Once again A&E has aired a repeat of Growing Up Gotti promising a new episode next week. There are far too many good reality shows in the fall line-up that are worthy of attention and frankly I was beginning to dread watching the show each week anyway. So I am throwing in the towel.
I started out with high hopes. I was willing to take this thing on with an open mind and tried time after time to give the key players in the show the benefit of the doubt, but sadly, what started out to be a promising new venture in reality TV has quickly turned into a farce. Growing Up Gotti debuted on August 2nd and has already aired reruns in its timeslot 3 times. A&E had an opportunity to lock in its viewership during the lull at the end of Summer when most of the 'big' shows had finished and the new fall line-up had yet to air but they dropped the ball.
Victoria Gotti has been very successful in keeping their names in the media and grabbing photo ops at every big event of the summer but interest in the show seems to have dropped off to a select group of teenage girls. Early on I tried to defend Victoria, hoping that she was playing the media for laughs and that she was savvy enough to realize how ridiculous the family was being portrayed. Vicky Kahn, the PR representative for the show, quickly assured me that none of it was staged (huh?) and the laughs we were getting each week were not intentional. Then "The Smoking Gun" put up their answer to the A&E show, "Blowing Up Gotti", where they revealed tapes that were made of visits between Victoria and her revered father in prison. These videotapes removed any doubt about how Victoria and her siblings "grew up" and reaffirmed the outcries of critics that this was not a family to warrant our praise. I was entertained but Victoria's antics but soon realized that if what we were seeing each week is intended to be taken seriously, it's really kind of pathetic. Looking back on what I have seen and read about his family so far this year I almost feel guilty for all of the support I initially gave the show, but in my defense I honestly thought it was meant to be funny!
Judging from the email I receive each week and the message boards that have managed to stay up (Most were dropped for lack of interest or the sheer viciousness of content) the show is being watched solely for the occasional glimpse of one of the "Hotti Gottis" by teenaged girls who have chosen these three as objects of worship. Any mother who has a teenage daughter with aspirations of someday meeting and dating a Gotti boy I can only urge to view the tapes on the Court TV website and see what this family is really about. The Gotti boys idolize their grandfather, knowing full well what he did for a "living". They learned early on how to throw the name around to get what they want. The truth is they are Agnellos, not Gottis. Their father did choose to follow in the grandfathers' footsteps but he never rose within the Hierarchy and has never been accused of murder. I guess that makes him a less desirable role model for his sons. Victoria may have chosen to return to her maiden name out of anger at her husband's betrayals but the fact that the boys choose to use the name that is NOT theirs only shows that they have made the conscious choice to trade on the power and fear invoked by their grandfathers exploits. These kids know how the game is played. Throughout the episodes that have aired we have seen them outright defy their mother, shout at her, whine and manipulate, primp and preen and act like ultra-spoiled brats. They have every asset imaginable yet treat their property and the property of others like garbage. They show no respect for authority or women. Other than the fact that their gelled hair, fake tans, gold-jewelry and designer clothes make them the 21st century's answer to the Ken doll, I cannot fathom why young women would swoon for these mama's boys. Media hype set them up to be teen idols. How easily is the youth of today manipulated? Apparently very easily!
In the future, if Growing Up Gotti begins to air on a regular basis and live up to it's promise we will keep the dwindling audience informed.
Eleanor is a NYC girl managing her own "Mob" in the Pocono Mountains. She maintains her sanity by watching "Reality TV" and convincing herself that it is all "REAL".
She can be reached at ifyouaskme@msn.com
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