"Shock TV. Shock TV. Shock TV. Shock TV. Shock TV."
People who mouth bullshit media-engineered phrases like this are like Sony's robot dog. The difference being, of course, that the robot dog doesn't have to be walked or cleaned up after. And even if it did, Sony's scientists could probably make its shit smell like roses and taste like Tootsie Rolls if they wanted to.
(I have dogs on my mind this week. I saw the movie Amores Perros on Saturday. Lots of dogfights.)
It's easy to rationalize. It's easy to be "shocked" by what you see and start freaking out like some kind of five-year-old who pees in their pants at the thought of going to the babysitter. I think the first time I caught MTV's Jackass I saw a guy swallow a live goldfish.
If you've never seen Jackass before, then you wouldn't know that swallowing a goldfish would be way too tame for them. No, the guy on Jackass didn't just swallow the goldfish. He puked it up again. It was still alive. Mission successful.
Yeah, yeah, we know:
- Shocking
- Tasteless
- Stupid
- Disgusting
- Pointless
- Gross
- Moronic
- Etc.
- Etc.
- Etc.
Now, how about taking a breath and actually thinking?
So what's the point of the show?
MUST REACT. MUST REACT. MUST REACT. Stupid. Disgusting. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Why are these jackasses doing what they're doing?
MUST REACT. MUST REACT. MUST REACT. Reality TV. Jerry Springer. No shame. No brains. Stupid. Idiotic. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Aaron Kendall, my once and future co-writer of this site, once coined the perfect metaphor for the typical Republican: "a sheep in wolf's clothing". And, although he's not seen Jackass, this metaphor applies to the people who condemn it, along with all the other "reality" shows.
Bark, bark, bark, bark, bark. All bark, and no bite.
