Jersey Shore is a new reality television show on MTV. It involves a group of Italian-American young adults who are spending their summer at the Jersey Shore. The group includes Mike “the situation,” Vinny, Pauly D, J-Woww, Snookie, Sammy, and Ronnie. They are strangers who are living and working together. As viewers we follow them as they work, go out, and interact with each other. There is always a lot of drama among the characters which makes it intriguing to viewers.
There has been a lot of controversy about the shore since it started airing in December 2009. The characters represent a very specific subculture of the Italian-American community. They consider themselves to be “guidos” and “guiddettes.” They pride themselves on being very tan, having big hair, and being very muscular (or as they call it “juiced”). They really are not promoting a very positive image and people have become outraged. Many Italian-Americans have come out publically saying that the show does not fairly represent Italian-Americans. A notable Italian-American who has come out against the show is Alyssa Milano. She stated that the show upset her and she would not continue to watch it. Although there has been so much controversy during the airing of the show, the ratings for the show have been huge. The stars of the show have been getting a lot of attention, both positive and negative.
Personally, I think that this show has become a part of our culture because this subculture of Italian-Americans seems so different to the rest of us. I think that we are intrigued. However, I do not believe that the viewers of the show think that this is a fair representation of the Italian-American community. They understand that this is a specific subculture and that the characters are being shown in a very stereotypical fashion. However, I think as viewers of the show we need to make sure that we see this show solely for entertainment and we do not allow ourselves to view other Italian-Americans based on what we are being shown on Jersey Shore. I think we have a responsibility that if we chose to watch the show that we take it with a grain of salt.
There has been a lot of controversy about the shore since it started airing in December 2009. The characters represent a very specific subculture of the Italian-American community. They consider themselves to be “guidos” and “guiddettes.” They pride themselves on being very tan, having big hair, and being very muscular (or as they call it “juiced”). They really are not promoting a very positive image and people have become outraged. Many Italian-Americans have come out publically saying that the show does not fairly represent Italian-Americans. A notable Italian-American who has come out against the show is Alyssa Milano. She stated that the show upset her and she would not continue to watch it. Although there has been so much controversy during the airing of the show, the ratings for the show have been huge. The stars of the show have been getting a lot of attention, both positive and negative.
Personally, I think that this show has become a part of our culture because this subculture of Italian-Americans seems so different to the rest of us. I think that we are intrigued. However, I do not believe that the viewers of the show think that this is a fair representation of the Italian-American community. They understand that this is a specific subculture and that the characters are being shown in a very stereotypical fashion. However, I think as viewers of the show we need to make sure that we see this show solely for entertainment and we do not allow ourselves to view other Italian-Americans based on what we are being shown on Jersey Shore. I think we have a responsibility that if we chose to watch the show that we take it with a grain of salt.
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