Guidos and Guidette's on MTV
The latest big deal about Seaside Heights is the MTV show "Jersey Shore."
Wikipedia has this to say about Jersey Shore:
Jersey Shore is a reality television series on MTV that follows eight housemates spending their summer on the New Jersey Shore. It began airing on December 3, 2009. The show was filmed in August 2009 in a summer share in Seaside Heights but was also filmed in other towns such as Toms River and Neptune. It follows the eight housemates in a Real World-type style while they live, work and party at the Jersey Shore. The show debuted amid large amounts of controversy over the cast's use of the words "Guido/Guidette", portrayals of Italian stereotypes and scrutiny from locals because the cast members are not residents from the area.
Premise
The show examines the lives of eight young castmembers living and vacationing on the various resorts along the Jersey Shore, more specifically the town of Seaside Heights. In exchange for living and partying in the shore house, each member of the cast is required to work shifts at a local boardwalk t-shirt store. Failure to comply with the ground rules set by their boss, who owns the shore house in which the cast resides, results in termination and eviction from the shore house.
Cast
| Name ("Nickname") | Age | Hometown | Biography |
|---|---|---|---|
| Angelina "Jolie" Pivarnick | 22 | Staten Island, New York | Angelina, a New York City bartender, proclaims herself as "the Kim Kardashian of Staten Island" due to her "all natural" figure. A very outspoken individual, she causes conflicts within the shore house primarily between male castmates. She starts out the season with a serious relationship at home and intends on remaining faithful. However the two ultimately break up in Episode 3, which indirectly leads to her eviction from the shore house after refusing to work her shift in the t-shirt shop.
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| Jenni "JWoww" Farley | 23 | Franklin Square, New York | Jenni, aka JWoww, is a graphic designer and club promoter from Franklin Square, New York. She refers to herself as a praying mantis when it comes to her relationships with men. However, JWoww enters the shore house with a steady relationship at home with a man whom she claims to love. Although she intended to remain faithful, JWoww ultimately cheats on her boyfriend with castmate Pauly D and ends her relationship in Episode 3.
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| Michael "The Situation" Sorrentino |
27 | Staten Island, New York | Mike, an assistant manager of a fitness center in, refers to himself as "The Situation." A confident individual, he strikes up friendships, romances and performs well as an employee in the t-shirt shop. Although cocky on the outside, The Situation has a sensitive side and aspires to settle down in the future. He develops an attraction towards Sammi "Sweetheart" but a relationship never comes into fruition when she becomes interested in fellow castmate Ronnie.
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| Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi | 21 | Marlboro, New York | Nicole "Snooki" is a self proclaimed "guidette" from Marlboro, New York outside of Poughkeepsie and an aspiring veterinary technician. She describes her ideal man as one who fits the guido stereotype and enters the experience hoping to meet the man of her dreams. She is the center of controversy when a man punches her in her face during a bar confrontation (See: Beachcomber Bar & Grill Incident).
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| Paul "DJ Pauly D" DelVecchio |
28 | Johnston, Rhode Island | Paul "DJ Pauly D" is a Disc Jockey from Johnston, Rhode Island outside of Providence. He owns a tanning bed in his house and spends around 25 minutes daily on his hair. As a DJ, he is very confident around women and easily strikes up romances down at the Shore. He strikes up a brief romance with fellow castmate JWoww but the relationship does not progress.
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| Ronnie Magro | 23 | Bronx, New York | Ronnie hails from The Bronx in New York City and sports a muscular appearance. He enters the experience with the intent of not falling in love down in the Jersey Shore. However, he ultimately breaks his own rule and strikes up a relationship with castmate Sammi "Sweetheart."
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| Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola |
22 | Hazlet, New Jersey | Sammi "Sweetheart" calls herself "the sweetest bitch you'll ever meet", hailing from Hazlet, New Jersey. Recently single, she enters this experience with the sole intent of having fun. When it comes to relationships, Sammi is described by her friends as a "heartbreaker" though she ultimately strikes up a relationship with fellow castmate Ronnie in Episode 3.
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| Vinny Guadagnino | 21 | Staten Island, New York | Vinny comes from a traditional Italian family in Staten Island, New York. A self proclaimed "mama's boy", Vinny is ready to enjoy his first summer as a 21 year old at the shore.
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1 Age at the time of filming
Episodes
Episode 1: "A New Family"
Summer at the Jersey Shore kicks off when eight soon-to-be roommates move into their summer share. Romance heats up between Sammi and Mike, but all might be lost when the guys invite three random girls to join them in the hot tub. Meanwhile, Snooki comes on way too strong, and finds herself the outcast. She can only hope that first impressions won't be lasting impressions.
Viewers: 1.375 Million. Episodes 1 and 2 premiered back-to-back.
Episode 2: "The Tanned Triangle"
Still feeling like the outcast, Snooki tells the others that she's leaving the Shore. And the roommates' first night out at the club gets flirty, proving that the boyfriends back home might, in fact, have something to worry about. And what started with Mike and Sammi turns into a love triangle that threatens to divide the house.
Viewers: 1.375 Million.
Episode 3: "Good Riddance"
Mike has trouble accepting the fact that Sammi chose Ronnie over him. Angelina decides she's too good to work at the Shore Store and Danny fires her, which means she's no longer allowed at the house and has to leave the show. And JWoww's boyfriend comes for a visit but she waits before telling him about kissing Pauly D.[26]
Viewers: 2.1 Million
Episode 4: "Fade To Black"
After a night at the clubs, and "beating the beat", Pauly and Mike have to juggle multiple groups of girls. Pauly takes a grenade for The Situation. Snooki's mother comes in for a visit, and an emotional Snooki shows her "true colors" And later that night mayhem breaks out when a fight erupts at a bar, and one of the housemates goes down.
Viewers: 2.5 Million
Controversy
The show plays upon the stereotype of the guido, prompting criticism from groups such as the National Italian American Foundation, UNICO National, and the Order Sons of Italy in America for using "ethnic slurs, violence and poor behavior to marginalize and stereotype Italian-Americans."
UNICO National President Andre DiMino said in a statement:
MTV has festooned the 'bordello-like' house set with Italian flags and red, white and green maps of New Jersey while every other cutaway shot is of Italian signs and symbols. They are blatantly as well as subliminally bashing Italian-Americans with every technique possible. ... (The cast members) are an embarrassment to themselves, their heritage and their families.
The show has also been protested against by residents and businesses in the Jersey Shore area for casting a negative light on the region. The Jersey Shore Convention and Visitors Bureau claimed that "MTV is providing a one-dimensional, dramatized version of a very small group of visitors' summer experiences in one Jersey Shore town."
Domino's Pizza recently pulled their commercials from airing during the show. Tim McIntyre, the company's vice president of communications, stated, "One of the ads happened to show up and once we saw what the program was, we decided that the content wasn't in keeping with what we're all about." Dell also pulled their ads during the airing of the show, becoming the third company to do so saying they will "block" their commercials and that they don't "condone or support ethnic bashing in any form."
MTV responded to criticism with the following statement:
Jersey Shore continues MTV's history of documenting various subcultures, rites of passage of young people, and the ways they self-identify. The Italian-American cast takes pride in their ethnicity. We understand that this show is not intended for every audience and depicts just one aspect of youth culture.
Beachcomber Bar & Grill incident
In August 2009, female cast member Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi was punched in the face after a confrontation with a man who had stolen her drink at the Beachcomber Bar & Grill in Seaside Heights.The assailant was arrested on simple-assault and disorderly-person charges. A promo of the clip aired after the show's December 3, 2009 premiere and circulated on the Internet. The incident was to have aired on the December 17 episode, along with a public service announcement against violence towards women, but it was taken out of the episode.
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