It’s time for the Karens of social media to come out in force today, as the real housewives of Jersey break cover and onto the streams of ITVBe. It’s been the talk of the island for the last few months and a liberal amount of scorn has been poured, even without seeing the finished show. Any geographical area in which this style of docu-dramatisation series is commissioned must witness an emotional outpouring from haters of all natures who feel it mis-represents their society, but they’re missing the point.
It is entertainment, plain and simple. Having watched the first few today, it’s undeniable that it makes the island look link an amazing place. Job done.
Did people avoid Hawaii as a holiday destination because it was full of Ferrari-driving lothsarios with moustaches? Did people boycott visiting Chelsea when you took a trip to London because you disapproved of the things they ‘made’ there? No, it was probably the opposite. These programmes thrust a willing few into the limelight to have their carcasses chewed at by the anonymous keyboard-based hyenas of social media. Why they chose to do it ranged from promoting offspring talents to simply meeting new people; the reasons are their own and in the case of most of our ‘housewives’, it was just a bit of fun.
These woman have made a name for themselves in one way or another and it looks like making the show could have been a hoot. A lot of what we see will, of course, be a result of editing over dialogue; the show’s producers wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t make that the case. It’s designed to make viewers love / hate the characters. If the people that commented on our Facebook post announcing the show today are anything to go by, it’s the latter, without having even watched it. Balls to them.
What the RHOJ means for Jersey is sweeping drone shots of our gorgeous shores thrust primetime in front of potentially millions of potential visitors. Visitors to Jersey bring income to the island and a sense of 80s tourist hotspot nostalgia. Some islanders love welcoming tourists more than they love hating the finance industry that our first foray into television helped spawn. Our industry diversification created jobs, a higher standard of living and a future for our children on Jersey…but clearly you can’t please all the people all the time. Whether you want to celebrate everything JSY or wish to haver a future where tourism exists alongside trusts, getting this kind of coverage is brilliant.
So…sit back, binge watch it and thank your lucky stars you live among these lucky stars. We do so with this great island all around us. If could be worse, you could be in Essex.
Check out the show here.
