"Jersey Shore" follows a gaggle of barely literate bridge-and-tunnel steakheads and slatterns as they spend their summer at "the greatest meat market in the world." 
One senses that if they all put their heads together, it's still doubtful they could beat a carnival chicken at Tic-Tac-Toe. 
Harvey Levin of TMZ interviewed "The Situation", Pauly , and "Snooki", and these Guidos that claim so much Italian Pride, that they could not answer Harvey's question as to what the Capital of Italy was. Yes !!!!!! They couldn't even hazard a guess !!!!! Please Email me if you can think of a simpler question about Italy !!!!!! Harvey was so embarrassed for them that he dispensed with the balance of the quiz.
http://www.tmz.com/2009/12/14/tmz-live-jersey-shore-in-the-house-live "Fist Pumping with Jersey Shore", Part 3 of 5, at 5:40 of 7:38

America Through the Reality Lens
Reality TV shows surely give one pause about the future of the country.
Los Angeles Times; Jonah Goldberg; Opinion; December 15, 2009

Culturally, this has been the decade of the reality show.... Survey the wreckage. Richard Hatch, the "Survivor" champion, was just released from prison.The marriage of the Octoparents, Jon and Kate, is a shambles. Richard and Mayumi Heene were so desperate to land a reality series, they concocted an enormous hoax, convincing the country their child had been carried away in a balloon. Michaele and Tareq Salahi tried to claw their way onto the sure-to-be-hideous series "Real Housewives of D.C." by brazening their way into a state dinner. And alleged wife-killer Ryan Jenkins, a contestant on two VH1 shows, is surely a stark reminder that fame is not a reflection of good character.

Which brings us to "Jersey Shore." The show, which just started airing on MTV, follows a gaggle of barely literate bridge-and-tunnel steakheads and slatterns as they spend their summer at "the greatest meat market in the world." One of the absurdly tanned gibbons goes by the moniker "the Situation" because it gives him the excuse to ask women, "Do you love the Situation?" as he lifts his shirt to show off his washboard abs. 

One senses that if they all put their heads together, it's still doubtful they could beat a carnival chicken at Tic-Tac-Toe. In a teaser for the next episode, one of the girls is punched in the face at a bar. But, after "consulting with experts on the issue of violence," MTV announced it wouldn't show the actual assault. While I can't fault the decision, it is kind of funny. The producers see nothing wrong with glorifying drunken idiocy and moral buffoonery in every episode, but they "responsibly" draw the line at physical violence because MTV is loath to promote reckless behavior. Uh huh.

When the not-so-hidden cameras catch one of the girls cheating on her boyfriend with a housemate sporting a pierced you-know-what, that's just pure entertainment. "You have your penis pierced. I love it," the drunken vamp exclaims.

Now don't get me wrong; it's great television. But gladiatorial games would be great TV too.

This newspaper reported the other day that the reality show industry is suddenly having a crisis of conscience about its impact on the culture. That's nice to hear, but it's not nearly enough.

The British historian Arnold Toynbee argued that civilizations thrive when the lower classes aspire to be like the upper classes, and they decay when the upper classes try to be like the lower classes. Looked at through this prism, it's hard not to see America in a prolonged period of decay....

Reality show culture has thrived in that moral vacuum, accelerating the decay and helping to create a society in which celebrity is the new nobility. ....

Lord knows I'm a critic of President Obama, but this is undoubtedly one area in which he is -- personally -- a force for good. Whatever the merits of his policies, the image Obama projects is one of reserved decency and diligence, even a healthy snobbishness.

Wouldn't it be nice if his cheerleaders in Hollywood took that example to heart?

jgoldberg@latimescolumnists.com
latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/
la-oe-goldberg15-2009dec15,0,5497124.column

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