A sign of the times

[Jim]

Yes, but my problem isn't with professional wrestling, it's with the people who think that it is real in the sense of actual, spontaneous actions. It is not uncommon to read about someone (most often a teenager) who has gotten hurt or hurt someone attempting to duplicate an action he didn't realize was a stunt.

But, who hasn't attempted to jump their bicycle across a set of ramps in emulation of Mr. Knievel? I don't ever remember donning a cape and attempting to take to the skies like some super hero. At some point, you are right, there is a separation between what is rational, and what is ludicrous. And, it appears with the preponderance of "entertainment" saturating our lives that more and more people have embraced the ludicrous as rational.

For King Jim;
The movie "Backfire" (1995) says "No mimes were injured in the making of this motion picture.

Hi,

I see your Backfire & raise you with Jackass

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackass_(TV...ontroversy
Controversy:
Since the first episode, Jackass frequently featured warnings and disclaimers noting that the stunts performed were dangerous and should not be imitated, and that recordings of any stunts would not be aired on MTV.
Such warnings not only appeared before and after each program and after each commercial break, but also in a "crawl" that ran along the bottom of the screen during some especially risky stunts, as well as showing their 'skull and crutches logo' at the bottom right of the screen to symbolize the stunt performed as risky.

Nevertheless, the program has been blamed for a number of deaths and injuries involving teens and children recreating the stunts.



What happens when pre-pubescent, hormonal and “invincible” young boys watch a show like “Jackass?“ In 2001, a small town in Connecticut found out when 13-year-old Jason Lind and his two friends attempted to recreate a stunt performed by Johnny Knoxville on an episode of “Jackass” just a few nights prior. The stunt as performed by Knoxville involved donning a fire retardant suit with steaks hanging from it and grilling them over a massive barbecue. Lind only took from such a stunt that lighting another person on fire is funny, and thus he and his friends poured gasoline on his feet and legs and lit him on fire. Rushed to the hospital with third degree burns, Lind was placed in the burn unit under critical condition and one of his friends was arrested for reckless endangerment.