Tebben Lopez/The Mirror
You would think that after three seasons of MTV’s Jersey Shore, America would tire of watching grown adults act like drunken college students all in the name of portraying the culture of “guido.” Thanks, cast, for perpetuating the negative stereotype of Italian-Americans when half of you aren’t even Italian (I’m looking at you Jenni Farley, Nicole Pollizzi & Ronnie Magros).
Yet the cast has been signed up again for round four. And this time around, the booze-guzzling, cat fighting, fist-pumping crew is headed to Italy. Florence to be exact. Is anybody else outraged about this?
I studied abroad in Florence last semester. It is a beautiful, historical city and is considered the center of art and culture in Italy. The Medici family ruled over Florence, the great writer Dante was exiled from Florence, Michelangelo’s ‘David’ resides in La Galleria Accademia in Florence. Besides the art, the city is known for its leather and jewelry—the Ponte Vecchio anyone?
I can understand why MTV would send Jersey Shore over to Florence. The nightlife is fantastic, and I hear it’s even better in the summer. Florence has the perfect mix of bars and nightclubs to suit anybody’s partying style, and with the right connections (which of course, Jersey Shore would have) you can be VIP every night of the week, which is acceptable in Europe.
But here’s the problem: just like Jersey Shore was misrepresenting Italian-Americans in New Jersey and Miami, they’re going to misrepresent Americans in Florence, Italy. As if Americans aren’t disliked enough across the Atlantic, why not send over a group of obnoxious drunks to help fuel the fire?
Part of what they say is true: Italians are not big fans of Americans, especially study abroad students. Sure, as semi-residents we bring in extra revenue for the grocery stores, shops, clubs and travel packages. The downside to study abroad students is their rowdiness, the tendency to go a little crazy because, duh, it’s Europe.
But when visiting the country, you’re expected to appreciate its history and culture, not its alcohol. For the past three seasons, the cast of Jersey Shore has just partied, partied, partied. They fight when drunk, cause public disturbances when drunk, get arrested when drunk. If their behavior doesn’t change, i.e not being sloppy 24/7, I predict that the cast is going to have a few run-ins with the carabinieri (Italian police), and it won’t be pretty.
Florence also operates differently from, say, Miami or New York. Yes, there is nightlife, but for the most part the city shuts down around 10 p.m.
And the Italians like you better when you put in effort to speak the national language: Italian. Does anybody from Jersey Shore speak Italian? The New Jersey accent doesn’t count.
It’s extremely upsetting to me: first these fame-grabbing people make Italian-Americans look bad, and now they’re going to make all Americans look bad. Anybody who is proud of their heritage and country should be angry—we don’t want a worse reputation than we have already. Why leave it in the hands of the Jersey Shore crew to give a negative lasting impression?
I can see it already. Intoxicated, all of them will concoct a brilliant scheme to climb on or piss on a thousand-year-old statue or building, whether in Florence or visiting other parts of the country. They’ll ruin it, causing irreparable damage and have to be immediately deported to America, never allowed to return to the boot-shaped country and bring shame upon our great nation.
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