“GTL!” “GFF!” “Grenade!” “Juice Head!” Many people are wondering what these words mean but the truth is, if you do not know, then you need to open those pretty brown eyes of yours. These are quotes from the reality television show that has taken over the United States as well as places like Italy and France. It is the show that has been controversial ever since it premiered on MTV back in December of 2009. It is the Jersey Shore! Jersey Shore follows the life of 8 strangers as they spend the summer in a beach house in Seaside Heights, New Jersey. However, for the second season, producers filmed in South Beach, Miami, due to the nasty weather in New Jersey. Most of these strangers go by a nickname rather than their actual name but all of them are Italian. The people of Jersey Shore are Paul “Pauly D” Delvecchio, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz- Magro, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Jenni “JWOWW” Farley, Angelina Pivarnick, Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi. So why is it so popular? I mean, who does not love drama, sex, Italians, money, partying and Miami and living in this sort of environment all day, every day. The characters, lifestyle, and setting are what make the Jersey Shore popular. Specifically, Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino and Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi and their guido/guidette lifestyle are what make the show entertaining. Mike and Snooki are the most popular because they embrace the word “guido” in a positive way, however, Mike is popular for all the right reasons and Snooki is popular based on her negative actions throughout the season, which make them appealing to adults, teenagers or both.

 Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino is the most popular male on the show because besides Jersey Shore, he is now involved in other activities such as Dancing with the Stars and creating his own workout video, cologne and endorsement for a nutritional supplement.  His popularity is also due to the fact that he has an obnoxious personality (mostly because he is the most paid and has the best abs) and says some of the funniest, rudest comments to his other roommates as well as random people. Mike, who we will now refer to as “The Situation”, “…is the real-live Entourage, you know what I’m saying?” (O’ Leary). His roommates would agree as well in saying that he has the biggest ego but we could already figure that out from the trailer for Jersey Shore ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru7FLCwlStE). According to a source found by US Weekly Magazine, “Snooki, The Situation, Pauly and JWow get more attention, and it’s tough on the others” (O’ Leary 54). Notice that The Situation’s name was the first male who was stated. Perhaps this is the reason why he was picked for Dancing with the Stars and not any of the other characters. He is the most talked about among teenagers as well as adults. For example, an interview with Joy Traslavina, who is 50 years old has not watched any episodes of the Jersey Shore, proved this when she was asked to name one guy from the Jersey Shore and her response was “Ohhh (sigh), the one from Dancing with the Stars! The Stichuation!” He is then closely followed by his four-foot-nine leading lady Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, who is well known for her “pouf”.

 Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is the most talked about female because she is the least attractive and has the most dramatic personality of all the castmates. In the beginning of Joshua Alston’s article America’s New Icons, the introduction starts with Snooki and how she would be unwelcomed in France. This introduction proves that she is popular because he could have stated any of the other seven characters but chose her instead. Compared to the other girls in the house, Snooki is the shortest and biggest. The unrelenting show South Park annihilated this feature by making her a fat animal that humps and eats people. As far as her personality, she fits the term “drama queen”. Joe Duran was asked to pick one girl from Jersey Shore and she said, “Isn’t there one who is fat and is like a “cry baby” like Wahhhh?” This is definitely Snooki since when she does not get things her way, she says “Wahhhhhh!” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Za5j43wXXNM&feature=related). This overdramatic personality is one that people love to hate. It is annoying but either way you still know her name, which is why she makes $20,000 for every red carpet event.

From left to right: JWOWW, Sammi, Snooki and Angelina. Now tell me who is the prettiest?

      The Situation and Snooki are both popular but The Situation is popular for positive reasons that make him attractive to audiences of both adults and teenagers. The Situation is known heavily because of Jersey Shore, which is the reason he is popular among teenagers, but the other aspects he is known for all relate to being an entrepreneur. His popularity circles other activities that require “work” such as scheduling meetings with people and working out during the process of filming his workout video. For example, unlike Snooki, this picture of The Situation shows him in a DJ booth but notice there is no drink in his hand.

  He is trying spread the word to people about what he is working on in his life. His workout video and his infamous abs prove that he is in shape and can be a model to people who want to look like him. This is why he is appealing to adults as well. They do not mind for their child to admire someone who is a businessman. Many people would say that being obnoxious is not flattering but this works in The Situation’s favor. His personality means that he is “real” and if he does not like you, then he is going to tell you upfront and not hide it. In other words, he is not “fake” and has an “I don’t care” attitude that you can either love him or hate him for.

           

Unlike The Situation, Snooki is popular for negative reasons that only make her appealing to one audience, teenagers. For example, the show South Park fully took advantage of her unappealing aspects such as “hooking up” with almost every guy in the house and her physique in general (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32xfwUUUUm8). Her latest scandal includes being arrested for disorderly conduct along the boardwalk. It is amusing to teenagers who watch this because it is pure enjoyment but to adults, it is pure stupidity. All of her actions make her form into one unattractive (inside and out) human being. Also, compared to The Situation, all Snooki seems to do is go out to nightclubs and party. She is always photographed with at least one drink in her hand. She is known for doing absolutely nothing and acting in an inappropriate manner unlike The Situation, who is using his publicity to make a bigger name for himself. Both Snooki and The Situation may have different reasons for being popular but their lifestyle is popular on equal levels.



Snooki being arrested for disorderly conduct.



Snooki at the club. Pay close attention to left hand.

The Jersey Shore makes the guido/guidette lifestyle look popular and appealing to audiences because it is unique and no one else has it.The definition of a guido according to The Situation is “a good looking Italian guy” (Brooks 1) and the definition of a guidette is exactly the opposite: “A female guido; characteristic for having an absurdely long Italian name, breast implants, and tight clothing. Prominent in New Jersey.” ("guidette" 2). The entire cast of the Jersey Shore is not this definition but instead lives this type of lifestyle. The popularity the characters have gained from the show makes others want to be exactly like them. For example, Zach Vujic from Stoney Creek, Ontario just cut his hair like Pauly D and says, “I’ve noticed now when I go places with the haircut, people just stop and look at me. No one else has it.” (Houston Chronicle). Lauren Lewis also quotes that “I want to be like Snooki or JWOWW. Outgoing” and she could not pull off the “infamous draping yellow shirt [JWOWW] wore in episode one…” (Houston Chronicle). This shows the influence and impact that these characters have on other people’s lives. It also quotes how unique this look is throughout the world. Not many people were wearing this “guido look” until the Jersey Shore came out. They started a revelation and Pauly D would say, “They’re fist-pumping. They’re doing their hair like us now, dressing like us”. (Houston Chronicle). The key word in this sentence is now because it indicates that it was not happening before but these circumstances have now changed.

            The guido lifestyle is highlighted in South Beach, Miami because the environment of the city attracts the characters. South Beach “[has] become glitzy and commercialized.” (Stofik 246). “…local architects designed scores of Streamline-style hotels with magical names: the Carlyle, the New Yorker, and the St. Moritz.” (Stofik xii). This flashy lifestyle resembles the guido lifestyle. For example, tanning is a big part on both genders. Since South Beach is along the coast, they can get plenty of sun. It would only makes sense that the lifestyle they now live would be fulfilled in a place like this. “Clubbing” is a huge part of Jersey Shore and along Collins Ave and Ocean Drive, there are plenty of nightlife activities. Also, Miami is well known for being a place filled with people who have had cosmetic surgery done. This matches the definition of a guidette explained in the previous paragraph. This guido lifestyle may seem fancy but it is very upsetting to other Italian Americans.

           Many people are disgusted at this guido lifestyle so they reject everything about it but they are looking at it from the “definition” perspective rather than a “lifestyle” perspective. There are multiple definitions of a guido but the one that these groups are looking at are derogatory ones such as

 A sad pathetic excuse for a male; not necessarily of Italian descent, but most likely; usually native to the New York/New Jersey Tri-State area. WARDROBE: tight zipper shirts, tracksuits, designer jeans, fuzzy kangol hats, tiny hoop earrings, fake gold chains, and related Euro-trash garb and tacky cheese-wear. NATURAL HABITAT: Known to frequent Tri-State area malls looking for club gear to waste their week's pay on (most likely spotted shopping at "Bang Bang" in Staten Island). During the day when not at their food delivery, telemarketting, or construction job, can be located at their local gym tanning or lifting weights. Can be found nightly at mainstream danceclubs they read about online (SF, Webster Hall, Etc.). Most notable for cruising the Jersey shore in an old car (Honda, Mustang, etc.) which has been tinted, painted and sports $1,000-$3,000 rims in a feeble attempt to look like new. Guido cars usually have a boomin' system through which cheesy music like freestyle, commercial club/trance and hip-hop (anything KTU plays) is loudly blasted. GENETIC LINKS: Directly related to modern day urban-guidos, A.K.A. "wiggers," A.K.A. "wegros;" urban-guidos are white males who once exhibited the traits referenced above, but have now instead opted to keep it unreal, with wardrobes consisting of clothes from labels like FUBU and Rocawear which they bought on sale at Macy's. These individuals still listen to the same music and drive the same type of car as their predecessor; (Urban dictionary).

This definition has caused many people to take rational actions. For example, Domino’s pizza was so upset that they pulled all of their ads from showing during these commercials. The women of the controversial talk show The View even discussed how upsetting it is to these people, video above. However, if you notice at 2:42 seconds, the woman asks a question as to if people really believe this is true or not. The answer to this is no because only Italians are offended by this and their strikes against it affect others, who now share the same opinion as them. Many people would say that the clips from the show contradict my statement because the actions prove the definition is true but they are only using the clips as support to what they are saying because it is available to them. Most people do not see the word 'guido' in a bad way. It is a word but the cast has shared it in terms of “'Guido' [becoming] the name of a lifestyle” (Brooks 1).

            The definition of ‘guido’ is flipped and turned into a meaning that can be embraced by the people because their pride toward toward their ethnicity shows they mean no harm. The Situation does not see why the issue surrounding the word ‘guido’ is a huge deal in the first place. He says ‘guido’ is “a good looking Italian guy” (Brooks 1). Clips from the show prove that they are proud to be Italian. The way they represent themselves is proof that they are prideful and embrace their ethnicity. For instance, take this picture of Pauly.

In the middle of his back, he has a tattoo of  the Italian flag and their colors. This tattoo was very symbolic for him because it signifies where he came from and how he grew up. He even mentions the guido lifestyle he lives in his song Beat dat beat (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0Gpt12psAA). Now, take a look at this video of Vinny from Jersey Shore, Season 2, Episode Three ( http://www.mtv.com/videos/jersey-shore-season-2-ep-3-creepin/1645578/playlist.jhtml). It shows Vinny and some of the other roommates working at the gelato shop, which is required in order to remain on the show. From 4:40-5:24, Vinny is talking to his boss about what he should be called. They agree on the name "Vincienzo" since this is normal for traditional Italians and it reminds Vinny of home. Not once do they ever say anything that would be derogatory to their own race. "Guido is a slur, but Italian kids have embraced it just as black kids have embraced the N word. In the same way that radical gays call themselves queer” (Brooks 1). This quote shows that they are trying to relieve Italians of this derogatory term so it will not seem this way anymore. The benefits this can have on the race in the future can be radical.

I realize many of you may still be wondering what the words “GTL!", "GFF!", “Grenade!” and "Juice Head!" mean. GTL is short for "Gym. Tan. Laundry", which is basically the motto for the boys of the house. "GFF" is equal to Grenade Free Foundation. This means no ugly girls are allowed back at the house. A "Grenade" is someone who is completely ugly that not even if you were drunk you would "hook up" with them. A "Juice Head" is a guy who is muscular and Italian, the perfect guy to a 'guidette'. These terms are now everywhere due to people like Snooki and The Situation. People have become so obsessed with these two people that their publicity has skyrocketed. However, The Situation is popular for positive activities other than Jersey Shore and Snooki is popular based off her negative actions that come from and outside the show. This makes The Situation popular to adults and teenagers unlike Snooki, who is only popular among teenagers. One thing they have in common is the guido lifestyle they live. This is controversial because many groups look at from the definition perspective when in reality, this is not how the cast presents it. Either way, Jersey Shore will always be discussed among people and therefore, society will be seeing them everywhere.