I have never been a fan of reality shows. I will admit sometimes I'll sit through an episode of "Amazing Race" or something in that vein, but for the most part I can't stand these shows or the people in them.
This past season, a new show led reality TV to a brand new low, showing the absolute worst side of our society, or any society that has existed, ever. The show is "Jersey Shore."
For those of you lucky enough to still be ignorant of this show's existence, here is a basic break down: it is simply the worst show ever. It follows a group of "Italian"-Americans living in New Jersey, and watches as they party, get tan and show off just how stupid a full grown person can actually be. It is a show that not only makes me embarrassed to be an American, but embarrassed to be a human being.
Part of the problem is the overuse of stereotypes in the show. All the people who are followed fit the description of a bad Italian representation. The funny thing is, it has since come out most of them are not even Italian, yet all they do is talk and act in ways that most Italians, hell, most people, would find offensive.
This is not the kind of show people need to see. It is not entertaining in any way, shape or form; it simply shows dumb people living their dumb lives. And while this show does let us know how far TV is willing to lower itself to make a buck, what makes this show really frightening is that we can't seem to escape the kids from the show.
In the last week or so, I have seen the cast on talk shows, news shows and even CNN. They seem to be growing in popularity everywhere you look. But if you actually pay attention, all these appearances are doing is continuing what the show did -- let the audience know what total wastes of space these people are.
Of every show they have appeared on, not once have they actually had a serious interview or tried to promote their show. Every appearance has been them showing off how stupid they are, in quiz games and parodies of themselves, which leads me to think they really are that stupid and don't realize all people are doing is simply making fun of them at this point.
To put it simply, this show promotes stereotypes and stupidity at a level that would probably drive people to kill themselves out of hatred for the human race. There is no level TV could sink to lower than this, short of setting off Armageddon itself, and it is a show that needs to disappear.
While the show has been picked up for a second season, there are probably very few people who want to sit and watch these "orange trash" walking wastes of space.
I have never been a fan of reality shows, and that is something I am proud of. If Jersey Shore is a preview of more shows to come, then I am proud of myself even more, but at the same time very disappointed in humanity.
Respond to Bryan at thenews@bgnews.com
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