“Do not try at home.” Despite their casual familiarity, these five simple words took on deeper meaning for a Marysville family, when their sixteen year old daughter, Bobbi MacKinnon was killed, while attempting a stunt seen on the masochistic MTV show, “Jackass”. The program, which features idiotic, crude and dangerous stunts, was made especially popular among teens, with the 2002 premier of “Jackass-the movie”, starring Jonny Knoxville.

According to police, a group of teenagers got together on Saturday, January the 8th, at a park on Greenley Street, and Rideout Way, to act out a trick from the show. The teens tied a tope to the park merry-go-round, and attached the other end to a pickup truck. According to plan, the force from driving the truck forward, would cause the ride to spin extremely fast. Bobbi MacKinnon, one of the riders, was killed when she was thrown from the ride, landing in the street after sailing a distance of 75 feet.

Although producers warn the viewers not to attempt any of the stunts on their own, friends and family of MacKinnon say that simply saying so, won’t deter teenagers. “The audience, it was aimed at, doesn’t pay attention,” says MacKinnon’s grandmother, Pat Fleck. Yet what else can be done to make people understand the message’s seriousness? Whose responsibility is it for viewers to pay attention?

So, is the show to blame? While “Jackass” does give the needed instructions to those watching, it contradicts them in the outcome of its stunts. True, the actors might be professionals, and the performances staged, but to viewers, the tricks they see on the show are as real as anything. Real enough, that they are willing to imitate them, even if it means risking their lives. “I see the little thing on the TV show…‘Don’t try this at home.’ Yeah right…I mean if they can do it, we can do it,” says MacKinnon’s friend Andrew Royster.

If the program showed the more truthful endings of its stunts, perhaps people would think twice before doing it themselves. Yet continuous laughter at the unsafe behavior masks any seriousness found in the warning message. Ultimately, it is up to those choosing to watch the show, to provide themselves with common sense. However, one must wonder if teens are lacking in this area, as over the last few years, several have ended up dead, or in critical condition, trying to perform stunts seen on “Jackass”.