The Nicknames

What's the deal with the nicknames? In the first episode Vinny made fun of JWOWW (note the extra W) for introducing herself by her non-christian name, which begs the question, was the cast allowed to choose their own name? (this blog's namesake certainly appears to enjoy his)? Or did some producer randomly assign some ridiculous callsign like some insensitive Ellis Island bureaucrat? (Come to think of it, where do top gun pilots get their callsigns?) Where I come from, nicknames are not unheard of, but are usually just bastardizations of first and last names rather than seemingly unrelated phrases, intentional misspellings, and made up words (what is a snooki anyhow?). In any case, they seem to be, at best, loosely applied. Angelina has quickly become "Jolie", and Snooki has quickly become "Snickers" (genius - she is dark on the outside, sweet on the inside, and very nutty).

Some primitive cultures believe that individuals should be allowed to change their names to reflect their current circumstances and worldview. I think I read a childrens' book once where the main character's father wanted to build an airplane and so changed his name to "Wind Rider", and I saw a movie where a lady changed her name to Latrine in the 8th century (good change - it used to be "Shithouse"). Perhaps a similar concept is at work in guido culture, where names form organically, reflecting not only traits and characteristics of the person, but also of their state of mind and role within the group's social hierarchy and collective worldview, which is, of course, highly dynamic. The question is, will MTV alter their superimposed appellations during their interview segments to reflect these inevitable changes, or will they stubbornly hold to their original assignments?