In my country there used to be a show dedicated entirely to risky acts. People would perform stunts like swallowing dangerous objects or playing with fire. A lot of the participants were from circuses or martial art clubs. And a lot of them based their livelihood on those acts – if it wasn’t this show they would perform somewhere else. Most people there were passionate about what they were doing, at least according to the interviews.
Stunts have always been performed on our television. If there is a show that involved talents, you can always expect that kind of things to appear, one way or another. My point is that stunts are acceptable and even respected here, and people who perform them are genuinely looked up to.And most of the time they choose to do it, there is no outside pressure. Sure, there may be some dark hidden stuff I’m not aware of, but that’s the general consensus.
I remember a long time ago when I saw an episode of American’s Got Talent or some other talent show from the West that I don’t remember. There was a group of participants from my country who performed some really extreme acts. Those acts were actually pretty average if you were from my culture, but that seemed to be too much for the judges. The group was promptly rejected by the judges because their acts were “too dangerous”. At that time I was really baffled by the decision. And that was also the first time that I was aware that Western people seem to have a different opinion on risk takers.
My point is that sometimes the risk takers aren’t some desperate people wanting to be famous and rich at all cost, and society eggs them all for their sick pleasure. There may be some cultures that would think otherwise.