Quick Disclaimer – I’m an Italian American living on the east-coast, and while I do not find the term “Guido” offensive, I am offended that cast members on the show down play the word and its meaning. Older Italian generations may still believe that “Guido” is is a slur, but many fight back saying it isn’t a derogatory word, it’s a lifestyle of a sub-culture of Italians. This post is my opinion on the effect this show might have on the careers of younger cast members, NOT the word and it’s meaning.
Photo Credit - www.sliderguide.com
They have big muscles, busty figures, a never ending application of make-up, cases of hair gel, and now MTV is showing what happens when you throw 8 of them into one beach house. Striking gold yet again, MTV’s latest train wreck is called “Jersey Shore”, and features 20 somethings living the “Guido” life style.
Most of my family members find the show and its cast-members offensive, but made sure to talk about “Jersey Shore” for all three of our extended family dinners we’ve had over this holiday season. My family certainly isn’t alone in their disgust. Dominos recently pulled their sponsorship, and the president of the national Italian-American service organization has made sure to voice his anguish with the show.
The point is, whether you love or hate “Jersey Shore”, you’re talking about it and the shows orangey-tanned cast. Cast members have made appearances basically everywhere, including Jay Leno where he publicly embarrasses 3 of them. The “Guido” lifestyle is gaining national recognition, and while the buzz is exactly what MTV wanted, is the possible infamy helping or hurting the careers of the shows cast?
Get your Jager Bombs ready, I’m in the zone…
What does being a “Guido” mean?
To fully understand how the cast-members guido-ness hurts or helps their careers, we must first take a quick look into what it means to live that life style. Wikipedia describes Guido’s (guys) as humorously thuggish with an overtly macho attitude. Wikipedia also says they often wear plain T-shirts, muscle shirts, leather jackets, unbuttoned dress shirts, and throw heavy quantities of gel on their head to get right amount of spike in their hair, referred to as The Blowout. Lastly, Guido’s are perceived as being extremely muscular. More muscles, means more attention from Guidette’s. Duh.
What about the Guidette’s? I found a nice wikiHow manual on “How to Be a Guidette”. The list says that a young lady must be confident, look glamorous, wear the tightest clothing possible, go clubbing often, shop at Juicy or AX Armani, grow hair out long, get weekly manicures and pedicures, and date a Guido as soon as possible to become a true Guidette.
What activities do both Guido’s and Guidette’s enjoy? Easy. Clubbing as much as possible, tanning, and working out. These activities are staples in the Guido lifestyle.
Would you hire a cast member?
Organizations go online to search out information on people before hiring them. It happens. What stops the company from doing some research into the show and making a decision based off of what their character was like on TV? It’s a reality show, so obviously this is supposed to be how they are in real life off camera.
Your decision to hire someone can’t be off of their look alone, but would your organizations dress code be a problem to them? Non-stop fist pump party action could prove to cause issues in the workplace, especially in the morning.
Look, obviously I had fun with this, but let’s be real. The show is crude, ridiculous, and doesn’t help the image of the featured cast members. They may love the image and attention they are receiving, but what personal brand are they building? Again, simple. They use a lot of hair gel, they party hard, and they tan hard. Oh, and don’t forget the muscles.
So, if a cast member came in from the show to interview with you, would you hire them?
If you want more information on the cast, click on the link below and read quickly about each cast member. The descriptions aren’t long…
http://www.mtv.com/shows/jersey_shore/cast.jhtml
Would I hire a cast member?
I’ll be honest. I don’t know much about the career aspirations of each cast member. However, I do know that one of them DJ’s 6 nights a week, and apparently one of them is an exotic male dancer. These are two of the older cast members, so it looks as if they’ve found their ideal Guido careers. Both involve music, dancing, and looking good. Perfect.
As for the rest of them, I don’t know much. For me to feel confident hiring any of the cast, I’d need to know they would be committed to work, and partying during the week would not affect their job. If they could meet all job related requirements, then yes, I would green light hiring one of them.
How about that for an HR answer?
