It appears as though our entertainment level has hit rock bottom.

With the release of “Jackass: The Movie,” it has now become evident that all it takes to entertain us is a few drunk guys sitting around giving each other paper cuts.

Don’t get me wrong. I loved “Jackass: The Movie,” but even fans of both the movie and television show have to admit that it is a sad state of affairs when we pay $8 to see such nonsense.

My favorite part of the movie is where the gang is hanging around a golf course blowing an air horn every time somebody takes a swing. This is something we expect from 7th graders – not grown adults. I suppose we are no better for laughing at it.

My point is that the entertainment industry is changing. One minute they release a movie like “Jackass,” which can’t be any more offensive than it is. The next minute they are delaying “Phone Booth,” a film about a man trapped in a phone booth because the person he’s talking to on the phone is a sniper threatening to shoot him if he hangs up.

At this point in time, some people find a movie about a sniper offensive, yet a movie about men tying fireworks to their genitals somehow is not.

There are people, however, who can’t handle the risky subject matter of today’s films and television shows. Included in this list are children and people who don’t know the difference between fiction and reality.

There is no way children should be allowed to see either of the two movies I’m discussing here. It is up to the parents to do their job and make sure their kids never come in contact with “Jackass: The Movie” until they are well into their teenage years. As for “Phone Booth,” the fact that the sniper was all over the news for about a month, and now a different sniper is being portrayed in a movie, would give children the wrong idea.

This idea applies to all negativity in the media today. Parents are responsible for filtering this negative information from their children. There really isn’t any other solution that is fair to everyone else. The media could start censoring things and not allowing movies like “Jackass” to be made, but that would ruin the fun for all the rest of the people who know what is reality and what isn’t.

As much as we are loving this new, less-restricted entertainment industry, we all have to admit that a major change has taken place during the last five years. Things that were risky in movies five years ago are now normally seen on television.

Personally, I think it’s great. Our needs are changing and society is adapting. I can’t wait to see where we are in another 10 years.