ChickSpeak

Why are reality TV shows so addicting? For starters, they claim to be completely unscripted, which means every scenario that is filmed on screen is the product of actual events taking place. A catfight on America’s Next Top Model really does involve hair-pulling and nail-scratching. A bar dispute on Jersey Shore did result in one cast member being literally knocked off her feet and onto the ground. In the oftentimes unreal world of reality TV, gossip circulates 24 hours a day, while secret pasts are unearthed and broadcast to the entire world.  

Reality TV stars have gained a special notoriety of late. They grace the covers of our most popular magazines. They appear regularly on news channels, and their every action is scrutinized by the all-pervading paparazzi. While reality TV shows should be enjoyable to watch, viewers should still pick and choose which ones best suit their own ideas of what really qualifies as entertainment.  

The Hills vs. The City

Heidi Montag may be able to grace the covers of magazines like Playboy and People, but she has proven herself a horrendous role model when it comes to everything from choosing men to churning out more attention-grabbing headlines with her hubby sidekick. She is co-author of the book, How to Be Famous: Our Guide to Looking the Part, Playing the Press, and Becoming a Tabloid Fixture, which unsurprisingly offers tips like how to communicate hatred without opening your mouth and why plastic surgery is an underrated blessing that everyone should take advantage of.  

Instead of watching Heidi, Spencer, and the whole dysfunctional gang for another season, get your reality television fix with The City, a spin-off of The Hills. In The City, Whitney Port embarks on a journey that leaves her cut off from the comforts of home. She moves to The Big Apple, hoping to start a brand new life with a job working for world-famous designer, Diane Von Furstenberg.

Port’s story is a familiar one: a small girl in a big city with equally big dreams who quickly learns who she can and cannot trust. Surrounded by both friends and enemies, Port must juggle all the craziness in her life while still looking fabulous on the screen.  

Jersey Shore vs. Real Housewives of New Jersey 

Jersey Shore, which debuted on December 3, 2009, has been attracting negative attention from celebrities, politicians, and national organizations for its liberal use of the words “Guido” and “Guidette”. Though the terms are generally thought to connote a negative portrayal of working-class Italian Americans, the crew of eight housemates insists that the slang term has changed meaning over time.  

Cast member Sammi Giancola defended the show by telling MyCentralJersey that Jersey Shore is “…just people living life on the show. That’s it. We shouldn’t judge because everybody’s their own person. I feel, as an Italian-American, I understand their ways. People are what they are, and that’s the way it is.” Likewise, Nicole “Snooki” Polizza appeared on The Wendy Williams Show to explain, “The Italian, whatever, national, whatever their organization is. They don’t understand that Guidos and Guidettes are good-looking people that, you know, like to make a scene and be the center of attention and just take care of themselves. They are old fashioned.” MTV’s latest sun-tanned creation has been protested by advertisers like American Family Insurance and Domino’s Pizza, as well as the actual residents of Jersey Shore who claim the show casts a negative light on both New Jersey and the Jersey Shore area.  

For the grown-up version of “Jersey Shore” that has, to its credit, attracted less inflammatory criticism, watch The Real Housewives of New Jersey on the Bravo network. In the first season, viewers were introduced to five women, all with their own individual set of problems:

Teresa Giudice is a stage mother who formerly worked for the fashion industry in New York but now focuses on kick-starting her daughter’s acting and modeling career. Caroline Manzo, the most down-to-earth of the housewives, owns a real estate firm and a children’s accessories line while her husband co-owns one of the most famous catering facilities in New Jersey. Dina Manzo, a self-professed gossip who strives not to label herself as a gold-digger, provides some of the excitement of the first season by repeatedly clashing with Danielle Staub, the black sheep of the entire group. Danielle Staub’s seedy past life surfaces over the course of the show thanks to a book called Cop Without a Badge, which contains among other sordid details a mugshot of Danielle back when she was known as Beverly Ann Merrill, a paid escort charged by the United States District Court with extortion, narcotics conspiracy, and cocaine possession. Jacqueline Laurita, the last of the five housewives, plays a small role in the show, though not an insignificant one. Against the wishes of her family, she continues to befriend Danielle and even invites her to a birthday lunch, where yet another catfight ensues. It all sounds too good to be true for reality television, but somehow this show proves that anything can happen in a small suburb of New Jersey.