I am going to preface this by saying that I am not a fan of Jersey Shore. I have not watched a single episode and I never intend to. I think that I have better things to do with my time than watch a reality show. It's where I live. I don't need to watch it on TV, you know?
I was watching the Today Show this morning (I HATE THE TODAY SHOW, BUT IT SOMEHOW ENDS UP ON MY TELEVISION EVERY MORNING) and I happened to catch the big interview with the kids from Jersey Shore. They announced that the show will be back for another season and the cast will be making a boatload of money ($10,000 per episode). Good for them. They juxtaposed this announcement and the typical Today Show shenanigans (Meredith Viera asking about stupid things like why the one guy is called "The Situation" and if Ronnie and Sammi are still an item... blah blah blah) with outraged Italian Americans in the media and a group called UNICO National (an Italian-American service group (Unity, Neighborliness, Integrity, Charity, and Opportunity)) bashing the show for perpetuating stereotypes. More or less, they were saying that the show should not go on.
Here's my problem. I am an average television viewer and media consumer, not of Italian descent (I am of Irish, French, and English descent) and when I see a show like Jersey Shore, I see it for what it really is: mindless escapism. When I think Italian, I don't think tanned, steroid using, hair-gelled people referring to themselves as Guidos and Guidettes. I know some Italian folks and if anything, my stereotypes are (based on the people that I have known in my life): they tend to have dark hair, brown eyes, and slightly darker (olive if you will) skin than we lily white folks. If they are second generation Americans, they probably have some awesome relatives who know how to have a get together... but beyond that, nothing really. Being the average media consumer that I am, I can separate reality from the reality show. Do I believe that the people of the Jersey Shore exist and act the way they do on TV in real life? Sure, but comparing them to my stereotypes, these people are freaks and THAT is the draw. MTV wants anomalies. They want to put a show on with people that claim to represent Italian-Americans and their lifestyle on the Jersey Shore, and make people go "I don't know anyone who acts like this!" The audience is drawn in by the freaks and they keep coming back every week to see what sort of hi jinks they'll get into next. The average consumer (me) is not going to go to work the next day and call one of their Italian colleagues a guido because some dummy on Jersey Shore referred to himself as a guido. Just like I am not going to go up to one of my African American colleagues and ask them how much weed they smoked last night or how many gunfights they've been in because I watched a Lil' Wayne video. It's a little insulting to think that there is a group that believes a show like this will cause Americans to develop broad generalizations about entire cultures based on the exploits of 7 people living in a beach house on the Atlantic Ocean.
The whole perpetuating negative stereotypes argument is kind of a cop out because that has always been one of the specialties of entertainment media. Look at my heritage and how they are portrayed in the entertainment media. Irishmen are all drunks. Englishmen all have bad teeth. Frenchmen are all pointy nosed elitists. Am I any of those things? I barely imbibe (ok, I have a few beers over the course of the week, but honestly I could take it or leave it.), so I am being a poor representation of the Irish stereotype. I have great teeth, aside from the small gap in my top front teeth. Down goes the English stereotype. I don't have enough of an ego to be an elitist, so out the door goes the French stereotype.
So, I say sure UNICO and other Italian-Americans have a right to say "Hey, these people don't represent me." But, let the show go on and realize that a majority of the media consumers out there are going to realize the cast of Jersey Shore doesn't speak for all Italian people. And besides, it's a hit show! It's good for the economy. These kids are getting 10 grand a show? What would you have done in your early 20's with that amount of money? They are going to blow all of that money at all of the mom and pop owned tanning salons, hair salons, car dealerships, and bars in that area and keep some small business owners in business. Considering the state of the economy, this group of kids who are willingly exploiting themselves for money are, in a way, performing a service at the same time.
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