On Pretty Much Pop, a philosopher, an actor, and a sci-fi writer (often with entertainment industry guests) talk about media and how we consume it: TV, film, music, novels, games, comics, comedy, theater, podcasts, and more. Most of what (other) people like is pretty weird when you think about it, so thinking about it is what we do.
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Mark is joined by comedian Matty Goldberg; filmmaker/podcaster Rolando Nieves; and comedy juggler Josh Casey to discuss the Jackass franchise that began in 2000 in light of the new (final?) film Jackass Forever. This is perhaps our sole remaining form of popular entertainment that relies on sheer physicality, without the gamesmanship of sports.
What’s the appeal of this divisive extreme stunt/comedy revue? What sort of form of friendship does the show portray? Is it unfortunate that they include the painful failures and vomiting, or does that somehow add integrity? Are the pranks ethical or degrading? Is this the kind of thing best seen uninterrupted in a theater, or has it been superseded by YouTube? We consider all these questions and more in light of the range of clips presented in the TV show and films.
A few relevant articles include:
- “Why The Jackass Franchise Is Still So Popular” by Christopher Campbell
- “The Untold Truth Of Jackass” by Brian Boone
- “How I learned to stop wincing and appreciate Jackass” by Alissa Wilkinson
Mark mentioned the Jackast podcast.
Follow us @mattygoldberg, @joshjcasey, @Rolando_Nieves, and @MarkLinsenmayer.
See Josh host Discover Wisconsin, subscribe to Rolando’s Remakes, Reboots, and Revivals podcast, and buy Matty’s book, Brain Humor.
The supporter version of this episode includes our bonus Aftertalk featuring all of our guests. Get it at patreon.com/prettymuchpop, or now you can sign up directly via Apple Podcasts for a subscription for ad-free and bonus material for three of Mark’s podcasts together on the Mark Lintertainment Podcasts Channel.
This podcast is part of the Partially Examined Life podcast network and is curated by openculture.com.
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