Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Jersey Shore vs. Jenks

  
Let's begin with the fist-pumping-'GTL'-Snooki-lovin' phenomenon that is Jersey Shore.  Personally, I believe that MTV has regained their popularity and place in pop culture because of what has evolved from the media monster that is Jersey Shore.  There was a time when I would go to the MTV channel and find nothing new or interesting to watch.  Then came a miracle in the form of fake, spray-on tans.  It seemed like everyone and their grandma was watching the first season of Jersey Shore!

The larger-than-life personalities of these young New Jersey folks made watching the show a surreal experience.  Although ratings shot up, Jersey Shore brought along its share of Debbie-Downer moments.  Many Italian-American organizations and even the governor of New Jersey felt that the J.S. cast wrongly portrayed the Italian community and were a bad representation of New Jersey.  So, I believe, to provide shows with more substance, MTV might be trying to promote and focus just a tad bit more on shows like World of Jenks to keep its moral meter in check.

MTV is known for its reality shows and documentary-style series.  The most well-known documentary-style series that MTV airs is True Lifewhich explores and follows people from many walks of life and, of course, the Real World series. A couple of already-established feel-good documentaries on MTV, are If You Really Knew Mewhich aims to break down high school cliques and stereotypes by having students get to know, on a deeper level, their fellow classmates, and The Buried Life, a show in which four friends embark on a journey to complete a "bucket list" and help a stranger along the way.

Monday, September 20, 2010

Jenks Catches Up with Chad

On his Youtube channel, Jenks posted a video of him spending a day with his autistic friend Chad at Jones Beach in New York.  Jenks and his crew went to pay Chad a surprise visit after their week of filming with him was over.  It really seems Jenks has made a special bond with Chad.  It's a sweet sight to see Chad get so happy when Jenks is around.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Behind the Scenes: Chad and Jenks / Sneak Peek

Jenks catches up with Chad in the clip below and they talk about Justin Beiber and Zac Efron.


In the clip below, Jenks and Chad have a guy talk.





In this clip, Chad confesses to Jenks he has a crush on his best friend's girlfriend.





* Next week's episode sneak peek below!  Jenks goes homeless.


Jenks Spends a Week with Autistic 20-year-old

This week, Jenks spent time with Chad, an autistic 20-year-old living with his parents in upstate New York.  Chad attends Westchester Exceptional Children's School, which caters to the special needs of children and young adults whom are unable to attend any public or private school because of their medical condition.  Jenks witnessed first-hand how autism can effect a person's everyday activities and the enormous challenge and patience that goes into raising an autistic young man.

Once Chad warmed up to Jenks and his crew, Jenks was able to venture into Chad's world little by little.  Jenks found out the most important belongings to Chad are his photos.  He has loads of pictures -- covering his walls; in boxes; in bags; print-out pictures; developed pictures; drawings, any format of a picture you can imagine Chad has it.  His pictures calm him, offering Chad a sort of sanctuary.

Along with photography, Chad loves:

  • Italian culture.  He even has a huge Italian flag hanging in the middle of his room.
  • Collecting take-out menus.
  • Collecting sand from different beaches he goes to.

Chad also has an impressive knowledge of what I like to call "Did You Knows."  These are trivia questions, fun facts; the kind information that you would find on the inside of a Snapple cap.

Chad has a very sharp sense of humor.  His witty remarks were a refreshing reminder to me that he's very aware of what's going on around him.  He flirts with girls at his school, complains about girls being moody, talks about dating "a hot Puerto Rican girl", and finding the right girl one day.  Those sound like topics any 20-year-old guy can say he's talked about with his friends.

Personally, I related with Chad very much on one particular activity.  Sleeping in.  Oh yeah baby!  Chad and I  are on the same level when it comes to sleeping in.  I think I may have a gene that has yet to be discovered that allows me to sleep in for hours.  Chad shared some very wise words about waking up someone that doesn't want to be woken up.  "You don't wake up a bear when he's hibernatin'."  Well said, my friend, well said.

After watching this episode, I felt the way I would approach someone with autism or any disability would be from a more considerate point of view.  I realized that simply because a person may have a disability doesn't mean they can't "keep up" or relate to others their own age.  If we are patient and understanding then we could see that we could have many things in common with this special person.


Visit the following sites to learn more about:

To read about Jenks talk about autism:




This is a drawing Chad's best friend, Joe, made for him.  That's Joe and his girlfriend, Helen, on the far left, Jenks in the middle, and Chad on the right.

Monday, September 13, 2010

Premiere Night!

Tonight's the night! World of Jenks makes its premiere at 10pm on MTV!  Check out the trailer for World of Jenks below

Also, take a look at a quick interview Andrew Jenks did about the show with TvGuide.com here.

Here's another interview Jenks did with PopEater.com, AOL's site for celebrity and entertainment news.


Thursday, September 9, 2010

Jenks Enters Rap's "Heaven and Hell" and Gets Slapped in the Face!

Although the premiere of World of Jenks isn't until Sept. 13 at 10 p.m., MTV released online the first episode of the series called "Heaven and Hell."  The first episode features Jenks moving in with Brooklyn-born rapper, Maino.  Maino spent 10 years in prison on kidnapping charges and while in prison, got cut in the face with a razor leaving him with an 8-inch scar on his right cheek.


Jenks went into this experience with a preset notion, as do many people, of who rappers are and how they live.  This presuming state of mind is what put Jenks on the receiving end of a swift and strong slap to the face delivered by Maino himself.  This came shortly after grabbing Jenks by the throat and pinning him to a couch behind him.  Were it not for one of Maino’s rather large entourage members intervening Maino could possibly have followed through with his threat of knocking Jenks out!

So, what is the moral we learned today, everyone?  Assuming makes a donkey out of you and me.

Even though he makes his livelihood thriving in a career that is known for its often violent and vulgar content and lifestyle, Maino explained how rapping became his guiding light out of the streets and out of prison.

Despite Maino’s rough past and tough looks, Jenks saw past the stereotypical rapper persona and found a man who works hard to keep his dream alive; a man who loves his family; a man who has been through heaven and hell, ups and downs and has come out the other end a survivor.


Here's Maino's song "All The Above" featuring T-Pain.

Andrew Jar Jar Binks, I mean, Jenks


First off, I have to say that his last name reminds me of Jar Jar Binks from Star Wars. Why you ask? I don't know why. I have no clue. It seems that's just how my brain works. I see Jenks and the first thing I associate it with is Jar Jar Binks. Besides having a name that I certainly won't forget, Andrew Jenks is quite an accomplished young man.

At the age of 19, he moved into a nursing home for a month to experience what it was like to live life as it was nearing its end. A low-budget, summer project developed into a feature HBO film called, Andrew Jenks, Room 335. Jenks' first feature film received positive reviews after premiering in Australia and Europe. I would say that's an accomplishment to have HBO feature your documentary. Wouldn't you agree?

When he was 21, ESPN financed Jenks' second film, The Zen of Bobby V, which focused on Major League player and manager Bobby Valentine and his current job managing the Chiba Lotte Marines, one of Japan's premiere baseball teams (source: IMDb). The Zen of Bobby V received positive reviews after premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival.
So, that's two feature films and one MTV series to premiere soon he has under his belt? And all this before he's even reached his 25th birthday? Very impressive, to say the least!




What's On TV with Auntie V - Introduction

Hi! I'm Veronica. I am a senior in college. As an assignment for one of my classes, I am to maintain a blog about whatever topic I choose. So, on my blog you will be getting weekly updates on one show that will be premiering on TV very soon. I chose to follow World of Jenks, which will be premiering on the MTV Network on Sept. 13th at 10pm.


World of Jenks is about a 24 year old documentarian and filmmaker, Andrew Jenks, who sets out every week to enter someone else's life to experience first-hand how they live and who they are. Jenks said on a MTV promo for the show,
"We try and move in and experience first-hand the lives of people [who] are easy to stereotype, but that we really don't know a lot about."

Jenks has the privilege to play the fly-on-the-wall that many people wish to be (I certainly have and still do), except he's an interactive fly. He doesn't merely sit back and observe his subject. He lives with, eats with, brushes his teeth with, and talks candidly with his subject.

In previews shown on MTV and on MTV's website, Jenks will be moving in with people of all walks of life like an MMA fighter, a cheerleader, a rapper, a homeless girl, and an autistic young man.

4 more days until the premiere of the show! See you then!