Buckwild- Is This Really America?

On January 3^rd, 2013, MTV introduced Americans to the reality show, “Buckwild”. As if the name of the show, buckwild; disobedient, uncivilized, ‘crazy’, did not describe it enough, the show demonstrates how young individuals live life to the fullest. Each episode follows them throughout their summer vacation in a rural town of West Virginia. The cast members, in eccentric ways, create their own kind of fun with whatever they can find. Quoted from one of the main characters, Shain (Gandee Candy), “We ain’t got much, but we have fun with what we got”. The MTV series also deals with their dating, friendship, and their town. “Buckwild” was ranked as the top-rated series among viewers twelve to thirty-four. It also pulled in an average of three million viewers per episode; therefore, the show was a complete hit.

From muddin’ (driving through mud puddles) to riding mechanical bulls, this show was instantly labeled as a “redneck”, “white trash”, and “hillbilly” series. According to Allison Keene, from Hollywood Reporter, “While the girls of the group act like they're on The Hills: Hillbilly Edition, the boys are constantly engaged in Jackass-type stunts”.  Throughout the series, viewers witnessed dozens of visual elements. One in particular were subtitles. Subtitles are used to help clarify the cast’s slurred words. Shain, the cast member with the thickest southern accent, almost always has subtitles when he is talking. This accentuates either they are uneducated or just simply intoxicated.  MTV also highlights the southern stereotype due to the fact that the cast members have their own vocabulary. Since cast members need to explain to “normal” Americans what words like, “holler”, “daggone” and “muddin”, mean, it illustrates that this series does not follow the typical urban dictionary. The cast members are viewed to be lower class. The men are prime examples for the lower class. Cast members, Tyler and Joey, started a lawn-mowing business because they needed to make money. They ended up quitting before they finished the first lawn. Were Joey and Tyler too lazy to do it or were they uneducated since there is no signs of an authority figure to guide them?

MTV seems to have found a certain trend for their network, stereotyping America. Unfortunately “Buckwild” is not the first reality show that has been stereotyped by MTV. In 2009, viewers tuned into one of the largest controversial reality TV series, “Jersey Shore”. MTV marketed the cast members of “Jersey Show” as ‘guidos/guidettes’. The term guido is described as an Italian-American who tans, wears wild clothing, and parties (a lot). Cast member, Pauly D, quotes, "I was born and raised a guido. It's just a lifestyle. It's being Italian, it's representing, family, tanning, gel, everything”. New Jerseyans were offended by this stereotype. Andrew DiMino, president of UNICCO National (largest Italian community organization in New Jersey), proclaimed: "It's a term used to insult us, implying we are all uneducated people without social graces”. From trending on twitter to turning international, “Jersey Shore” left their viewers with the idea that New Jersey is all tan and no brains. With millions of people saying that “Buckwild” is the new version of  “Jersey Shore”, is MTV stereotyping Americans as foolish party animals?

One of the main cast members, Tyler, displays patriarchy throughout the series. Tyler has the reputation for breaking women’s hearts all over West Virginia. Throughout the show, Tyler is disrespectful to women- from cheating on girlfriends to kissing random women in clubs; Tyler always seems to be in control.  In the beginning of the series, Tyler is seen dating Cara, one of the other cast members, Tyler states, “I like Cara, but I do not want anything but a hook-up. I don’t want to be ‘tied-down’ with just one girl”. By saying this, it shows viewers that in Tyler’s mind it is okay to be with more than one woman at the same time. Soon after viewers hear about Cara, MTV exhibits Tyler’s new interest is Katie, Cara’s good friend. Hook-up after hook-up, while the women (involved with Tyler’s drama) in the show get more emotional, the other men display signs of encouragement for how Tyler is acting. In a patriarchal society, Tyler is exhibiting actions that are deemed not only acceptable, but rather, are encouraged. The same trend can be seen in MTV’s “Jersey Shore”. The male cast members (Pauly D, Vinny, Ronnie, and Mike) have the patriarch in the show. Mike is seen as the leader/father of the cast members. The men support each other’s hook-ups and believe it be ‘normal’ to bring home different women each night. But the men are not okay with the females bringing random men home. For example, in the first season, the men scorn Angela (female cast member) for her encounters with several men.

Let’s think for a second. If you were watching “Buckwild” and you lived in Germany, would you think that all of America is the typical “redneck” lifestyle that the show creates? Stereotyping in some cases could be seen as a good thing, but shows like “Jersey Shore” and “Buckwild” typecast Americans to be wild and uneducated. With both show’s ratings sky rocketing, Americans can only wait for what reality show MTV will come up with next.                

Works Cited

"Italian-Americans hit back at Jersey Shore's use of the word 'guido' | Media | The Observer ." Latest news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | theguardian.com | The Guardian .Web. 20 Sept. 2013.

"MTV's 'Buckwild': TV Review - Hollywood Reporter." The Latest Entertainment & Hollywood News - The Hollywood Reporter.Web. 20 Sept. 2013.