The Stigma Surrounding Reality Television
ENG 122: English Composition II
April 17, 2011

The word moral is defined as an act of relating to, expressing, or teaching principles of right and wrong in behavior (Moral 2011). The word value is defined as relative worth, utility, or importance in oneself (Value 2011) The word reality is defined as a real event, entity, or state of affairs; the totality of real things and events (Reality 2011). In today’s society reality television has such a great influence over the younger generation, and for the most part not in a positive way. The majority of the reality show programs shown on television showcase a lack of moral and values that are instilled in people from the time they are children. The majority of these shows display the people on the show drinking alcohol in vast amounts, expressing very open sexual behavior, violence, bad language choices, and endless nights of partying. When I was growing up my parents used to say “Do not believe everything you see on television, because that is not the reality of how things work in real life.” Reality television shows provide a false outlook on life, and it gives the youth an unrealistic standard of living, as well as slows down the developmental structure of the younger generation, because whatever is shown on reality television is what they think life is all about. Reality television has made for the most part, such a negative impact on the younger generation, that one has to wonder what exactly are we showing children about what happens in society. Jersey Shore is a MTV reality show that takes place in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, focusing on the lives of four men, and four women of Italian descent acting outlandishly and shamelessly on a daily basis. The focal point of the show is surrounded around going the a night club, drinking substantial amounts of alcohol, expressing very open sexual behavior, profanity, drama, and rarely seen acts of violence. The people on this reality show have different words that stand for a variety of things that have become the slang used among the youth. For example, grenades mean ugly girls or guys, guido or guidette is a pejorative term and reinforces negative stereotypes, (Harris, M., 2010), G.T.L is an acronym for gym, tan, and laundry, (Harris, M., 2010). A juice head gorilla (Anonymous, 2011) is described as male Italians that are tan, muscular, and tall, and D.T.F is an acronym for down to fornicate. Even before the reality show aired on MTV on December 9, 2009, organizations like The New Jersey Sons of Italy, NIAF, and the Unity Neighborliness Integrity, Charity, and Opportunity (UNICO), an Italian-American organization based in Fairfield, New Jersey, tried to get television network MTV to cancel the show, because of all the negative ways the show displays Italian-Americans and residents of the state of New Jersey (Anonymous, 2010). Residents of Seaside Heights, New Jersey are also appalled with the reality show, because they feel as though the show has brought a negative stigma to their city. They do not want people who are not Italian-Americans, or who do not live in New Jersey to think that all people who live there and are of Italian descent are what we are shown on television. A lot of people are asking why are the cast members even famous in the first place, because they do not do anything productive in their day-to-day life. New Jersey State Assembly man Ralph Caputo (D-28) also expressed his displeasure with MTV for airing the show. "The show is an attack on Italian Americans altogether and its end result is stereotyping," Caputo said. "One would like to think that MTV would have higher programming standards than this." (Anonymous, 2009). Jenny DiMino the wife of UNICO president Andre’ DiMino, contacted MTV CEO Judy McGrath and asked that the television network to cancel the reality show, which resulted in various people to send angry messages to the network about the way Italian-Americans are portrayed. MTV has failed to apologize for the way Italian-Americans are portrayed on their reality show, but they removed the words “guido” and “guidette” from advertising for the show. In recent seasons of the reality show, MTV has removed flags and any other symbolic things that represent the Italian race, but not before major sponsors pulled advertising because of the backlash they may receive because of what the show represents (Anonymous, 2009). Since the show has aired cast members went from being paid two thousand dollars, to being paid ten thousand dollars, and have been on various media platforms to promote any projects that they are involved in. The Jersey Shore does not show the cast members consistently working, but they do show constant partying, drinking, and being sexually promiscuous, and that is not the reality of the average responsible young adult. The television network MTV also has another hit reality show that has received backlash for the negativity portrayed on the show called 16 and Pregnant. 16 and Pregnant is a reality show based on several teenage girls who are going through different adversities that come with unplanned pregnancies, as they are awaiting the birth of their baby. We witness every week, these girls fighting with their families, their boyfriends, and learning how to take care and provide for their babies. The majority of these girls do not finish high school because of the constant demand that parenting requires, and therefore cannot go to college. About two-thirds of the teens who have babies do not finish high school, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a nonprofit reproductive health agency (Steves, E., 2011). It is also hard for them to provide financially for their babies, because teenagers do not generally have full-time jobs, so they depend on someone else to help them provide for their babies. According to national statistics from www.pregnantteenhelp.org, 750,000 teenagers a year are getting pregnant in the United States, about one-third of the teenage population (Svoboda, A., Huntley, Tomlinson, B., Kenwood, 2010). It makes it seem as though MTV is promoting teen pregnancy for a chance to become a cast member on the hit reality show. Instead of the television network trying to give an insight to the financial, physical, and mental hardships teenage girls journey through pre and post pregnancy, it seems as though they are trying to make light of a major world issue. It seems as though they are glorifying becoming a teen mom by constantly airing comical movies like Juno, that is about the unplanned pregnancy of a teenage girl. I think that it is very important that parents talk with their children about sex, and everything that comes along with this subject matter. It is very important that parents address sex and every aspect that comes along with it, so that their children can be proper informed about sexually transmitted diseases, birth control, and unplanned pregnancies. It is the responsibility of parents to teach their children about sex, but if you are uncertain how to go about it, there are so many platforms that you can receive information from so that they can educate themselves. There are so many pamphlets, media resources, and classes that parents can take, so that they can make talking to their children a comfortable and understanding situation for not only themselves, but for their children. There are clinics that specialize in providing information on counseling about birth control options which includes abstinence; provide low-cost birth control, condoms and emergency contraception; free pregnancy testing; and free sexually transmitted infections testing and treatment (Anonymous, 2011). Reality television shows have taken over the way the younger generation views what being a responsible adult is all about, because they give an emotional insight and expose the lives’ of various people from different walks of life. Reality television has the ability to showcase the different trials and tribulations that one goes through in their day to day lives’, but at what cost do you want to put your life out there for public viewing? They are giving the youth a false sense of what the life of the average working class adults life consists of on the daily basis. These reality television shows give the youth the illusion that the ticket to fame and fortune is through these shows, because the audiences cannot get enough of the drama that they provide for viewing pleasure. The people on these reality television shows appear on major magazine covers, on various talk shows, they get paid to make appearances in various venues, and they basically take their fifteen minutes and turn them into a profitable lifestyle. They essentially are turning their lemons into lemonade by marketing themselves, so that they can capitalize off of their newfound fame, and due to the popularity of reality television stars, they receive just as much notoriety as award winning actors and actresses. Reality television has put forth more negative values, morals, and ethics so what are we actually teaching the youth, that if they act buffoonish, or get pregnant at a young age, so they can capitalize off of the fame they receive from being on these shows. That is why parents need to communicate with their children and set the proper foundation to their upbringing, because being taught how to act properly all starts in the home. If we as viewers did not watch these shows they would not get the ratings that it requires to keep these shows on the air, so it would force television networks to change their formats to give the viewers what they want.

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