Reality Bites

Stock up on laundry detergent and stay out of the tanning booths, because the cast of “Jersey Shore” is coming to South Beach for their second season.

Before going to South Beach to try to be Snooki’s match made in heaven or to try to see the Situation’s situation, however, please consider why these people are famous.

The appeal of the show is the huge personality of the characters, like the Situation’s ego and extreme objectification of women. It leaves the audience asking themselves if these people are for real, and doubting everything they say.

As celebrity magazines shoot out new articles addressing these characters’ tendencies, and their love of the gym, doing laundry and tanning, especially the Situation and Pauly D, they are creating a buzz over unworthy subjects.

Think about all the people that are not getting the attention they deserve. Locally at the University of Miami there is ground-breaking research being done by professors that do not get nearly as much attention as Ronnie did when he got in a fight on the boardwalk. This is a misplacement of values in our society.

The audience has a responsibility. They need to step back and put the show into context. Before crowds head out to see Snooki make club appearances, remember that in the larger scheme of life she is relativity unimportant. There are much bigger problems that deserve this attention.

There can be some solace taken in the career-ending track other reality stars have taken. Remember Tila Tequila? She fell off the face of the planet after her second season of “A Shot at Love,” where she tried to choose between a selection of males or females to win her heart.

These shows are not completely void of cultural value. They give us something to talk about, and let us marvel at the absurdity of  some people’s lives. At the very least, these shows are entertaining, and can pass time. Just keep them in perspective.