'Jackass', Healthy Portrayals of Masculinity and Embracing Brotherhood

Who knew a show about self-inflicted injury could be so wholesome?

On October 1st, 2000, the first episode of ‘Jackass’ premiered on MTV. The network, notably recognised for catapulting the careers of some of the biggest names in mainstream music, was now home to nine men with the shared level of maturity of an infant. The episode opened with Johnny Knoxville launching himself into a net from a circus cannon, which encapsulates the entire premise of the series in a nutshell. None of the members anticipated that a compilation of tomfoolery would have a lasting impact on pop culture - but ‘Jackass’ will always and forever be in its own league.

I remember the first clip I ever saw from ‘Jackass’, and it featured a comically oversized mechanical hand attached to the wall, which would then appear out from the corner and slam each cast member onto the floor. Despite repeating the prank multiple times, it made me laugh even more seeing Bam Margera fall flat on his back and proceed to spill flour and soup all over himself. This clip has circulated over social media relentlessly, which is no surprise given how ridiculous it is. In a time where brain rot has consumed anyone growing up in the digital age, ‘Jackass’ is the long-form media which we will never grow out of. It’s dangerous. It’s silly. But it’s surprisingly endearing.

There’s something so wholesome about nine twenty-something-year-old men consensually injuring each other. The friendships were formed long before the series began and strengthened in front of our eyes. They exploit each other’s trust frequently, encouraging behaviours which are often life-threatening. But their friendships are built from going beyond extremes and doing what they love most. Whilst it’s contradictory that ‘Jackass’ has an underlying emotional element to it, given the fact we see Steve-O’s arsehole god knows how many times, the chemistry is more authentic than anything we see on reality TV. MTV blessed us with gems such as ‘Jersey Shore’ and its UK equivalent, ‘Geordie Shore’, which then resulted in the surplus of reality shows we now know and love, including ‘Love Island’. But ‘Jackass’ sits somewhere in-between the classic American soaps and reality programming. It’s real, and it’s chaotic, without the drama of ‘Teen Mom’ or ‘The OC’.

When someone is humiliated, they’re laughing with each other, not at each other. There’s a level of trust behind the human slingshots and shoving things up the arse which makes for pretty wholesome programming. They all understand what they’ve signed themselves up for, and in moments of fear (which is rare), there’s no backing out. They don’t pressure each other into doing anything they’re uncomfortable with, because there’s no reason to. The lack of boundaries shows how hardcore they’re willing to act for the cameras, and there’s nothing that could possibly encourage any of them to rethink their decisions. They sit there and laugh whilst Johnny exceeds transcendence because there’s no amount of anxiety that could make him question his limits. If anyone does get seriously hurt, there’s no malicious intent behind the laughter. They all care for each other, and laughter is natural following the absurdity of the situation they have found themselves in.

‘Jackass’ has a surprisingly large female fanbase. Whilst the overall appeal of the show centres around gnarly antics which you’d assume would cater to men’s interests, it’s far less aggressive than it first appears. Knoxville and Steve-O are somehow more charming than the majority of male heartthrobs we see on TV. The humour is more universal than you’d think because the show centres around grown men acting like children. They’re not exploiting vulnerable people - they’re simply having fun. We’re so used to seeing male characters breaking hearts on our screens that this now serves as male propaganda. It’s easy to forget that the cast have their own personal issues, hence why it’s a form of escapism for so many people. There’s no politics or drama, just fun.

It’s common in early 2000s media for men to be presented as dominant and hyper-masculine, but ‘Jackass’ isn’t an inherent representation of manliness. There’s no competition between them, and their bond is strong. Popular media from this period, including ‘American Pie’ and ‘The Sopranos’, were aimed at men through the guise of stereotypical masculinity. Role models on screen were often seen cheating on their partners, doing drugs, sleeping with multiple women, and being casually racist or homophobic (usually both).

‘Jackass’ presents men with a positive outlook on male friendships. There’s no embarrassment surrounding physical contact, as the cast openly embrace each other throughout. This is something we rarely saw even a decade later. When ‘Superbad’ was released in 2007, there was still this judgement surrounding men hugging each other and saying ‘I love you’. We only see the two protagonists show affection towards each other during one of the final scenes, and whilst this is a poignant moment in the film, it took almost another decade for on-screen male friendships to normalise the act of giving your friend a hug. ‘Jackass’ never prided itself on promoting healthy displays of masculinity, but it allowed for men to embrace their playfulness and do stupid things which wouldn’t put the people around them at risk.

A show like ‘Jackass’ could never be replicated. We saw a surplus of prank shows following its release, Ashton Kutcher’s ‘Punk’d’ being an obvious mention. None of them amassed a global fanbase or prompted viewers to ‘try this at home’ the way ‘Jackass’ did. It was so much more than just stunts, because nothing builds trust like allowing your friends to puncture a fish hook through your cheek.