Jordan Hamler
Reception Theory

Reality based television shows have become increasingly popular. These shows take ordinary people and catapult them to celebrity status. Jersey Shore is a reality based television show that is currently in its fifth season. This show has expanded into a clothing line and its cast has become so infamous that even if you do not watch the show you still know their names. Additionally, it has created a speech code for its dedicated viewers, such as the acronym GTL (gym, tan, laundry). Because this show has been and continues to be a success it brings some questions to mind. Why did people decide to watch the show? Why did they keep watching? What do they find so entertaining? And why has it become so popular? Through the concepts of Reception Theory it is shown that the show’s popularity is due to how the audience interprets the show’s media texts as entertainment. Real states that reception theory helps us “explore media culture by analyzing the complex, varied and intriguing ways that readers decode and interpret the texts of media” (pg. 94). What this means to me is that people can watch the same show for different reasons. One person can find it humorous while another can find the content relatable to their own life. In my opinion, reality based television shows have become popular because their text’s “meaning is not fixed but is multilayered (polysemic) and multireferential” (Real pg. 95). To better understand my method of research, I think a summary of the show is important. Jersey Shore has a cast of 4 girls and 4 boys and each have Italian heritage. They have big hair and love to tan. Each summer they live in a house together and all they want to do is party and have a good time. Both the girls and boys are constantly going out to clubs for the purpose of bringing someone home for a good time. Throughout all five seasons of the show they have kept the same cast with the exception of one of the girls. For my research I gathered a group of four people who I knew watched and kept up with Jersey Shore. My group consisted of 2 girls and 2 boys. Each of the four members of my group is married, attends college, and has a full time job. As you can imagine this does not leave them with a whole lot of time to party. Since Jersey Shore seems to only target the interests of those who party, I wanted to find out why anyone else would watch the show. I had everyone watch an episode of the show together and then asked them a series of questions. The questions were designed so that I could get a better understanding of why they initially started watching the show and why they keep watching it.
While the group members watched the show I paid close attention to what parts of the show they laughed at and if they laughed at the same parts. When I asked them my list of questions I would ask the same question to all four group members before I went on to the next question. This way I was better able to compare their answers. Additionally, I kept them all together for the questioning because I think a big part of watching the show is the social aspect and I wanted to see how they reacted to each other’s responses.
The first question I asked each group member is why they initially started watching the show? Surprisingly all four group members had the same response. They each said that they initially did not watch the show because they perceived it to be shallow and stupid but decided to give the show a try when it was recommended by a friend who said that the show was hilarious. As this relates to reception theory, each group member gave the show a chance when they were told a different positive interpretation of the media text. When I asked what kept them watching the show, they all said that they found that their friends’ interpretation of the show to be correct and that the show was in fact hilarious. While humor is the combining element each member found something different funny. One said they loved the pranks the cast pulled on each other while another said that she grew to like the cast members and their sense of humor. However, the thing the group found most funny was the stupidity of the show’s cast.
While observing the group members watch an episode I found that they all generally laughed at the same parts. Geizer-Geitz says that people laugh when they are both attracted and repulsed by something socially questionable. He also says that people laugh as an expression of nervousness when observing somebody violating a social norm. This means that one group member might be laughing because they find the content funny while the other is laughing because they are shocked by what they see and laugh as a nervous response.
I also asked the group members why they thought the show was so popular and the answers varied. The responses I got were that young people like drama and envy the casts’ lifestyle, people like seeing other peoples’ stupidity, and that it is simply an entertaining show. I relate these findings to the concept of gap filling in reception theory, Real states the following about gap filling, “We read the words, generate images and impressions, compare the text to other texts, and draw from our own experiences” (pg. 97). What I like about reception theory is that no one interpretation is correct and we can select from all of the messages in the media text the one we find most salient to our own experiences.

Overall I have found that Jersey Shore is a negotiated text. It “contains a mixture of acceptance and rejection of the dominant code and the preferred meaning encoded into the text.” Because Jersey Shore falls into the category of a negotiated text its viewers “are “boxing and coxing” with text, in the words of Hall, rather than accepting or rejecting it whole” (Real pg. 108).
In summation, while this study only focuses on one reality-based television show I believe if other similar shows were studied the findings would be the same. I think this particular relation of Jersey Shore to reception theory is important to understand because shows like this are what the young people of today are being influenced by. Acts that violate social norms are becoming more socially acceptable because they are increasingly seen as humorous. I think Jersey Shore is a good example of reception theory because its viewers come from all different walks of life. It also is a fascinating subject because the show has created its own speech code and vocabulary, which really shows how influential these media texts can be.

Questions asked:

What were your initial thoughts of the show?
Why/who made you start watching?
Why do you continue to watch?
What is your favorite part or element?
Why do you think it’s popular?
How do you view people who watch the show now compared to how you viewed them before you watched the show?