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Growing up I was somewhat of a daredevil - or arguably just a little stupid. Doing less-than-intelligent stunts on everything from skateboards, BMX bikes, go carts, mini bikes and eventually mountain bikes and motorcycles, put me in the hospital more times than I’d like to remember. Oh, and there was a shopping cart incident (don’t ask).
As a result of these misadventures, I broke my arms four times, tore ligaments, suffered two concussions, got stitches more than a dozen times, and broke so many fingers I started setting them myself. At one point fairly early in my childhood daredevil career, the doctors even requested that my mom and dad leave the room and asked me if they were abusive parents.
Given my track record and interest in extreme sports, one might think I could watch MTV’s show “Scarred” without having my stomach turn. However, when I see young kids (oh my god, did I really just say that) maiming themselves doing crazy or downright stupid tricks, I can’t help but wonder if the next generation is even more desensitized to human suffering than anyone feared.
“Scarred” features actual footage of skaters, bikers, snowboarders, rollerbladers and morons at large learning important lessons, like “Wear a helmet, jackass.” The injuries are typically quite serious, blatantly painful and shot on home video, making them all too real. Here’s a synopsis of one episode from MTV.com: “Mitch and some friends were practicing some skateboarding tricks until he wiped out and lost one of his testicles.” Yikes.
“Scarred” is nothing new. Heck, even “America’s Funniest Home Videos” probably showed more people losing testicles than they’d like to admit. Most of us slow down to rubberneck at car wrecks, and sports bloopers often result in terrible suffering. But seeing real-life broken bones and open wounds seems a bit different.
When shows like “Scarred,” torture franchises like “Hostel,” “Saw ,” and “The Devils Rejects,” and video games like “Grand Theft Auto” are the norm, what’s it say about our future leaders? Are these phenomena any different than disastrous sports bloopers, “Faces of Death,” “The Last House on the Left,” and “Texas Chainsaw Massacre,” or am I just too old to understand? Will we eventually see a widespread backlash against extremely graphic entertainment? And, if not, how much worse can it get? Gladiator fights? Rich celebrities hosting dog fights…wait, never mind. Jerk.
For all of you extreme sports kids, keep it up. Take Lance Murdoch’s advice to heart. I just don’t want to see the outcome if things go sour – and it scares me that your peers do.
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