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.”