Why other countries hate the united states

[Unchainme]

How MTV Is Selling Jersey Shore to Foreigners - Jersey Shore - Gawker (http://gawker.com/5499670/how-mtv-is-selling-jersey-shore-to-foreigners/gallery/?skyline=true&s=i)

Dear non-americans of the rotharmy,

let me be the first to apologize for this trash that somehow passes for Television amd somehow gets exported to your country now-a-days. We're really not like this, not at all. Sure we like to party and drink, but a lot of us are not brain dead attention whoring idiots like these toolbags are. We all live pretty normal quiet lives and again a whole lot us would like nothing more than to export these morons to anartica as they are a detriment to our society, and I'm sure you have the same amount of idiots in your respective countries, but I suppose they don't have as easy access to a camera? :pullinghair:

also, our bad on the whole Bush thing, really a lot of us wern't fans of him either.

Your fellow citizen of the world

unchainme.

[Seshmeister]

It's ok my favourite TV reviewer over here nailed it I think... :)



Charlie Brooker's Screen burn: Jersey Shore

This week, Charlie's been watching MTV demonise young Italian-Americans in Jersey Shore

Scribbling about TV shows isn't an abysmal task by any standards, but it does have its downsides, namely those weeks where the programme you're reviewing is so profoundly dispiriting it leaves you praying for climate change to hurry up and frazzle us all. This is one of those weeks. The Guide insisted I watch Jersey Shore (Sun, 9pm, MTV). Swear to God, they're trying to drive me to suicide.

On the face of it, Jersey Shore is a reality show in which some tanned, whooping idiots live in a beach house for a month: a splice of Big Brother and Ibiza Uncovered featuring a uniformly unlikable bunch of infuriating, loud, over-confident pillocks. So far, so standard. What's eye-opening is that the entire cast appears to be drawn from one minority group – namely Italian-Americans. I didn't know much about Italian-Americans before watching Jersey Shore. Now I feel as if I was born hating them; as if despising Italian-Americans is my moral duty.

It's not my fault, really it's not. Blame the producers, who seem to have constructed Jersey Shore by following a step-by-step guide to besmirching an entire ethnic group. Step one: identify the stereotype (in this case, the notion that working-class Italian-Americans are shallow sex-crazed thugs). Step two: collect the clearest embodiments of said stereotype you can find (consequently all the men in Jersey Shore are dopey, muscled, hollering titty-chasers: the girls are bolshy, spray-tanned, micro-skirted man-eaters). Step three: let them refer to themselves by using a slang term broadly perceived as an ethnic slur (in this case, the word "guido", a pejorative nickname which roughly means "dim macho Italian-American lunk"). Step four: group them together in a house decorated with Italian flags and Scarface posters. Step five: give them booze, film them behaving like shallow sex-crazed thugs, calling each other "guido", etc. Step six: there is no step six. Job's done. Go home and count the proceeds.

Unsurprisingly, Jersey Shore caused a bit of a stink when it was screened in the US. Various advertisers, including Domino's Pizza and Dell Computers, pulled their commercials following the debut episode. New York Post TV critic Linda Stasi (herself an Italian-American) accused the show of "furthering the popular TV notion that Italian-Americans are gel-haired, thuggish ignoramuses with fake tans, no manners, no diction, no taste, no education, no sexual discretion, no hairdressers (for sure), no real knowledge of Italian culture and no ambition beyond expanding steroid- and silicone-enhanced bodies into sizes best suited for floating over Macy's on Thanksgiving."

In summary: Jersey Shore isn't very nice. A farmyard animal could produce this show, and probably did. In fact, the sole skill the makers have demonstrated is the small degree of cunning involved in selecting Italian-Americans in the first place. Run the step-by-step guide again with a different ethinc group and it's altogether more incendiary.

But perhaps the whole ethnic slant, explosive though it is, is a red herring. The group Jersey Shore is truly adept at demonising – like countless dumb "party time" docusoaps before it – is the young. Some of the young audience will tune in; the vast majority will ignore it. On TV, you currently have more chance of spotting a pair of morbidly obese conjoined twins on a log flume than of seeing one articulate, intelligent teenager exploring any subject other than sex or tattoos in any depth whatsoever. Little wonder they're abandoning ship.

[MAX]

Wait just a minute, Baywatch was an international fucking phenomenon!!!

Your welcome. :biggrin:

[Seshmeister]

Unlike Baywatch I don't think this is aimed at our demographic... :)

[Unchainme]

It's ok my favourite TV reviewer over here nailed it I think... :)

Brooker is gold.

Wish we in the states could borrow if just for a couple months.

YouTube - Charlie Brooker's Screenwipe - Teenage opinions on Yoof TV (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hR-A_ppO5o)

[binnie]

I have seen a commercial for this show - it made me want to die.........

[Dan]

HOLY CRAP!!! Jersey Shore Punch, SNOOKIE GETS KNOCKED DA F**K OUT!!!

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Holy Shit.:(

[ZahZoo]

Nothin new... consider what the rest of the world thought of us in the 60's -70's when Giligan's Island, The Beverley Hillbillies, Gomer Pyle & Hogan's Heros were top reality shows...

[binnie]

HOLY CRAP!!! Jersey Shore Punch, SNOOKIE GETS KNOCKED DA F**K OUT!!!

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Holy Shit.:(

What kind of a man hits a woman?

[Coyote]

What kinda name is "Snookie", anyway?

[chefcraig]

What kinda name is "Snookie", anyway?

There is an interesting story behind that. When the show was being initially conceived and the individual characters were being created, it was determined that the part of a vacuous, socially inept bottom-feeder should have a name that started in a sibilant "S", and ended with a vowel. It was discovered that the New Jersey accent would take great advantage of such a name, and was given historical precedent in the use of the similar Tony Soprano, a character also from the Jersey locale.

A list of names was thus compiled, and after much further research was dwindled down to two final possibilities. Oddly enough, during a search for legalities, it was discovered that one of the names (Savicki) was actually in use, and was widely recognized in the on-line community, with often disturbing connotations. Fearing highly negative response to a character with such a name in an already controversial series, the name "Snookie" won out by default.

[ELVIS]

uhh h uh uh uh h hu hu hu hu hu...:biggrin:

[kwame k]

Watch yourself, Craig. Steve is hitting the groan button like a drunken sailor hitting the bottle on shore leave. :umm:

[Dan]

Watch yourself, Craig. Steve is hitting the groan button like a drunken sailor hitting the bottle on shore leave. :umm:

You Suck,Steve.:fufu:

[Kristy]

What kind of a man hits a woman?

One that will do what a reality show TV producer will tells him to do. What you're seeing here is not just the dumbing down of American culture but the complete acceptance of it. It's no coincidence that shows like 'Jersey Shore' are a hit among their targeted demographic of a sub-culture society circling it like vultures who feed upon vanity, materialism, self-aggrandizement while reinforcing all the negative stereotypes that go along with it. So why now are Italians offended? It is because of this douchebag's act or the more plausible cause they they are simply being exploited and mocked?

http://tech.blorge.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/viacom.jpg

MTV, who is owned by Viacom has been dismantling television for years replacing what could be considered entertainment with mindless shock value. Just watch any of the shit they produce and see how they distort all they touch. For example look how a show like CSI capitalizes on the suffering of the mentally ill and/or the homeless; even Southpark has lost its edge of taking aim at pop culture and simply giving their audience a verbal battering of expletive syntax. 'The Daily Show' has now become so unwatchable not because of Stewart's smugness but because all they offer anymore is counter-arguments to the likes of Fox News (which can be good at times) polarizing their viewers to some sort of metaphorical belief that The Daily Shows News is real news while claiming not to be real news at all. Yeah, I know that made no sense but I'm running on 4 hours of sleep here.

Anyway, seeing what looks like an Axe body spray-wearing, no job with no ambition barely graduated high-school speaking, "works out" at the gym 4 hours a day idiot (oooh, talk about stereotyping) hitting a girl doesn't shock or offend me at all. Instead, it makes me feel embarrassed that this is the best our society can come up for TV merriment - as if Jay Leno returning to the Tonight Show wasn't bad enough.

[Seshmeister]

All that said though they is some brilliant US TV out there. Not a lot but the best US TV is some of the best in the world. Most of it seems to be funded by HBO though.

[lesfunk]

I don't hit women because I don't want the shit beat out of me.
My ex wife wrestled grown retards for a living and was a real ass kicker.
My current GF almost broke my thumb cuz I tried to giver her a little tickle.
Women are just too fucking dangerous

[lesfunk]

All that said though they is some brilliant US TV out there.
.

like The mighty Boosh!

[Kristy]

Most of it seems to be funded by HBO though.

HBO is owned by Time-Warner who may not be as retarded as Viacom but they are slowly devolving themselves that way.

[Blackflag]

TV is shit. Period. Always has been, always will be.*











*Except for 24.

[Unchainme]

All that said though they is some brilliant US TV out there. Not a lot but the best US TV is some of the best in the world. Most of it seems to be funded by HBO though.

agreed on that and most in the states that know what good tv is, usually tune into HBO.

I really got into the sopranos when it was on, sort of wish it would have stuck around just a little more. I've also heard some great things of "The Wire", but I sadly havn't really gotten into it. Also "Curb your enthusiam" has pretty similiar humor to Seinfeld, but thanks to being on HBO, Larry David is able to get away with a lot more.

Mini-series are great, John Adams was mint, as is the current WWII one "The Pacific" (which isn't as good as Band of Brothers, but still pretty damn good), and "Band of brothers" itself.

Would be awesome if the truly well written shows on HBO would be the ones getting talked about and promoted, and true complete and utter shit like American Idol, and the aforementioned Jersey Shore would be off the air.

It's sad now, as a society, we don't reward people for being creative and just using their brain to create something thought provoking. No, we reward those that have an IQ in the single digits and whore themselves out. And, I'm saying this in all mediums.

[LoungeMachine]

TV is shit. Period. Always has been, always will be.*











*Except for 24.



And The West Wing


:gulp:

discuss.

[Unchainme]

And The West Wing


:gulp:

discuss.

need to get off my ass and watch that now.

in my poly sci. class, we watched a bit of the show, and I must say, it was really good.

[chefcraig]

It's sad now, as a society, we don't reward people for being creative and just using their brain to create something thought provoking. No, we reward those that have an IQ in the single digits and whore themselves out. And, I'm saying this in all mediums.

I'm really surprised that you would say that, because all it takes is some effort and some jurisprudence, OK maybe some discernment, but you can find outstanding television at this very moment, that yes confounds the basic fodder you describe.

Pick up your remote, and tune into AMC's Breaking Bad (http://www.amctv.com/originals/breakingbad/). Check out Mad Men, from the same network. FX has shows like The Sons Of Anarchy and Denis Leary's Rescue Me. For that matter, smoke a joint and tune into ABC's LOST or any of the weird as shit sci-fi shows they have going, like Flash Forward. Even the once appointment viewable House on FOX, while sucking greatly, is still a terrific show. And CBS' Big Bang Theory is worth checking out. And some of the stuff on Showtime is worthy of subscription.

Odd, experimental U.S. tv is alive and well, you just have to take some time and effort to find it at times. No, it's not always going to be great. But for that matter, it never has been.

[BITEYOASS]

Unfortunately someone is going to have to die instantly on a reality show in order to put this horrible trend in television, 6 feet under.

[binnie]

All that said though they is some brilliant US TV out there. Not a lot but the best US TV is some of the best in the world. Most of it seems to be funded by HBO though.

Agreed. Some of the best drama has been produced by American TV in the past 10 years or so....

[Seshmeister]

What kind of a man hits a woman?

Stop being so sexist. :)

[Kristy]

Well 24 to me has become a little ridiculous. I'm not at all following this season's story simply because like the X-Files the show has run fresh out of ideas. The West Wing was brilliantly well-written and acted so why it bombed is a mystery to me. Could be the American viewing public has a distaste for anything cerebral (which in turn explains why Jersey Shore is such a smash).

But speaking about cerebral one rule to remember if the show isn't produced by Viacom chances are high you're watching somewhat quality television - somewhat.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately someone is going to have to die instantly on a reality show in order to put this horrible trend in television, 6 feet under.

The minute that happens, ratings will explode.

Everyone will want to watch such "terrible" event.

Guess what will happen next.

I'll give you a hint: TV stations are not known to pull the plug on something when ratings are up.

Cheers! :bottle:

[chefcraig]

The minute that happens, ratings will explode.

Everyone will want to watch such "terrible" event.

Guess what will happen next.

I'll give you a hint: TV stations are not known to pull the plug on something when ratings are up.

Cheers! :bottle:

Oddly enough, this very scenario was predicted by Paddy Chayefsky in the film Network back in 1976. The story dealt with a television network, and ultimately, it's leading star was killed for his ratings. If you've never seen (or even heard of) the film, I highly recommend it.

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[Anonymous]

Oddly enough, this very scenario was predicted by Paddy Chayefsky in the film Network back in 1976.

http://www.rotharmy.com/forums/house-music/58423-ian-anderson-prog-rock-douche-prolific-genius.html#post1442932

There is no such thing as predicting... only a despairing knowledge that it's all goin' down the drain & all you can do is get shit-faced.

Actually, that's not a bad idea. Bottoms up &

Cheers! :bottle:

[Anonymous]

I'll be sure to watch that film, though... sounds killer! :)

But yeah, I'll get a copy of it for tonite.

Cheers! :bottle: