Rosalind Wiseman

Admittedly, I have a history of being overly analytical of media — particularly anything that features alcohol, grinding, mascara-streaked cheeks, and copious amounts of eyeliner. And, in light of my tendency towards criticism, my hour-long adoration of MTV’s newest reality show, The Jersey Shore, becomes even more surprising.

The Jersey Shore brings together four male and four female 20-something Italian-Americans to spend the summer at a party house on the Shore. It’s a little like The Real World, only without The Real World’s redeeming diversity of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic background…or the slightest trace of intelligence.

I protested watching the show until an orange-ish bronze Hulk-child named Mike lifted his shirt and stated proudly, “My abs are so ripped, I call them ‘The Situation.’ Hate all you want, but what can you say to a guy who looks like Rambo with his shirt off?” Snickering and slightly sedated by “The Situation’s” blatently cocky statements, Pauly D’s wonderous blow-out hairstyle, and the intoxicating scent of fake-and-bake that seemed to eminate from the television, I spent the remainder of the show mindlessly enjoying the antics and apparent vapidness of these self-proclaimed “guidos” and “guidettes.”

But, when the show ended and the preview for the next episode ran, I was horrified to see a muscular non-castmember (male), encited by the insults of the smallest female castmember (nicknamed “Snooki”), punch her straight in the jaw. Cut to him in handcuffs, being led to a police car. Cut to her on the floor, covering her bleeding face. Cut to me no longer smiling, covering my open mouth. When I expressed my shock at the first time I’d seen a man punch a woman, I was further shocked by my friends’ response.

“Calm down, Shannan, it’s just TV.”

“Stop reading into it so much! It’s just ___!” Insert the morally ambiguous media outlet of your choice. We’ve all heard this protest from our children, students, even friends. Young people are notoriously willing to accept media as pure entertainment — to the point that even reality shows are dismissed as fictional fodder. But the Snooki incident is a dramatic reminder that even television shows have real-life consequences.

As it turns out, The Jersey Shore has earned the real-world criticism of the Italian-American Association UNICO, who condemns the show for its sterotypical depiction of Italian-Americans and its free and abundant use of the word “guido” — a derogatory term for working-class Italians. After reading about this controversy, I was surprised that, as an Italian-American, I hadn’t even considered the effect this show might have on me, personally. Regardless, The Jersey Shore‘s depiction of a stereotype-enforcing “subculture” of a particular ethnicity has sparked a debate over the real-world effects of television.

The Jersey Shore may be mindless, but your conversation surrounding it doesn’t have to be. The controversies with Snooki and UNICO serve as great conversation starters with your kids or students to get them thinking about our willingness to accept media as fictional or inconsequential.

Here are some great questions to get them thinking:

• Why do you think that MTV used the Snooki incident as advertising? What were your and your friends’ reactions to it? Did you want to see the episode because of it?
• The video was spread all over the internet. Why do you think it spread so quickly?
• How do you think that MTV should’ve handled the incident? What should they have done with the footage?
• What should the consequences be for the man who punched Snooki? Should they be any more severe than a man who punched a woman off air?
• What does “guido” mean? Is it an offensive word to Italian-Americans? Should it be?
• Does the show affect how you feel about Italian-Americans? What about people from New Jersey, or people who resemble those on the show?