tagged w/ Self-Aware
-
MTV's Jersey Shore celebrates hyperconsumerism, aggressive machismo, and an upholding of values that leave me feeling alienated. So when I watched this parody, featuring the cast, I fell into a state of cognitive dissonance.
Gawker's Brian Moylan writes:
"It is evident that these three now realize that they are caricatures being exploited for the entertainment of the masses. In under four minutes, we see them accept this role gladly and trudge ahead into the world, with their rippled abs, spiked hair, and orange fake tans to be the modern court jesters that MTV has prescribed them to be. But be careful, now that the creatures from this awesome sociological experiment have become self-aware, they will be impossible to stop."
It's this self-awareness that gets me. My sarcastic, elitist, leftist colleagues and I joke about the lifestyle depicted on this show. If we do watch it, we might derive humor by thinking ourselves better than the denizens of the Jersey Shore. But when these characters become self-aware, we realize they are merely playing characters, and we become the butt of the joke.
Perhaps Mike "The Situation" and the cast of Jersey Shore are a clever splinter group of Situationist International, masquerading as douchebags.
SI describes The Situation as:
"A moment of life concretely and deliberately constructed by the collective organization of a unitary ambiance and a game of events."
We can understand that lifestyle in that manner. The cast does not live in this community full-time, they are here for the summer, "a moment of life." One could argue that this temporary society is "concretely and deliberately constructed" by a "collective organization" of those who actively want to experience life this way. The "unitary ambiance" is that uniform orange suntan. The "game of events" is the schedule of tanning during the day, partying at night, and eventual drama upon returning home.
These cast members are living in an intentional community. It's like your friend's commune in Siskiyou County, only with way more hair gel.
Traditional approaches to analyzing douchebags have often denied their intellect. The conversation becomes one of "they do this, because they don't know any better." But when we recognize their self-awareness, we have to think of these people as our intellectual equals. They aren't wayward members of the lumpenproletariat, they are formidable opponents who want nothing more than to make you dance to trance music.
This show is entertaining for the aforementioned superiority theory, or as mere fantasy like Harry Potter. It's a world that most of only know from popular culture. So in order to maintain this simulacrum, the casting director needs to hire people who can accurately perform these characters.
The above parody not only shows that these participants are self-aware, but that to some extent they can act. This is specifically why they were cast, in the role of gigantic douchebags.
---
Now some animated douchebaggery:
MTV's Jersey Shore celebrates hyperconsumerism, aggressive machismo, and an... more
-
-
Love might be in the air, but it's much easier to catch on the internet. Find your perfect match and be adorable with them all the time. Or at least in commercials.
For more Sarah Haskins http://current.com/topics/88794117/sarah_haskins/new/0.htm
For more Target Women http://current.com/topics/88813968/target_women/new/0.htm
Target Women is a recurring segment on Current TV's weekly television show, infoMania. In each episode of Target Women, Sarah Haskins takes a look at the often-ridiculous way the media reaches out to women.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at current.com/infomania. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.Love might be in the air, but it's much easier to catch on the internet. Find... more
-
