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A word on the kids from ‘Jersey Shore’
My thoughts: Meh. It’s not as hilarious or outrageous as you would expect or hope — some kids fill themselves with plastic and steroids, use tanning beds habitually and have no command of the English language … not much of a shock there. Yea, these kids fight more than me or my friends and they take themselves way too seriously, but overall I didn’t find the show horribly compelling. Maybe it’s because I went to college with a bunch of kids from New Jersey and New York, and I was already familiar with the stereotpyes (meaning, my friends had made me aware of them, not that they were representations of said stereotypes). To be honest, as un-self-aware as most of the kids on the show are, they seem like nice enough early 20-somethings who have some serious maturing to do. Will they ever write a novel or run a bank or teach America’s children? Probably not. But, many won’t.
What I have found rather amazing, however, is the 15 minutes of fame these kids have enjoyed and the fact that they think people’s curiosity in them extends beyond the animals-in-a-pop-culture-zoo level. People care about reality stars just long enough for something else to come along and distract them. Very rare is the case that these “stars” have anything unique to offer. So, I was shocked to read the the kids from “Jersey Shore” are sticking to their guns in contract negotiations with MTV.
I understand they produced crazy strong ratings with the show — something close to five million viewers per episode at the end of the run — so I think they are right to believe they are worth more than the few hundred dollars an episode they reportedly made in the first season. If MTV is making mad loot (I can hang, son!) off these kids, they are probably right in wanting and expecting more money. But thinking they are Ross, Rachel & Co. from “Friends” is a bridge too far. According to TMZ.com, MTV has upped the offer for next season and is offering the kids a $10,000 signing bonus and $5,000 per season. While it is not network money or even “Real Housewives” money, it is still likely more than 90% of the cast will ever make as a yearly income. I think they should take the money and shut up.
Apparently they don’t realize that they could be replaced very, very, very easily. Don’t these kids have friends back home? Aren’t their friends just like them? Wouldn’t Tony Bag-a-Donuts and Johnny Two-Times do the show for $50 an episode? Besides, I would argue that these kids will be even less compelling if they came back for another season. Their minor celebrity would make it impossible for them to anonymously spend their days and nights on the boardwalk getting drunk and throwing haymakers, and the fact that they would be so much more conscious of their image and the cameras would make them ape for the cameras even more, their bad behavior being replaced by bad
I guess insta-fame can really crippled someone’s ability to be a rational human being. Take the money kids. When the $10,000 club appearance fees go away, you’re gonna realize those Ed Hardy t-shirts don’t pay for themselves.
The only way I want these kids back on TV next season is if they live in a group house in The Hamptons. Can you imagine the run-ins with the blue blooded Biffs and Alistairs of that world? What is more, some in The Hamptons are so obsessed with fame and the media and what is hot, they would probably take a shine to some of the kids and hope to get 15 minutes by proxy. Let’s make it happen.
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