We watched Antique Road Show last night. There definitely is a right and wrong speech decernable as you watch. There are people dissembling when asked if they have any idea of the value of grandma's table, and those who feign delight when hearing the value but you can see are crushed, their hopes of a vacation in the Bahamas dissolving into thin air. I'd guess one in ten people is genuine in their surprise or delight. The rest have lost the lottery, on camera, no less.
Right speech is admitting you had the clock appraised but didn't believe the shopkeeper, and were still expecting to pull a rabbit out of a hat. Right speech is admitting you hoped for more, though no one ever says such a thing. Right speech is disappointment that you were so nice to Auntie all those years and this is how she repays you!? Kind of like "Little Women" when Aunt March takes Amy instead of Jo to Europe. We all have our expectations.
Maybe "wrong" speech is too strong, but if you can't be honest on camera, just thank the assessor and hold your tears. Though it would be fun if someone got a little bit irate and huffed off. Or admitted, when the value is large, that they are putting it immediately on ebay, instead of insisting it's a family heirloom that has sentimental value and would never be parted with.
It helps to remember this is theater, just as a soap opera or a news program or a documentary. Everyone strutts their stuff upon the stage and then departs, to privately break uncle's worthless pottery or have a pint and drown their sorrows.
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