Written by Carl Peters
Early in the movie “Quiz Show,” the young and brilliant Charles Van Doren (portrayed by Ralph Fiennes) sits enthralled by a television game show.
“Have you ever watched one of these quiz shows, Dad? ‘The $64,000 Question’ or ‘Twenty-One’?” Van Doren asks his father.
“For $64,000,” the old man responds dryly, “I hope they ask you the meaning of life.”
The movie is based on the real life quiz show scandals of the 1950s, which revealed the greed, manipulation and dishonesty behind the scenes of seemingly innocent popular entertainment. Focusing on Van Doren and a few others, it depicts dilemmas and temptations that even well educated and capable individuals never imagined. “The meaning of life,” in that context, is more than just a hackneyed phrase or a cynical quip.
Set in the Eisenhower years, generally characterized as a time of peace and prosperity, the movie nonetheless reveals concerns that are still all too familiar: tension with Russia, the power of big business, the compromises of public officials, the influence of the media, the superficiality of celebrity culture, the corrupting influence of money, and the casual acceptance of anti-Semitism.
Now, more than a half-century later, a pandemic is just another emphatic reminder that life is unpredictable and hardship inevitable. In response to an unyielding worldwide health crisis, medical experts have been urging — even pleading with — the public to be mindful of their actions, to sacrifice, to be patient, to think of the greater good and of others as well as themselves.
In others words, America at large should adopt some of the values taught day in and day out, in good times and bad, in Catholic schools. The traits most needed for the good of the economy and self-preservation in today’s coronavirus-infected society — sacrifice, determination and thoughtfulness — are secular cousins of the Christian virtues of faith, hope and love.
The church teaches that an individual is not simply a highly evolved animal left to search for whatever purpose, enjoyment and love he or she might find before ceasing to exist. Integral to a Catholic school education is the belief that every life is sacred and every person has a soul.
It is a belief that cannot be simply “taught” but must be nurtured in others by those who strive to embody it. It has to be affirmed on a daily basis in countless small ways. These range from prayer, which is a routine reminder of the infinite; to school uniforms, which emphasize equality; to service projects inspired by the acts of mercy. Every class period, regardless of the subject, is an attempt to understand creation and human existence, as well as prepare students to become responsible citizens capable of competing in an ever-changing job market.
Does that mean a Catholic school graduate will always, in every circumstance, make good choices? Probably not. Will students struggle with relationships, important decisions and disappointments? Almost certainly.
No education can provide students with a route to bypass life’s trials, and the recent disruption of normal school life — and its effects on class trips, sports, dances, graduation ceremonies — will not be the only hardship students face during their educational years and beyond.
When one is sitting in a hospital waiting room, or witnessing the latest atrocity on the evening news, or simply feeling despondent, life can seem utterly random, without meaning. But no one ever forgets their childhood. In the background of every new experience are the beliefs, habits and ways of thinking developed in their school years.
In “Quiz Show,” Van Doren’s ethical struggle brings him — in a cinematic touch that rings true — to a classroom.
He goes there to see his father, a university professor who is just finishing a class on Cervantes’ “Don Quixote.” “Behave like a knight,” the professor encourages a departing student.
With the father still at his lectern at the front of the class, Van Doren sits at a student desk and tries to rationalize his complicity in a quiz show scandal. But facing his father — the man who introduced the timeworn phrase “the meaning of life” earlier in the movie — he has to acknowledge the hollowness of his excuses.
Children educated in Catholic schools have the benefit of spending their childhood with adults — teachers, staff and other children’s parents — who care about their intellectual, emotional and spiritual development. They are adults who believe in the importance of a good education, in discipline, in hard work. They believe in the virtues of honesty, compassion, forgiveness, generosity and fairness.
Above all, they believe that life can be hard, but that life has meaning — a meaning that is God-given.
Carl Peters is the managing editor of the Catholic Star Herald.