With season 4 of the spectacular social experiment "The Jersey Shore" just around the corner, I knew I had to BLOG about it (duh). And the perfect opportunity presented itself when I saw the film "Kids" for the first time since I was 12 (yes, that film is as traumatizing to a 12 year old as you would think). For those of you who don't know "Kids" is a film about skater and club kids in New York in the mid nineties, it began the careers of indie queens Chloe Sevigny and Rosario Dawson. It was highly controversial at the time, and was blasted for depicting underage kids engaging in sex, violence, drugs, all the things us 18+ adults take for granted. But I actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The film is well made, and engaging the entire time. And while the characters in the film are full of questionable and downright deplorable morals, the film takes an interesting stance by not really providing any moral compass (reflecting the characters lack of guidance and subsequent inability to interact according to the rules set down by society). After the film, I realized that there are several similarities between the film and "The Jersey Shore". Let's take a look....
-Sex (duh)-
What initially struck me about the Jersey Shore was the system of values that the guidos and guidettes have, in which sex ("hooking up" on J.S. or "fucking" in "Kids) is the single most important thing in the world. This emphasis on sex is the same in "Kids", there isn't a single plotline that doesn't have to do with sex.... unless you count stealing 40 ouncers a plotline (which it is in some peoples lives). What you do, who you hang out with, where you go, everything has a direct correlation to sex. And if you fail to "fuck" or "hook up" you are a failure.
What initially struck me about the Jersey Shore was the system of values that the guidos and guidettes have, in which sex ("hooking up" on J.S. or "fucking" in "Kids) is the single most important thing in the world. This emphasis on sex is the same in "Kids", there isn't a single plotline that doesn't have to do with sex.... unless you count stealing 40 ouncers a plotline (which it is in some peoples lives). What you do, who you hang out with, where you go, everything has a direct correlation to sex. And if you fail to "fuck" or "hook up" you are a failure.
-Partying-
Next tier on the value system is partying, which includes drinking and drugs. If you can't hook up, the next most important thing you can do is get wasted.
Next tier on the value system is partying, which includes drinking and drugs. If you can't hook up, the next most important thing you can do is get wasted.
-Nicknames-
Characters in both Kids and J.S. feature nicknames, Snooki, The Situation, Casper (does anybody smell a new nickname for Vinny?!) as though they are trying to leave the self they grew up with in order to transform into a new breed of partying self.
-Just dollop of violence-
We all know Ronnie has his rage issues, and Kids also has a scene of sudden rage, though this time it's a platoon of skater kids. In both cases, violence is present as a cathardic release of tension, then quickly fades back into a haze of sex and drugs with minimal (if any) consequences.
We all know Ronnie has his rage issues, and Kids also has a scene of sudden rage, though this time it's a platoon of skater kids. In both cases, violence is present as a cathardic release of tension, then quickly fades back into a haze of sex and drugs with minimal (if any) consequences.
-A refusal to operate within the rules of society-
Snooki and Ronnie have both been arrested, Angelina is being sued by a limo driver for assault, Pauly D owns his own tanning bed, and The Situation thinks its ok to behave like an egotistical, horny teenager all the time. In Kids the main characters steal, they break into a public pool after hours, and smoke a blunt in broad daylight (in the days before medical marijuana).
Snooki and Ronnie have both been arrested, Angelina is being sued by a limo driver for assault, Pauly D owns his own tanning bed, and The Situation thinks its ok to behave like an egotistical, horny teenager all the time. In Kids the main characters steal, they break into a public pool after hours, and smoke a blunt in broad daylight (in the days before medical marijuana).
-Repercussions of sex-
"Kids" is as much about the dangers of HIV as it is about drugs and teenage hormones. As for the repercussions of sex on J.S., Pauly D had a "stalker", Danielle, Snooki gave it up for a guy who it turned out was a SPY for J Wow's boyfriend (who himself, also turned out to be a dog-hating asshole), and let's not forget the epic Sammi and Ronni fights in every season, featuring Sammi clinging to her bed like a spider-monkey as Ronni picks up the frame and tries to throw it out on the balcony! Plus, I'm sure there are more repercussions of being as slutty as these kids, but MTV doesn't want us to see them, and GTLP (Gym, Tanning, Laundry, Pharmacy for herpes cream) just doesn't have the same ring to it. Be careful who you sleep with kids! They might have an STD, or be Sammi "Sweetheart"!
"Kids" is as much about the dangers of HIV as it is about drugs and teenage hormones. As for the repercussions of sex on J.S., Pauly D had a "stalker", Danielle, Snooki gave it up for a guy who it turned out was a SPY for J Wow's boyfriend (who himself, also turned out to be a dog-hating asshole), and let's not forget the epic Sammi and Ronni fights in every season, featuring Sammi clinging to her bed like a spider-monkey as Ronni picks up the frame and tries to throw it out on the balcony! Plus, I'm sure there are more repercussions of being as slutty as these kids, but MTV doesn't want us to see them, and GTLP (Gym, Tanning, Laundry, Pharmacy for herpes cream) just doesn't have the same ring to it. Be careful who you sleep with kids! They might have an STD, or be Sammi "Sweetheart"!
-Not being willing to deal with repercussions-
Sammi and Ronnie still are not "done" and continue to torture themselves by being together, Pauly D invites his "stalker" back into the house after she's displayed clearly unstable behavior, and "Kids" ends with the HIV+ Cherry Popper, Telly, still on the loose and never confronted about his HIV status or lifestyle.
-Both beg the question "Are people really like this?!"-
Then you stop and realize "Of course people are really like this."
Sammi and Ronnie still are not "done" and continue to torture themselves by being together, Pauly D invites his "stalker" back into the house after she's displayed clearly unstable behavior, and "Kids" ends with the HIV+ Cherry Popper, Telly, still on the loose and never confronted about his HIV status or lifestyle.
-Both beg the question "Are people really like this?!"-
Then you stop and realize "Of course people are really like this."
What's most interesting about the connections between these two unique pieces of pop culture is the stance taken on this value system of sex and drugs and partying. The narrative of both "Kids" and J.S. (by "narrative" i mean the perspective through which we see the story) both have a non-judgemental position on the very askew values of these kids. However in "Kids", we see a bleak existence of teenagers with no direction, whose day to day life entails nothing but the pursuit of hedonism and will inevitably end in tragedy. It is a product of a time in which society was realizing the consequences of its actions (the spread of HIV, the way children are being raised), and does try to reflect that. The Jersey Shore on the other hand depicts drinking and partying antics as an acceptable diversion from the "daily grind" (not to be confused with the "nightly grind") of life. I suppose the lesson here is, we still partake in the same vices we did fifteen years ago.... But instead of crying about it, we just fist pump our problems away.
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