I’ve been reminiscing about Italy and I remembered something from Italian hotel TV that made me laugh. Apparently, the inexplicable trend that is the “Jersey Shore” which has fueled defaming New Jersey stereotypes and is FINALLY fading out, has caught on internationally. And unlike in the U.S., the show and the awful image that comes with it is still going strong – Jersey strong, I suppose.
Just like MTV took a bunch of people NOT from New Jersey and shoved them in a crappy shore house to exploit “guido” characteristics through one another, Europe has done the same.
I also found the popularity of these shows being played in Italy particularly ironic, since the “Italian-American” stereotype (and British-Italian and …um… Spanish-Italian?) is far from the actual Italian culture. In America, we love to say we are “Italian” or “Irish” or “one-eighth English” because we like to identify with a culture that we find more fascinating than our own modern “melting pot” of cultures. I’m not exactly sure where the “guido” identifies in Europe …
Gerodie Shore
Look familiar? Even the normally-beautiful accents are annoying – just like here in America!
Let’s try watching one where you may not even understand the words:
Gandía Shore
Courtesy of MTV Spain
Yup, just throw in some black hair extensions, buckets of makeup, fuzzy graphics, and we have a “Joisey” (or “Geordie” apparently) Shore. The only difference is their tans are real!
Looks like stereotypes can cross oceans and cultures. Thankfully America has now decided to work on fixing our Jersey Shore to it’s original glory post-Sandy and sans-MTV. And for that, we thank you.
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