Why do we see “Don’t try this at home” on TV all the time (commercials, TV shows, etc) but don’t see it in theaters just before an action movie starts?
Given that some people can be stupid enough to copy something from TV, get hurt, and then sue, why is it assumed that there aren’t people who are stupid enough to copy something from a movie, get hurt, and then sue?
One question would be about the success of lawsuits against TV shows for people stupid enough to try things at home. I was under the impression this type of warning was part of the show, something to increase the entertainment value by pointing out how stupid or dangerous the stunts are. In dramas, the attempt is to encourage suspension of disbelief, so pointing out that the stunts are not reality isn’t conducive to that. I’m not aware that TV shows have such warnings before dramas, just ‘reality’ shows that are highlighting the artificial nature of the acts.
The first occurence of these warnings I can recall started with the Superman TV show in the 50’s. Apparently children were tying towels around their necks and jumping out of windows trying to fly like Superman. Interfering with evolutionary pressure, there was a media movement to warn children not to try such things. I think more to maintain good will for a successful TV show than fear of lawsuits.
The difference might be is that you have to pay to get into a movie. That means you deliberately choose to see it, as opposed to television which sits in your home and you’re a more passive consumer. You may say that most people pay for television today, via cable or satellite, but even there the pay-per-view and premium channels have content that the “free” cable stations normally don’t. Again, the presumption is that you deliberately went there, so you don’t get to complain in the same way.
The second explanation is that “don’t try this at home” is probably legally meaningless, like the “not responsible for damages” signs that we’ve debunked. The vast majority of television doesn’t have this warning either.
Most commercials with the “don’t try this at home” warning purport to be showing something real. For example, some car commercials show the car being driven at high speeds on twisty roads. They do this to demonstrate that the car is fast and handles well. The warning serves two purposes: a hedge against liability if someone buys the product and tries to do the same thing, and a hint to the viewer that the commercial wasn’t faked.
Movies are fiction. Anyone who injured himself trying to duplicate a movie stunt would be laughed out of court if he sued the producer, because the movie doesn’t purport to be showing something real. There is no reasonable expectation that a movie watcher should be able to duplicate a movie stunt.
Not sure what might have come first, but the studio hosts on the Three Stooges shows also spent plenty of time warning the kiddies not to try this at home.
Movies already have a disclaimer like “This is a work of fiction. Any similarity to persons living or dead is merely coincidental.” Perhaps that serves a similar function.