"Reality TV" Defined

I’ve been exchanging dialogue via e-mail with Richard Annotico of the H-Itam Italian-American organization about the new "Jersey Shore" show on MTV. Richard has been extremely critical of me and downright mean, resorting to calling me a “retard,” and “a waste of life” and various other things I’d rather not repeat here. I not once insulted him or shared that column with him to open up a debate, and even when he knocked me, I did not fire back with such immature words. And he’s twice my age. For him to be so derogatory and judgmental of me (without knowing me at all), I take it that he, along with many of his associates, are very insecure. And like I said in my column, they are the real prejudiced thinkers. I’m a dedicated family man, and I have very strong conservative values and respect. I have a job, and big future goals and plans. And although I am not college-educated, my intellectual and social IQ is clearly higher than his. I also know how to compose a cohesive thought into a sentence without resorting to childish name-calling. But I don’t need to defend myself to him or to anyone. As a writer and actor, I want to share some things about the entertainment industry. Either I was slightly misled, or the show I auditioned for back in May was not “Jersey Shore” after all. At the time of my audition, the title was not yet selected, yet there do seem to be quite a few similarities about the program and about the audition. But there were a few slight surprises which I discovered after watching last evening’s two-hour season premiere on MTV. I know how TV works and there are creative changes all the time, from the early conceptual planning stages of a project like this, all the way to the final cuts in the editing room that make it onto the air. Such things are strictly handled by the network bigwigs and higher-ups, and their decisions are solely based on what scenes generate the most viewers—and ultimately bring in the most money. In fact, when a show is promoted, the general response that the potential viewer shows with their reaction (gauged in today’s market by the instant feedback that the internet and social networking sites bring in), can hold a lot of weight in determining the actual evolution of such a show’s production and content. So that all being said, although some things surprised me about last night’s show (like “Snookie’s” strip-down in the hot tub), that doesn’t mean I wasn’t expecting them, because—as I said—that’s show biz for ya. And even if I personally would have preferred to not see a few things take place in the show, it’s still not my place to criticize MTV or to demand the show be taken off of the air. It’s a fact that reality TV shows have lots of staged moments and levels of exaggeration on topics that otherwise are no big deal. They are basically just like any other show—only difference is, the “actors” are not professionals. For those that may not know, Viacom owns MTV and VH-1, essentially that means they are sister networks. Back in the day, VH-1 was created to cater to a slightly older demographic, meaning the place for people to eventually turn to once they outgrew MTV. Now, they are pretty much the same channel, and air the same types of reality shows. When I auditioned, I met with the casting directors who told me that they were planning to make an upscale “Hills”-type show on VH-1 and NOT a “Real World”-type show. I personally don’t watch either, but I have seen both, so I know there are indeed differences. The first is more of a docudrama style reality show with a focus on the characters’ backstories, while the latter is basically just a show about people living in a house and partying in a particular city. Neither show is a PBS documentary, and I don’t really care for them personally. The only thing that attracted me to “Jersey Shore, ” was the Garden State element (being a proud lifelong New Jerseyan), and the fact that most of the characters would be of Italian-American heritage like myself. The producer I met with told me they wanted to make sure they accurately showed “real Jersey Italian-Americans in their element, with dignity.” His words. Now I know full well that anyone that goes on these types of shows are all seeking some semblance of fame, and if the viewers are there, everyone gets the publicity they want. I’m an entertainer, I yearn for the big stage and I wanted to be a part of this to possibly spin the experience into bigger and better things. Now I was told to be “over the top” in the audition, and to accentuate my personality and what being a guido meant to me. Maybe my definition wasn’t exactly what they were looking for. I wanted to bring some of that realness to the show from the perspective of being a lifelong Jersey boy who actually knows a lot about Italian culture—specifically food—and I was hoping to sort of be the resident cook of the gang. Perhaps that was not crazy enough, I don’t know. Look, I can club it up and fist-pump with the best of them, but that’s not the only thing going on in my life, and the way I saw it was if they wanted real and they wanted dignity, I was there to provide that. And as I said in my “Real Guido” column, I’m not a poser. I follow the cultural, culinary and religious traditions of my heritage with true pride, and nobody knows and loves New Jersey like me. I don’t know how this show will turn out as the season progresses. Maybe more of the character’s homelife will be discussed. Maybe we’ll find out more about their backgrounds, their careers, their families, and other things like that. Maybe we won’t see any of that, and it will just be a weekly party show of biceps, boobs and booze. I can’t review the entire season based just on last night. Yes, there were brief moments when we saw some genuine Italian family moments and basic values (Vinny for example when he was leaving home, or when “The Situation” cooked a traditional meal for the housemates.) Overall, most of the scenes were like a car crash—and I don’t mean that as a bad thing. You know how it is when you just can’t look away? I couldn’t seem to look away (especially with the eye candy the guidettes provided). I was sworn to secrecy by VH-1/MTV and told not to reveal any inside information about “Jersey Shore,” even once it aired. But I didn’t sign any confidentiality contract. They told me that if this show makes it to a second season, that I’d be part of the new cast and have my opportunity to show the REALNESS factor (or at least, the way I interpret that). I’m not sure now if I want to do it anymore, simply because I’m at a stage in my life now where partying every night at the Jersey Shore is not the way I spend my summers. Frankly, I’d rather be at an Italian feast eating zeppoles with my guidette. Based on last night’s show, it seems that the party scene is what MTV is mainly interested in showcasing. I could be wrong and future episodes may contain more true “Italian-Americana.” Too early to tell. But don’t call me shallow if I actually find myself watching the whole season of this show if overall we get more car crash moments than not. No matter what, I’m sticking to my original defense of MTV’s right to air whatever programs they want, and while this may be over the top, it uses the guido term as a characterizing nickname relating to these eight girls and guys—again, it’s not intended to be a racial slur. In fact, if they all referred to themselves as “Bennies” (a nickname for summer Jersey shore beachgoers), I doubt that any anti-defamation activists would be making a stink over it.) Because they are beachgoers who happen to be of Italian-American heritage and use that “G” word, the “haters” feel they have the right to knock them as human beings. Again, that just speaks of their own insecurities. No matter how this show pans out, it won’t insult me as a young person (and especially not as an Italian-American), because no eight kids residing from any state in our great country—regardless of their nationality define ME—or anyone else. And nobody has the right to dictate how they behave or how this show is “supposed to be,” that’s what makes America so great. It’s very extreme to say an entire generation/culture is being defined, defamed or categorized by this program. I can walk tall with confidence knowing I’m not hurting anyone, and it doesn’t look like these guidos are trying to be gangsters or Mafiosos. I have goals and dreams and lots going on, and I’m sure these kids do too. Let them have their fun while they are young. I will never be ashamed of my roots or my accent, or worried that if I wear my hair a certain way or go dance at a club that people will look down on me. The old expression is you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and people who try to get away from their roots because they feel that it would hurt their professional appearance need to stop living in denial of who they are. We’ve come a long way, where back in the day an Italian immigrant felt the need to drop the vowel at the end of their last name to assimilate. Now, it’s cool to be ethnic. Yes, some people take that concept too far. But it’s like politics, where you have your propaganda-spreading extremists from both the left and the right who do not define all members of that particular party. Or with sports, you have your bandwagoners who know nothing about the Yankees, for example, and jump aboard when the World Series rolls around going to their corporate suites and wearing the interlocking NY hat. Yet a die-hard like me is always a dedicated fan. Do these “suits” annoy me? Sure. But it’s not my place to tell them what to do. Someday when I achieve a higher level of fame and fortune, I will produce my own TV show on this subculture, which will be from my perspective. I'm a dedicated researcher of all things Italian and Italian-American. It was my mother's first language as a kid, and I have actually been to Italy. We can't deny that there is a subculture here on the East Coast that needs to be explored and dissected, whatever you want to call it. My show will be classy, funny, educational and entertaining. It will show the evolution of this popular species from its origins with “Tony Manero” in the ‘70s, all the way to present day. It will dig deep into all the complicated aspects of this breed of individuals, flaws and all. And it will show that even the flawed aspects are redeemable qualities, unlike those of, say a mobster. But I’m sure somebody out there will find inaccuracies, or something that still would not have been exactly perfect in their eyes. To them I’ll say the same thing I’m saying now about “Jersey Shore,” which is: lighten up. Live your lives, and leave me, Vinny, and everyone else alone.