Someone I know from high school works in production on that show “The Dudesons,” which I guess is this super hard-core version of Parkour. But, let’s be honest, I had to ask Stephan what “Parkour” even was, so it’s not like I’m totally hip in the world of “people flinging themselves off of buildings.”
If you’re wondering, here’s Parkour, which I guess is best described as “controlled falling”:
I have the very same reaction to this as I had when I first saw the musical “STOMP,” which was that I’m really glad these people found a place to channel this weird talent, because for their entire lives, their parents were going “STOP DOING THAT! STOP BANGING ON THAT! GET OFF OF THE ROOF! JUST…..STOP IT!”
I’m serious. Can you imagine being the mom of one of those Parkour guys, and having a mini heart attack every single time you see them jump out of a tree?
I know, this is exactly the same as when I have a dream, and I’m doing something like going to the ATM, and my meta-narrative voice says “Um, you could be flying,” but I’m too practical to do that, even in the dream.
So—the Dudesons. Are they Swedish or something? I went looking for this promo (below), and I ended up watching a clip of two guys hitting another guy in the balls with a baseball bat. Yikes! Frankly, this falls into “Jackass” territory for me—a phenomenon that goes in the same place in my mind as “Da Ali G Show” and auditions for reality shows. Still—to each his/ her own. It seems like they are having a pretty good time, although I’m positive that somewhere (maybe in Sweden?), their moms are like “Why would you want to hurt yourself like that? Can’t you find a regular job?”
I will also say, I can't imagine what it's like to work on that show, and I hope my high school friend is alive at the end of the season.