Is Geordie Shore reality? Does it have a 'darkside'?

Well I've been sort of goaded into doing this by my work pal (I see you @Zoggers87) and whilst I'm not going to do is strictly as he asked, it did make me start thinking a bit.

First off, yes I watch Geordie Shore, and yes I actually find it utterly amusing, interesting, and at times bewildering. I find it harmless TV really for the most part, with some interesting undertones. Obviously it's a take on the highly successful US Jersey Shore, which I watched up until they left Italy then stopped as I began to find the same cycle of events repetitive and at times slightly uncomfortable.

Geordie Shore is not like other reality programs like Made in Chelsea, or TOWIE, it's not setup scenarios with scripted dialogue. Not to say some parts of GS arent dramatized to become more entertaining with the odd bit of script, but it's far more realistic due to the fact that the characters are more off the rails than normal. They dont need to be prompted to argue, becasue they bloody love doing it anyway. It is simply following the people doing exactly what they love doing.

However, I spoke earlier about deeper undertones that I've realised, and I think it begins in the way you could summarise this show to your mates - 'It's about a load of Geordies that go out every night, drinking, pulling and looking for a shag, then live by the GTL rules in Jersey Shore', basically it wouldnt be far off that. Throw in a few 'musts' for success, an on/off couple within the group, a general relentless persuit of sex, arguments, fights and amusement, and you've got yourself a winning formula.

So with that formula, it's quite obvious the show would be a success but also the 'stars' of it would get quite the fanbase from the opposite sex. Gaz for example is LOVED on twitter and every girl seems to want to shag him, as he seems to be on some relentless journey to shag a million girls by the time he's 30, or something. He is in fact by best example by a point I want to make, his WHOLE LIFE, is basically, gym and shagging. Nothing else, he has zero personality because those two things are all he knows (and the same can loosely be extended to the other guys as well). What would then happen if you removed these things from his life? What would happen then? I honestly don't think he'd find any point going on living. Something that you can take away from this, is you're all deeper and have far more too you than these people, so take it as a plus (even if we don't all live the fun life they seem to). What happens to them when they turn 35 and looks fade, gym bodies droop, and the public celeb status has long disappeared? Not in a good place I assure you.

It's not just him though, he's just the best example, but all the guys pretty much are similar. They all live by the same moral compass, pretty much, and have very similar traits, as do a couple of the girls (minus gym). It makes for entertaining viewing in the relentless persuit of the opposite sex, but in the same way it kind of makes me feel sorry for them. Truly. That is ALL they do, but they don't know any other way of life, it's really bizarre. I know everyone enjoys sex, of course, that isnt my point, but I'm fairly sure some of you are not nearly as bad as these people, ALWAYS trying it on constantly anytime you leave your house, to be honest people like that I actually feel sorry for, specially the older you get and it's still the only thing you're 'good at'.
So if we were to remove 'going on the pull' and shagging randoms from these people's lives, what are we left with? Literally just a hub of flesh. Nothing, no personality (Vicky, Sophie and maybe to an  extent James aside), they would be INCREDIBLY boring to watch and really come across worse than anyone you've ever known.

In a way they really personify Las Vegas for me (PLEASE bear with me on this). It's an amazing city, a place everyone should visit at least once, incredible, mental, hedonistic, ridiculous, all these things apply. But, and it's a very big but, you take away The Strip (where EVERYTHING is located), and look 1 or 2 streets back, or 2 mins away, and you see a totally different side to Las Vegas. You seem 'the darkside', the poor, desolate, dangerous (to a degree), gritty, grimy side that the face of Vegas doesnt want you to see. Las Vegas is a city wracked in debt, think how much it must cost to run those hotels all year round, what if you have a quiet season? You're fucked. And incredibly, ALL the money is spent on the strip, but not on the surrounding area, so you take away the strip from Vegas and you're just left with this horrible dirty little town that is no different to a million other places around the world, with literally NO appeal. The characters on GS are the same, remove the shiny surface that they present to you and you're left with nothing, a faceless piece of flesh no different to a million others. It's tragic in a way, yet we all love it and ignore 'the darkside'

I know that was a tangent but I hope I got my point across. I just find it actually really interesting, but rest assured I shall never let this stop me watching the madness of Geordie Shore, and I'm certain it won't you, but try to see past the shiny exterior once in a while to take a look, see if you can find your own 'darkside' in things you'd never think to before. It's everywhere, but too often we let ourselves be directed where to look, what to enjoy, so break away a bit and check under the covers, behind the mask and see a bit of dirt for once.