New York Times digs in for Snooki profile but finds a shallow hole?

Since the advent of reality TV, never has more time been devoted to shallow and talentless characters.  Speaking of which, the NY Times Sunday Style section this weekend has a feature lead on ‘Jersey Shore’ personality Nicole Snooki Polizzi, entitled ‘Snooki’s Time,’ written by Cathy Horyn.  Horyn’s scorn for Snooki is pretty apparent throughout the piece, as she describes interviewing Snooki as “a little like getting down on your hands and knees with a child. You have to come down to her level, and sometimes you almost think you need to bribe her with a piece of candy to coax her to be more responsive.” One of my favorite lines is Horyn’s description of the 4-foot-9-inch Snooki: “She is busty and short-waisted with small legs; sort of like a turnip turned on its tip”.
Horyn asks Robert Thompson, professor of television and popular culture at Syracuse University,  who is actually an avid fan to explain the phenomenon, and the best he can do is:

“Everything about this show is super-sized — from the over-the-top hair to the over-the-top nature of the comments. He notes  ‘Jersey Shore’ is brilliantly cast and, of course, Snooki is the star,” but says he certainly wouldn’t want to be stuck in an elevator with her.” He describes her as “delicious artlessness,” an unprocessed quality, not “capable of serious introspection.”

Snooki’s dad, doesn’t get her popularity either and likes to go to her events and quiz fans as to why they like her, because he sees no reason to:

“When we go to venues, I like to stand out in the crowd,” he said. “She’ll be up there hooting and hollering, and I’ll say to someone, ‘What is it that draws you to my daughter? Be honest.’ Because it’s very hard for me to see what it is. She don’t sing. She don’t dance. I don’t want to say she don’t have talent …” He seemed to have his doubts. Then he shrugged. “Everyone basically says they can relate to her. I think Nicole’s just a likable person.”