“Jumping the Shark” It’s a Balloon, No, It’s a Hoax
I really enjoy the writings of my good friend, mentor and editor John Gardiner. If there’s been a constant through the years it’s been him and I. My favorite columns that John writes are about how crazy this world is. However I don’t think John has ever written anything as crazy as what we saw last week with the world’s media following a balloon across the Colorado landscape.
I was not part of the charade. In fact if it weren’t for the world’s media I would’ve missed it. And of course if you lived in a time where we didn’t have the “world’s media “it wouldn’t have even been thought of. What I’m talking about is the image of a giant balloon flying over Colorado last week with a boy on board. This is at least what one Colorado family told police. At the end of the day the balloon came down, there was no boy in the balloon and by Sunday Colorado law officials were calling it a hoax and looking to lay charges.
When it comes to the bizarre this world has a whole host of things to choose from. In many ways I think this latest example of trying to get noticed is one for the ages. In our new media world where Facebook and Twitter are out there for the entire world to read and see, it seems some people just can’t get enough. The Colorado family that did this were certainly used to public exposure through their various television experiences. Needless to say, it didn’t seem enough and for whatever reason this scheme was hatched to capture the world’s attention. Just think what it would have been like if there had been an actual boy in the balloon. The story would’ve just got better.
As of this writing there’ve been no charges laid against the Colorado family. Charges are being considered such as conspiracy, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and attempting to influence a public servant. There of course are no grand prizes for the bizarre notion of trying to capture the world’s attention for their own personal gain. In the bizarre world, which makes up reality television in 2009 it seems like almost nothing will stop some people from going over the top.
It is almost like we have “jumped the shark “. If you don’t know what I mean by that think back to the 1950s throwback sitcom “Happy Days”. In one of the later episodes “Fonzie “decides to go water skiing. So while he is waterskiing he decides to ski jump. As he goes up the ski ramp he jumps over a shark, which is swimming in the water. It has been said by media analysts that is when “Happy Days “started its decline in the ratings. Television watchers just could not believe the shark would be swimming underneath “Fonzi “as he ski jumped. Ever since when something is past its prime, it’s said to have “jumped the shark “.
So in our 2009 new media world we have all sorts of ways of airing our personal information. For instance, if you are reading this article you probably are very in tune to web-based media. Some of you probably have your own Facebook page where friends and family can come by and see what you’re doing and see pictures that you want them to see. Some of you might have a Facebook page open to everybody. Others, which include myself, have a Twitter page which informs everybody who wants to know, “what are you doing”? So if you want to get some idea out, there certainly are avenues. My question is now that somebody has launched a balloon, supposedly with their son in it all for the purpose of getting noticed for some possibly new reality TV shows, has society “jumped the shark”?
Or was it just a stunt perpetrated by somebody that momentarily lost their mind. I have often said the world’s media ignores some of the real problems we have in the farther echelons of our world society. For instance there has been about 5 million people killed in the war in the Congo over the last 5 to 6 years. The world’s media ignores that but they pick up a stunt of somebody with a balloon trying to be media cute. It’s about enough to make me throw up.
Of course what you might say is, “what were people thinking”? This may have been an extreme stunt to get noticed but it certainly is a reflection of greater society’s insatiable appetite for the bizarre. However, it seems this time it couldn’t even be orchestrated without a hitch. I say, “we jumped the shark “on this one. I think serious documentaries are going to make a big comeback.