There are a lot of television programs on TV today. With hundreds of TV channels, there is a countless amount of TV shows on air. Some TV shows have TV ratings so that parents know if the show their child is viewing is appropriate for them at their age and disclaimers that advise parental supervision. But most parents don't notice when their child is watching the M rated (For Mature audiences only) show Jackass. Jackass and other shows like it can influence viewers to imitate or reenact what they see. With shows like Jackass or Beavis and Butt-Head, risk is high for reenactment. Certain television shows have had a negative effect on viewers who have attempted dangerous feats performed on the show.
In the history of television, there were shows that impacted the world, as we know it, good and bad. Some say the show that impacted today's youth to become more violent and idiotic was the ever-popular MTV show Jackass. Jackass is a television show that was aired on MTV for a few years before complaining parents and lawsuits ended with the cancellation of the show. The show, which is targeted for older teenagers and young adults features Johnny Knoxville and his pals performing dangerous feats and idiotic stunts. Jackass showcases stunts such as shooting each other with stun guns, sitting in well used Port-o-Potties while it is being flipped upside down in mid air, holding hard-boiled-egg eating and barfing contest, giving each other paper-cuts and dousing them in alcohol, walking on tight-ropes over alligators, and breaking into relatives in the .
bathroom and beating them up (Stein 60-61). They also depict moronic stunts such as stapling the word "Jackass" to their buttocks, run around streets in costumes assaulting pedestrians, firing fire-crackers out of their buttocks, and the most controversial stunt, wearing a flame resistant suit, and laying down on a human barbeque. .
Another very influencing show that has raised complaints is Beavis and Butt-Head.