If you have seen the show “Jersey Shore” (or pretty much any other reality program), you know that the single greatest commodity in Hollywood today is fitting snuggly into a stereotype. If you are a shallow high school student with no idea how you want to spend the rest of your life it is okay, because you always have MTV to fall back on. (So long as you are either rich, poor, skinny, fat, a hero, a villain, a good girl, a drunk, a tramp, smelly, blond or have abs that are in and of themselves a full-time job.)
I have personally only seen one episode of Jersey Shore, and that was more than enough for me. Watching the way those people moved around in circles made me want to run to the nearest clinic and get tested for STDs, just in case I caught something from being is such close proximity to the television. Watching that episode of Jersey Shore may even been one of the reasons that I finally got rid of our cable. Besides the terrible time suck that occurs sitting in front of the tube, I couldn’t even say that the time spent had enriched my life at all. I didn’t learn anything new, I didn’t feel relaxed, I didn’t even feel happy about having watched it. In fact, I think the closest thing to the feeling I had would be akin to the way Snooki’s latest conquest feels the next morning, after the booze have worn off and he is suddenly faced with the terrible consequences of his night out with the boys. In short, I felt sad and more than a little dirty.
There have been some reality shows that I have enjoyed, Top Chef, Project Runway, Kitchen Nightmares, and most recently Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (I just love anything that has to do with revolution). I will even cop to the season I watched The Real Housewives of Orange County. Watching that show is like reading a primer for everything that is currently wrong with the world. In fact, if there were a primer it would probably be called “Everything that is Currently Wrong with the World: The Real Housewives Phenomenon”. After a short while, it made me sick to watch the snotty, entitled attitude (see my previous blog entry for my feelings about that), and I just could not bear it anymore. The people were horrible, their children were horrible and watching them made me feel horrible. I don’t miss that show one bit. (Man, am I glad we disconnected the cable.)
Now of course, MTV is attempting to capitalize on the Jersey Shore craze and are currently recruiting Persian-Americans for a Jersey Shore type show. First of all, I find it necessary to state that I happen to know quite a few Persian-Americans. I cannot for the life of me figure out which stereotype they are trying to plug into with this. All of the Persian people I know are fun-loving, but I have never seen any of them in a compromising position, or even conducting themselves in a less than honorable manner. Perhaps someone can enlighten me on how Persian-Americans are perceived, because I must have missed the racial profiling memo. I can only imagine that this is something that was cooked up by someone who doesn’t actually know anyone Persian. Not to say that there aren’t crazy Persians out there, I am simply not aware of any stereotypical behavior that would lead one to think they would make good television. Unless, of course, MTV is making a show about young, respectable people making wise choices. Yeah, right.
F. Bear Slippers
No comments:
Post a Comment