I hate "Jersey Shore." For infinite reasons. If you are unfamiliar with this show, "Jersey Shore" basically follows the pathetic lives of six young people who live in a house together for a relatively short period. They waste their time and money by going to parties, getting drunk, calling in sick to work, obsessing over superficial matters, and having petty fights with each other. But one of the reasons I dislike this show so much is because of the way it portrays women.
For example, during this particular episode (posted below), the plot focuses on the relationship drama between Sammi and Ronnie. During the entire saga, Ronnie is very controlling and takes every opportunity to exert his authority over Sammi. He physically blocks Sammi when she tries to intercept a phone call from a guy who claims he "hooked up" (teenspeak for " has been intimate") with her. When she does get to the phone, he refuses to leave the room when she asks him to do so, and instead stands there, yelling insults at her. The argument ends when he forcefully yanks the phone out of her hand and hangs up on the person to whom she had been speaking. Regardless of whether or not Sammi did anything to anger Ronnie, these actions are unacceptable. Ronnie is trying to exert complete authority over his girlfriend. When he refuses to respect her privacy and disrespects her physical boundaries, he is not treating her as a person, but as an object. It scares me to think that millions of teenagers-- including hundreds of thousands of young women-- watch this show and find it entertaining. Shows like these send subtle messages about accepted behavior and the type of person young people should aspire to be. The degrading messages towards women do not stop with this one relationship, either.
As the episode progresses, we see endless examples of women being subjugated by men. Deena is accused of stopping a man from having sex with a woman at a party, and the guys in the house all become furious with her. Although Deena claims she was trying to protect a friend, her explanations are lost to the men who believe it is a man's right to have sex with any woman he wants, whenever he wants. Later, Deena also makes a sandwich for a man who criticizes her cooking. Aside from being eyeroll-inducing, these actions are also offensive. They encourage women watching the show to think that they must always please men, no matter what. They also push the stereotype that all men must look for cheap, easy ways to have sex with women and must be demeaning towards the opposite sex in the process. And the degradation of women doesn't stop there. Oh, no. By the end of the episode, ALL the women living in the household will be subjugated in some way.
Nicole, also known as "Snooki," is the most famous of the "Jersey Shore" women. She is also the dumbest one. This fact alone truly bothers me, but more on that later. For the entire hour, Snooki is seen either acting stupidly or saying dumb things. Before going out to party, Snooki practices her backflips in the living room, trying to make sure that her "kooka" (the "cute" nickname she gives her vagina) doesn't show. When she returns home to have sex with a guy she explains that it's easy for men to have sex for a long time when they're drunk, or when "his penis is drunk." The show cattily pokes fun at Snooki's intelligence at the end when she explains that if she were president, "everyone would be tan, and all the radios would play house music." It really irritates me that Snooki must come across as stupid in order for the show to be successful. By doing this, MTV hints that all women need to be unintelligent in order to be liked. And that's not the only message they send.
Jenni, the last lady in the house, is seen picking up dog crap while the men lazily sit back on the couch and laugh at the dog who left her the present. Throughout the episode, the women are seen as nothing more than servants who are expected to please men in any way possible. I noticed that whenver an argument arose between the two sexes, it was very rarely a man who apologized first. Also, when it was a woman who apologized, the man hardly ever recognized or accepted her apology. In Ronnie's case, he used his girlfriend's apology to manipulate and control her even further.
There is no reason for this show to even be on the air, let alone have so much popularity and influence as it does. As we're learning in class, the media can often be a mirror of society. Shows like these will only continue to be influential if we give them that power. And there is no reason for us to do that. I hope to see television shows that lift up women and empower them in the future.
http://www.mtv.com/videos/jersey-shore-season-3-ep-13-at-the-end-of-the-day/1660579/playlist.jhtml
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