28 February, 2010

GTL: An Ode to the "Jersey Shore"


It was late November '09 when I first started spotting trailers for "Jersey Shore." A fan of MTV's "True Life" docu series, I'd been mesmerized by the hour they'd devoted a couple years back to the Garden State's summer resort. A group of 20-somethings descended on it each balmy weekend looking for love (and trouble).

The reality series premiered on Dec. 3, with a cast of eight self-proclaimed "guidos and guidettes" and a quiet storm of controversy from offended Italian-American advocacy groups. Holy Outrageousness! The show was riveting for all the right and wrong reasons.

But when I asked around, it seemed only a select band of my pop-culturally attuned friends were watching. The rest, as you know, is television history.

"Jersey Shore" and its cast are a bona fide phenomenon, excoriated in The New Yorker, spoofed and lampooned on late night shows, and the generator of nicknames so inventive, the tags are rivaled only by Mob nomenclature.

G.T.L. Gym, tanning, laundry. I laughed, I cried, I "beat the beat," I related to all of that passion and familial loyalty, the (neighbor) hood slang...

And now lensman Terry Richardson will immortalize them in Interview (l. to r. "The Situation," Vinny, Richardson, Ronnie, and DJ Pauly D) Salute!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

"Holy Outrageousness". I love it

blackgirlnamedbecky said...

Seku, your comment was duplicated thrice. I accidentally deleted entirely in trying to pare down to once. But thanks. 'Holy Outrageousness,' indeed;)

Anonymous said...

You can easily get ceiling fan as market is full of this item but it becomes
important to trust only the renowned name. Pendant
lamps - Pendant lights are a good source of job
lighting and they can be lowered or elevated depending on your wants.
Depending on the homeowner's choice, they can either have up lights or down lights in them.

Feel free to surf to my blog post :: Ceiling fans with lights at lowes