Oprah's Book Club to feature Snooki's Novel

The title is a joke, what is not a joke is that yes, Snooki will be releasing her first book in 2011. In a Chicago Tribune article Snooki stated that she has read only two books in her whole life, "Twilight" and "Dear John." Why is it that this personae, this constructed character, can publish a book, and people who go to school for writing may never get their works published? 

For those of you who want to get it hot off the presses, it is titled It's a Shore Thing. How Clever.

I apologize for sounding so morbidly downtrodden that this slap in literature's face will actually take place. But it is a sad day.

Here's a link to the Tribune Article:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-09-29/entertainment/chi-books-snooki-polizzi-novel_1_jersey-shore-star-nicole-snooki-polizzi-guidette

Get Your Jersey Shore Nickname

Visit Jersey Shore's page on Facebook to create your very own Jersey Shore character complete with nickname calculator....except the names are randomly generated so don't worry if yours turns out to be "sweet nips" it has nothing to do with you as an individual.

The Characters

The characters are all young men and women in their twenties of Italian descent who reside in New York, Rhode Island, and New Jersey and vacation in Seaside. These characters include: Angelina “Jolie” Pivarnick,  Jenni “JWoww” Farley, Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino, Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, Paul “DJ Pauly D” DelVecchio, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, and Vinny Guadagnin.

Though Vinny and Ronnie maintain their given names, an important aspect of these characters is their nicknames. These nicknames helped develop the personae that the shows audience has embraced. Ronnie and Vinny are stereotypically Italian names, Vinny is portrayed as a sweet lady’s man looking for love and Ronnie is the typical muscle-bound beach meathead. JWoww is known for the breast enhancement she “gave” herself for her 21^st Birthday and the tough girl attitude that gets her into frequent conflicts. “The Situation,” as the name implies, is an arrogant preening womanizer, who is joined in his pursuit of the opposite sex by cohort, DJ Pauly D. Sammi “sweetheart,” is illustrated as one of the nicer females on the show, and is frequently wounded in her love affair with Ronnie. Lastly, Snooki, who has become the iconic Jersey Shore character, interviewed by David Letterman and featured on a recent South Park episode, is a small feisty drama queen who is quite comical in her frequent dim-wittedness.

Which Jersey Shore Character are you?

It's a Jersey Thing

Today "it must be a Jersey thing" was used as an explanation for my ordinary actions for about the fifth time this month. My friends think it's funny because it raises my ire (I am from NJ, but I do not fit the "quido" stereotype portrayed on the show: I.E. I DO NOT fist pump, I DO NOT tan, I DO NOT have an obnoxious accent, and I am not of Italian descent...though I can cook a mean lasagna). But complete strangers also make this reference too, after learning I am from the 'dirty jerz' (note I said learning, because they never guess!).

The South Park episode made this a new chic saying. The Jersey Shore characters, as they are represented on the show, chalk everything up to being "a Jersey Thing."

Despite the exaggerated and embarrassing representations on the show, I will say that I am still proud to be from the Garden State...so it must be a Jersey thing.

Critique of the Set

The setting of Jersey Shore can almost be credited with its creation. In the first season of Jersey Shore, the show takes place in Seaside Heights, N.J. located on the Jersey Shore. It is here that a unique community of young adults spends their summer vacations drinking, tanning, and frolicking in the frothy surf. There are three “sets” used on the show. 

The first focuses on the night life of this community, filming in night clubs and dive bars. The booze flows freely here as partiers get drunk and dance with each other. 

The second set is the cast at work, presently in the second season this is a gelato shop in Miami. (The first season, a tee-shirt shop on the boardwalk at the Jersey Shore).

The third is the MTV monitored house where chosen shore-goers live together. This “fishbowl” set gives viewers a private look into the “daily” lives of the cast. They watch as they do ordinary things like cooking dinner, showering, dressing for a night out, and talking on the phone to friends and family. This is where the setting begins to influence the message, as viewers see the cast doing everyday things that they themselves do

Vacationland

Authentic?

Jersey Shore is based on the community of young adults who vacation at the New Jersey Shore, specifically Seaside Heights, N.J. Emphasis on VACATION. Vacation implies luxurious living, relaxation, a break from reality...interesting that this is deemed a reality tv show. The show focuses on a very specific group of individuals who do not even reside in New Jersey yet it has become so popular that people from New Jersey are pigeon-holed into this group.

"Let's Go Smush, Eh?"

There is a joke I once heard that states Canada is like a loft apartment above a really great party. Now it seems they are joining in the fun.

I once thought Canadians must be smarter than Americans; they are in the dog house far less than the United States as far as global politics are concerned, they have public health insurance, and weed is legal. I was wrong.

Canada now has its own knock-off of Jersey Shore, called Lake Shore based in Toronto. Clips can be viewed on lake-shore.ca....I didn't think it was possible, but this show is way worse than Jersey Shore, way worse.

Check it out for yourself.

Snooki

After a night of carousing with my friends on the streets of Dallas for Halloween I find it necessary to discuss the phenomenon of Jersey Shore's Snooki. Snooki the short, loud-mouthed, pickle loving female who was made famous in the first season for getting decked by a guy in a bar.

I ran in to Snooki on Halloween, numerous times. They weren't always the same Snooki, some were male, some female, but all with the unmistakable bumped hair, tanned skin, dark eyeliner, and tight leopard dress. I suppose it can be considered a triumph that the MTV character transcends not only all forms of media but also gender.

After finally getting to see the entirety of South Park's Jersey Shore episode, Snooki's gender transcendence is even more apparent. On the episode Snooki is illustrated as more of an "it" than a person. It is a vodka drinking monster that resembles a rat with big hair, it cannot speak clearly, only mumbles over and over, "Snooki wants Smush," "Smush" "Smush." For those who are not aficionados of the show, "smush" is another word used for sex.

I wonder how Nicole Polizzi feels about these representations.

South Park Goes South Jersey

Check out South Park's Jersey Shore episode!

Since the birth of Jersey Shore, now in its second season and in… Miami? (a topic for later discussion), whenever people hear I am from N.J. they ask, where is my accent? Do I fist-pump? Do I refer to myself by any cool nickname like Snooki or the Situation?

Though I have a deep abhorrence to the show and the stereotype it lumps me in, I will openly admit that I find it vastly entertaining for the same reasons everyone else does. The show has translated from  TV and the Web to fashion, my 13-year-old brother sports a Jersey Shore inspired tee that says “GTL”  (A clever abbreviation for a to-do list used by the men of the cast. Gym. Tan. Laundry). Also public events, for example, for only $10,000 the Situation will attend any function; so guess who’s coming to Christmas this year!

The Premise

A particular reality TV show really grinds my gears. Jersey Shore, filmed in the style of the reality entrepreneur, the Real World, follows the lives of a unique group of young people. The orange tinged, gym-going, bar hopping, “joysey” talking, self-indulgent crowd that hits the beaches of New Jersey every summer.

First off, let me explain why I am personally both horrified and intrigued by this show. I was born and raised in New Jersey, and lived there until moving to Texas almost two years ago. Everybody who has met me assumes I am a native Texan or an implant from a nearby state, and that is because I do not share any of the characteristics depicted by the characters on this show. Pre-Jersey Shore, New Jersey already had a bit of a negative reputation among the other states.  The show aggravates the spread of this reputation and at the same time popular culture embraces it. Why? Because people like watching the cast of Jersey Shore get drunk and “tawlk shit to each udder.”