Freddie Scott
Assignment 4-1
Professor Price
HUMN431-F1WW
October 24, 2010
Ten years ago, a group of zany men created a cultural phenomenon. The MTV television show Jackass premiered in the year 2000, and with this premier several members of this unknown cast of jokester/daredevils became cultural icons. This ride was short lived, but the Jackass brand was able to produce three major motion pictures including the recently released Jackass 3 and several spinoff shows. The ringleader of this popular show Johnny Knoxville has parlayed this success into an acting career.
The success of Jackass is proof of the validity of reality television. Though this show did not have the typical reality program format, it still fits the criteria of such a show.
This show is very harmful to the morale of gullible children who see the celebrity that was created with a camcorder, practical jokes, and dangerous scenarios that each episode of Jackass presents. Youtube is full of videos that emulate this show in style and function. I am sure that this show has also created a lot of injuries as these rank amateurs attempt to pull off similar pranks.
In the article Keeping It Real (Samuels, 2007) there is a list of reasons why individuals watch reality television and two of those reasons play right into the hands of the makers of Jackass; getting your fifteen minutes of fame and seeing people in uncomfortable situations. These are two huge elements in the Jackass show. This show thrives on the humor associated with embarrassment and the hope to capitalize on the joy that many get in others pain.
Jackass 3 is now in movie theaters and I must admit that I do want to see this film. Why you ask? Well I guess you can say that it is American. I have been lured into the world of slapstick falls, vulgarity, embarrassing moments, and the simplicity found in a good laugh.
References
You made a couple good points in your post that I believe sums up many Americans. We see the harmful moral effects yet the media entices in spite of that to desire to watch what they promote. Good post
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