NO DRAMA = BORING: JERSEY SHORE FINALE

Last night the end to the MTV reality-show phenomenon ‘Jersey Shore’ ended.  It is a show based on selected Italian ‘guidos’ and ‘guidettes’ all living in a house together for the summer in the Jersey Shore.   This show has because a phenomenon because of the great drama it brings to the table.  It reiterates stereotypes of Italians (hense the term guido, guidettes) and it shows acts of violence, or sexual encounters, and people just making general fools of themselves while intoxicated,  in EVERY episode.   With that said, this show brings drama, and I have to say I too can call this a guilty pleasure.

However last night was the season’s finale, and honestly I was left very bored.  There was no fighting, barely cursing, and only one person cried.  I was expecting there to be a huge blowout, or someone do something more outrageous than the week prior.  (Last week’s episode ended with an arrest following a puch in the face that left someone literally asleep) But there was nothing.  Everyone was just happy, and sad to leave each other and leave the summerhouse.  Um, can I get a bang?

Here is a clip of a Jersey Shore fight, take note of the caption:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpiLA_FJslA&feature=fvw

 It is clear that shows like the Jersey Shore are only successful when drama is of abundance, we the audience must see people act in a out-of-the-ordinary way to gain our attention.  And not only does it have to be out of the ordinary, but it has to be DRASTIC.  We thrive on scandal and in Ells Cashmore chapter called “Thriving on Scandal” he says, “ We credit a celebrity with inadvertent ingenuity for becoming involved in a moral indiscretion that manages to outrage and delight in such proportions that it creates rather than destroys careers.” I think this can be said about ‘ordinary’ people as well, and scandal is how they create their own 15 minutes of celebrity.  Snooki, one of the members of the Jersey Shore cast, would not be now paid $10,000 to appear in clubs if she acted the way she did on the finale the entire season.  She is a reality show superstar because of her drunk episodes getting naked in the hot tub, her many fights with men and women, and outrageous remarks about all these events.  People notice when you do something stupid, and they may squint but they don’t look away.  In fact we move in.