Johnny Knoxville and his team of comedy daredevils set out to develop the reality TV show Jackass in 2000. Their humorous and often dangerous stunts showed the world that you can appeal to the masses in the world by showing them what it is like to just be yourself. We don’t see much evidence of scripting as Knoxville and his group of lovable pranksters play horrible tricks on unsuspecting passers by. Here is how MTV’s Jackass has helped to shape reality TV as we know it today.
1. A successful experiment in what works and what doesn’t
Reality TV producers started to get the idea from Jackass’ amazing popularity that the American public is really into realism. It set the precedent for showing the success that a television series can have without a script. The more real that the plot of the show is, the better. Reviews of Jackass were both positive and negative, because let’s face it, these guys do some pretty off the wall stuff. We get to see them laugh at others but it isn’t so funny when they land in the emergency room for stitches or other types of medical intervention to repair their physical injuries
2. Everyday people have interesting lives
Jackass showed us that the public loves a good dose of reality involving everyday people. While it’s true that Knoxville has risen to super stardom because of the series, we get to see the reactions that people who are not stars have to his crazy antics. We love to see how his parents react to the often embarrassing pranks that he pulls on them. Sometimes they’re good natured about it and other times they are totally fed up and let him have it.
3. Jackass paved the way for multiple genres of reality television shows
Seeing the success of the Jackass series first hand gave other reality TV hopefuls the realization that if Knoxville could gain fame and stardom from being himself, they probably could do it too. He paved the way for more comedy, drama, special interest and family life series. Reality television is well on its way to dominating the air waves with all kinds of subject matter.
4. Jackass shows us that in real life not everything goes the way that you plan
Some pranks are epic fails on Jackass. This is the harsh reality that makes the show believable and keeps us on the edges of our seats. When you work in an area that is unscripted, some of the most beautiful moments present themselves. Of course, there are times when it goes the other way and in real life, things sometimes don’t go the way that you planned. The element of surprise is what keeps us glued to the tv set and many popular reality shows are gaining recognition from viewers because we want to tune in to find out what is going to happen next.
5. Jackass showed the world that you can get rich off of reality based television
Jackass the series spawned a series of films that broke records at the box office. If you want to become rich and famous, reality tv can give you a great start. It has set a valuable precedent that gave the entertainment industry a whole new direction to take audiences. Jackass in many ways is a groundbreaking series that has proven that people what to see more reality coming at them because people are often funnier and do more interesting things when they are not reading from a script. We have plenty of films available, and while they’re still entertaining, little touches us the way a genuine and heartfelt reaction does.
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