By  Joe Calamito                                                                  

 

Come on now somebody had to ask the question.  Here’s another one- “Aren’t we all getting a little tired of hearing about the negative press  this show generates and these New Jersey and Staten Island shore kids  involved in the show.”  I know I am. I would like to say something to the cast of Jersey Shore… Kids, I use to hang out down Seaside Heights in the 60s,and early 70s some of my DNA is probably still hanging around,  thousands of metro area youth for decades have done the same thing for countless summers- head down the shore: drink, sit on the beach, party, get in fights, meet girls, meet guys, get in arguments, hang out in clubs, drink, drink, drink etc. 

 photo source-  Bing.com

 

 
What you are doing isn’t new– it’s a right of passage for youth in every summer locale in the world. What is different is MTV (who has given us some really great reality shows -Real World) decided to put you under a microscope (the TV camera) and let things just happen.  And that makes all the difference because now you have the  power to influence a lot of young  kids that watch your show, specifically Italian kids, that means you have a certain responsibility to  live up to and getting drunk on a Jersey beach and winding up on the front page of the Daily News maybe great for publicity, but it is not a good example, or being sued for assault, or beating up someone for attention and more exposure is not cool either. Italians I know and from what I have been reading don’t appreciate the sterotype.

I mean I might sound old but you have to think long term.  Mike “Situation” Sorrentino, how long do you think your abs are going to hold out before gravity takes over? Snooki, you may be fun to watch on TV for your high hair,  out spoken behavior and your cute dim wit answers, unfortunately, there are 10 reality shows on TV that have the same receipe for ratings. Housewives of New Jersey comes to mind. I am afraid that in the world of television that is going to get weak and stale fast. Realize, you started getting people mad right from the beginning  with your first show. The clock to once -was  is ticking.

When Andy Warhol said everyone was going to get 15 minutes of fame, boy did he mean everyone. And he had no idea reality TV would get so popular. But audiences are getting more sophisticated and now they are beginning to tire of their own rank  and  file caught in everyday life. Shelf  life for a show that sterotypes an entire ethnic group-not very long on the air.

I guess what I am trying to say is that what I would be asking myself  if I was in your very blessed shoes is “Where am I going to be 3 years from now?” Because we all  know  of major show biz  talent that has had the kind of media exposure you have today, and now, no one even mentions their names anymore, and they were household names at one time. And some of them had a longer show biz resume than you folks on Jersey Shore. I know what your probably saying , who cares by the time that happens I will be rich and have a big home blah blah blah, but fame has a way of  being intoxicating,  and addicting. Take  the sad life of the  late Corey Haim for example. When no one is around to watch you comb your hair Ronnie it may get a little depressing. My point… get over yourselves and thank the heavens for how blessed you really are, and do something positive with your fame while you have the chance - like George Clooney. Find a cause and lend a hand, pay forward. You know, there are legitimate struggling actors and actresses, writers, painters, young directors who would eat their young for the exposure you have today.

So in closing I will go back to my original question “What’s a Snooki, and how long will we want to endure this ____?”  You see Snooki, Situation, Ronnie and the rest of the Jersey Shore cast you have it in your power to do something good with your fame, how about an espisode where you actually help someone and then maybe, just maybe, when someone googles your name a few years from now they may read about some positive accomplishments you did to help your  fellow man and not your rap sheet or a line that reads Television personality who was once on a reality TV show. And in the minds of your fans and  peers this kind of positive exposure may keep you around a little longer than expected.

The Jersey Shore can be seen on MTV at 10pm on Thursdays.