When Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino made an appearance at Lodge Bar on Jan. 20, the bar was filled to capacity, with a line of people waiting outside to catch a glimpse of the “Jersey Shore” star.

“People were fighting, elbowing and going crazy to get a picture of him,” said Kelly Patzwahl, a second-year in speech and hearing at Ohio State. “It was unlike anything I’ve ever seen before. Some crazy girl jumped up and was making out with him.”

The frenzy surrounding Sorrentino is a testament to the popularity of the show and the celebrity status the cast members have achieved.

Since its premiere, the show has taken the country by storm, with about 4 million people tuning in for each episode. The cast members have appeared on the “The Late Show” and the “Jay Leno Show.”

The show, which ended Thursday, followed eight housemates as they lived, worked at a T-shirt shop and partied in Seaside Heights, N.J. The cast members are all in their 20s and are of Italian-American heritage. They are often shown drinking, fighting and
hooking up.

Despite its popularity, the show has sparked controversy, drawing criticism for the stereotypical portrayal of Italian-Americans and the cast’s frequent use of the terms “guido” and “guidette.” Once an offensive term for working class Italian-Americans, the cast members say it is positive, describing a “guido” as someone who is tan, good-looking and self-conscious about their physical appearance.

Carla Onorato, a lecturer in Italian at OSU, is a native Italian and former New Jersey resident. She said she does not identify with the characters on the show.

She said modern Italian-American culture reflects the behaviors and values that were common in Italy during the 1940s and 1950s when most Italians immigrated to the U.S.

“To me the behavior portrayed in the show is kind of embarrassing and demeaning of my country,” Onorato said. “It reiterates stereotypes that are not present anymore in the majority of great Italian-Americans who are very educated, hard-working and family oriented.”

Tom Mollica, a second-year in accounting, is an Italian-American from the Jersey shore. He said that while he knows people like the cast members, not all people in New Jersey have those behaviors.

He said he sees the show as entertaining and unoffensive.

Mollica said he has always heard the term “guido” used and does not find it offensive. He said “guido” is a positive term people use to describe themselves and their lifestyle.

Silvia Knobloch-Westerwick, an associate professor in the School of Communication, said people want to see their own group represented in the media. She said people’s opinion of the show could be shaped by how integral their Italian-American heritage is to their identity.

Knobloch-Westerwick said that this type of show is an age-old recipe: A show uses humor at the expense of a certain group of people.

“I understand why people have issues with these types of shows,” she said. “I can see how these shows could potentially create negative stereotypes about a group of people.”

MTV has dealt with criticism from Italian-Americans and from sponsors threatening to pull ads from the network, but despite this criticism, “Jersey Shore” remains the network’s highest rated show.