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.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
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
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
Monday, November 15, 2010
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.
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.
Thursday, November 11, 2010
"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.
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.
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
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.
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.
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