In recent months the show “Jersey Shore” has become a national phenomenon. Even the voice of America, Brian Williams, is admitting he is watching it. George Clooney, a famous A-list celebrity, told MTV that their controversial cast is more popular than the number one blockbuster Avatar.
Clooney said, “‘Avatar‘ is just a giant hit movie, but ‘Jersey Shore’ is, you know, life.”
PopEater’s columnist Rob Shuter admits that the controversial reality program has taken the MTV network by storm. It used to be the Hills. If you flip on the MTV channel these days, there is a big chance you will land at the Jersey Shore. Is the ‘Shore’ the new ‘Hills’?” Rob questions whether Snooki is the new image of Heidi.
Rob explains the Hills are irrelevant because the show is a product of a different time, a golden era of prosperity and high hopes when we expected our reality TV to resemble the “perfect reality” of the silver screen. At least this was the ‘idealized’ American Dream.
Ronnie Karam, a Senior Editor for Tvgasm, admits that the majority of young females tended to identify with an image of being “rich, pretty, thin and have nothing to say.” Ronnie continues on to say:
“Then ‘reality’ hit. We finally had to face the facts that our jobs suck, we can make shapes out of our stomach fat, and we might as well just be drunk, slutty and super loud. Look in the mirror, America. You’re a trashy wh—e. And we’re way better off just admitting it. Now please excuse me while I go do naked cartwheels and tan.”
The truth is, in the backdrop of our current economic crisis, the Hills make people feel bad about their life while the Jersey Shore makes them feel better. Frankly, most of us do not have a leisure lifestyle, an awesome apartment and a cool-sounding job where we don’t have to do much work. As a matter of fact, a large amount of Americans have lost theirs jobs or experienced some form of pay cut, many dreams were shattered and a sense of hopelessness set in.
On a deeper level, Heidi (as well as Marilyn Monroe, Paris Hilton, etc) symbolized an era in which we felt protected by some form of “security blanket,” things appeared more stable and the future – bright. The image of a pampered, dainty and refined female, not burdened by the daily struggles of life was “in”. However, the reality of the current economic recession gave birth to a new female archetype, reminiscent of a World War II poster where females were portrayed with rolled up sleeves, pumped up biceps, ready to take on any challenges of life. Thus, the survival instinct kicked in and the collective image switched from dainty to tough. The problem is that during the Second World War it served a constructive purpose of mobilizing everybody to fight for their country while today it appears to be destructive, a “frustrated” warrior with no specific cause.
This is the undercurrent of Ronnie Karam’s frustrated plea to face the reality that life sucks and no one has a “secret” remedy to fix it. Her reasoning is: since our high hopes and dreams appear to be unattainable, we might as well become consumed in heavy drinking, partying, over-eating, indiscriminate sex – anything goes.
This destructive notion resonates with another peculiar phenomenon that affected hundreds of fans of James Cameron’s hit movie, Avatar. After watching the movie, people reported symptoms of depression as well as suicidal thoughts.
According to Deborah Huso,
“…Pandora, which is portrayed as a world of beauty, with inhabitants that are close to nature and all creatures are connected. Many attribute their depression to the fact that the utopian world shown in the movie is unattainable here on earth and makes life seem meaningless.”
So what is going on and what can we do about it?
Personally, I would suggest that we learn to flow with the go whenever we can go with the flow, meaning, make the best of what is available when the best isn’t.
As a couple of the fans of Avatar shared:
“Sometimes I get to thinking that it sucks that our planet can’t be like Pandora, that we have to be so vain and greedy, but at the end of the day all I’m trying to do is feel better with myself and “Avatar” has helped me do that. I may have had the ‘depression’ for a day, but all it did was make me want to improve myself.”
“I have also experienced a positive outcome. I feel inspired to do a great variety of things and make my life more meaningful. Whenever I need motivation, I just think about Pandora and Neytiri and Voila!”
I think both of these remarks have validity in terms of solving the dilemma of what to do when reality strikes some of our favorite escapisms and there doesn’t seem to be any way out but down. We can aim for what we envision beyond the ‘whips and scorns’ of life, or we can simply start working on one pragmatic step at a time. Remember these three ‘isms” when you’re face with disappointment:
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with but one step.” “Don’t expect to get to your fondest goals over night.” “All worthwhile things come in time.”
References:
http://www.popeater.com/2010/01/13/george-clooney-jersey-shore-avatar/
http://www.popeater.com/2010/01/12/jersey-shore-the-hills/
http://www.aolhealth.com/condition-center/depression/avatar-causes-depression?icid=main|htmlws-main-n|dl3|link5|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolhealth.com%2Fcondition-center%2Fdepression%2Favatar-causes-depression
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