Maggie Cao, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
But while most critics see this as just another iteration of mindless TV, I see Is It Cake? as deeply tied to a cultural moment in which deception – and learning how to recognise it – has become a part of everyday life.
Even those prone to suspicion could fall victim, because the paintings were exhibited without frames and in atypical settings like pubs, shop windows and hotel lobbies. In these quintessential urban public spaces, the act of being fooled became a collective social experience, much as it is on Is It Cake? Not only are viewers taking pleasure in the failure of the on-screen judges, but the judges themselves must also reach a collective verdict after 20 seconds of debate.
