages long. The only quote that was added in by Redford for dramatic effect was the phrase:
"I have flown too high, on borrowed wings." It's a wonderful quote, but is not in the original transcript.
Quiz Show remains one of my favorite movies of all time.
Joe -
pogostiks — 20 years ago(December 31, 2005 03:45 AM)
Hi
I have to admit that I too dislike the lack of adverbial use in American speech.
A typical one that makes me go crazy is "I did real good" instead of "I did really well".
The real problem here, I think, is that if you DO talk correctLY, then people begin to suspect you of not being a "regular guy". In America, sophistication - in dress, taste or language - before you are in your 50's, seem to suggest gayness, and heaven forbid that anyone ever be suspected of THAT!
Remember the Apple advertisement: Think Different!
Do you really think that the ad execs don't know that you should say "think differently?"
But they would never use that in an advertisement, because the average American would think it was snobbish!
Ah, America, always bringing things down (even an Apple ad) to the LOWEST common denominator!
PS: If you also wanna call ME anal retentive, go ahead, but just for your information, my problem tends to be the opposite! -
-
torreydeluca — 20 years ago(February 04, 2006 04:07 PM)
A long time ago I posted in this thread that I'd once read the transcripts of the Congressional Hearing for an undergrad college paper, and I was pretty sure that Ralph's speech at the end of the film is verbatim to the real van Doren's speech.
I recently got around to looking through my papers and books to see if I could confirm the section in question. Yes, it did take me five months and a rainy weekend with nothing to do to finally look through stuff in my room. I guess this really isn't a hot button issue for me.
Anyway, I don't have the appropriate papers in my own possession. From my search I was able to determine that the full transcript of the hearings is available in a book fully entitled:
Investigation of Television Quiz Shows: Hearings Before a Subcomittee of Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives, 86th Congress, 1st session, Washington D.C., U.S. Government Priority Office, 1960
The library at the university I work for doesn't have the book, and neither does my city's public library. If one of you has the time (not to mention the motivation!!!) then he/she can look it up and put this to rest. I know that Harvard University has this book - in case one of us is a Crimson and has current access to their library system.
I can tell you that this transcript is 1156 pages long in most published forms, but I can't tell you what page to look on!! -
momlovesannie1998 — 20 years ago(March 21, 2006 04:31 PM)
Hey, Cable. You should see how they tore me up over on the board featuring the television show, the Medium. I posed the same point; the U.S. does not demand excellence in writing therefore the grammar basically sucks. (I know I need a noun after suckser, how about lemons?) Boy, did I catch hell. I agree with you 100%. Two more:
"Everyone is taking their date to the party."
"I am going to lay down now." -
EJF — 19 years ago(April 26, 2006 02:38 PM)
To get back to the original question that was asked, the complete transcript of Van Doren's testimony including his statement and all the questioning was published in the New York Times on Nov. 3, 1959.
The line "I had all the breaks; everything came too easy" does not appear.