Nick Barnhouse - Blog 3: Reality Television: real or unreal?

I actually haven't watched MTV ever since they decided to no longer show music videos and transitioned into an overly dramatic reality channel. The ones I do remember watching though were Cribs, Pimp My Ride, and my favorite—Jackass! Now that I think about it that was the only reality show that got me to tune in to that channel or that I watched period. Everyone I knew used to watch it for how hilarious it was and it still is too. I remember watching the Jackass 3D movie in theaters when it came out not too long ago and it still made me laugh as hard as it did in the past.

Surprisingly, Jackass is one of the most influential shows that I can think of. Ever since its first episode came out I remember all the kids in my neighborhood wanted to do outrageous pranks and stunts just like Steveo and Johnny Knoxville. Maybe not for all the right reasons, but it did help jump-start people doing crazy and unthinkable things that make for good entertainment. It inspired people to record themselves doing stupid, questionable things and put them on websites like http://www.youtube.com/ and http://www.break.com/ hoping that theirs would go viral for all of us to enjoy. Take a look at these websites now and that’s the majority of what you’ll still find on there, not clips from overly dramatic reality shows.

Although, I will admit that Jackass motivated other people to do some unlawful things which I do not recommend. With it being an American reality show, I would have to say that it does not portray us as a country very well. The show began around the time viral videos started showing up. With that said, the show may have also played into the stereotype of the “American Idiot” during the time period when Jackass first started. Thankfully the series is still going and I would much rather watch it than any of the other reality shows out there.