The Bachelor And The Construction And Destruction Of The Fantasy Romance

Audience: The target of this piece is mainly millennials and those interested in Reality TV, however this piece reaches a wide range of viewers from young to old because of the vast audience that reality TV encompasses. Some chapters would be very interesting to people who have experienced and viewed closely the several reality TV generations periods that Kavka outlines in her introduction. The author reaches many audiences through the analysis of reality TV over an extensive timeline. Her intended audience wants to analyze the true definition of reality TV and its many intricacies.

Television networks are continually expanding their programming slates, and many in the past have switched to a year-round programming schedule that makes the phrase “summer return” basically absolute. On every channel, in every magazine, every darken theater, we see the way pop culture limits women’s role- girlfriends, victims, hookers, corpses, sex bombs, and “teases,” but why? Television, for most women, was the first place where they were able to visually see themselves represented. And for quite a while, they didn’t see much besides the loving wife, the dutiful daughter, gossiping girlfriends, fashion models, and the occasional maid, granny, or nanny. In Where the Girls Are: Growing Up

A central theme within Ruth Ozeki’s My Year of Meats is the idea of authenticity. It appears in the very core of the show My American Wife!, where the goal is to find “authentic,” “attractive” wives with attractive families and lifestyles so that BEEF-EX can make meat look appealing to Japanese viewers. However, many characters in the book have different views on what authenticity means, and the definitive definition is never revealed by Ozeki. In fact, My American Wife!, the authentic reality show, is one of the least realistic parts of the entire book and a reflection on the lack of authenticity in today’s reality TV shows. Although authenticity is projected as subjective, as My Year of Meats shows us, one will find nothing “real” or “genuine” about reality TV, which is negatively impacting our society.

In Katha Pollitt 's essay entitled "The Hunger Games ' Feral Feminism," Pollitt writes about what reality television might look like if taken to extremes. Reality television is a huge part of our culture today, and I not only agree with Pollitt 's views and ideas of what reality TV would look if taken to the extremes, but I believe that we have already gotten to that point. Today 's reality TV shows such as "Keeping up with the Kardashians", "The Bachelorette" or any of the "Real Housewives" are among many of today 's popular shows that focus on extreme aggression, bullying, physical beauty, and sex appeal. These TV shows teach us that it is not only ok to compromise morals and values, but that type of behavior accepted and rewarded. In today 's age, reality TV generally has to go negative and go to the extreme in order for it to be interesting despite the lasting impact that it may have on viewers. Reality TV has an impact on the values of their viewers and alters how they may perceive real-life situations. Therefore, it 's important to take a look at some of the standards portrayed by reality TV.

Do you know the guiltiest pleasure of the American public? Two simple words reveal all—reality TV. This new segment of the TV industry began with pioneering shows like MTV’s The Real World and CBS’s Survivor. Switch on primetime television nowadays, and you will become bombarded by and addicted to numerous shows all based on “real” life. There are the heartwarming tales of childbirth on TLC, melodramas of second-rate celebrities on Celebrity Mole, and a look into a completely dysfunctional family on The Osbornes. Yet, out of all these entertaining reality shows arises the newest low for popular culture, a program based on the idea of a rich man or woman in search of

In the essay, “Getting down to what is really real,” John Sullivan tells us about his thoughts on reality TV and explains why people are attracted to those shows. Some people might not like to admit they watch reality TV but it’s almost impossible to avoid hearing about it if you’re present on social media. We like watching it because it makes our lives look less stressful and drama is fun when you aren’t involved in it. It is easy to get attached to the characters and their unique personalities and most of all, people love the opportunity for easy fame.

The article “Dumb TV,” published in the University of Regina Carillon on February 8, 2014, is a critique of the ABC reality TV show The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, produced and directed by Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor - ABC, 2016). Written in an informal style, Destiny Kaus’s article provides data to support her thesis that states, “Overall, I really do think these shows are exceedingly dumb and they shouldn’t exist because the process doesn’t work.” In the article, she presents her bias by arguing that these drama-filled shows, where men and women compete for love and matrimony, are “dumb” and ultimately fail at providing everlasting love. The informality of the article creates a connection with the audience, but the excessive use of the word “dumb” distracts the reader from the actual brilliance of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette franchise. More important, this article is fundamentally flawed as it only references the simple analysis of these shows as a meaningless search for love instead of the tactical attack of capitalism by the television industry. Are The Bachelor and The Bachelorette actually “dumb” or are they a brilliant attack on people’s emotions for the benefit of a television franchise?

The Reality TV Show I chose for this assignment is The Bachelor. This TV show is very dramatic and definitely leaves you on the edge of your seat. The Bachelor is about one man who is looking to find love, and approximately 20 women competing for his love. In the season I chose to watch, Sean Lowe is the bachelor. Each week he sends another women home until he is left with his future wife. The three episodes I chose to watch were the last three of the season. Which included the home town dates, the final two, and then the finale, where Sean picked the women he wants to spend the rest of his life with. This show is definitely odd; however, it is extremely entertaining. The audience for this show is typically female teenagers and

In this year’s 19th iteration of ABC’s reality show The Bachelor, Chris Soules is the lucky man who has the opportunity to pick a potential mate from a group of 30 beautiful women. While we sit back and relax in our living rooms and watch the sappy, scripted love stories unfold, we silently judge the contestants while simultaneously comparing ourselves to them. Do I have a body like that? Am I pretty enough to be worth marrying? While most viewers deniably love to succumb to the cheesy drama of the plotted romance show, many might be oblivious to the fact that the show, even after 19 seasons, continues to preserve archaic gender roles that impede on what should be society’s goal of gender equality.

One thing is for sure; if we aren’t watching the sensational, we probably aren’t going to watch at all. Edna Buchanan says, “ The best day is one when I can write a lead that will cause a reader at his breakfast table the next morning to spit up his coffee, clutch at his heart, and shout, “My God! Martha, did you read this?” (Hanson, 2016) That’s what I’m looking forward to every Monday night, when the Bachelor comes on, is to be so shocked or irritated by what happens that next Monday seems years away. After going through this unit’s readings, I thought back to last night’s shocking episode. I laid on the couch after the Bachelor and one of the few remaining “contestants” enjoyed their date. Nothing seemed to be going on that was awkward, but the music and mute bodies sure made it awkward for me and all my friends at home. In Charlie Brooker’s video, “The Ethics of Editing Reality TV”, he brought up soundbite’s and how they can change the overall meaning of a scene (The Ethics of Editing Reality TV, 2013). If the editors of The Bachelor had

This show represents a type of “love” that is called pseudo love, which is defined according to Mickel and Hall (2008). Pseudo love is loving without depth. It is surface love. Mickel and Hall state the idea, “I love you only so long as you make me feel good. The moment you make me feel bad or unhappy, I question my love for you” (2008, pg. 31). Pseudo love is being found more in society because people are refusing to have depth with one another. This relates perfectly to The Bachelor, any possible love that is found on this show is only pseudo love. This is because if there are any problems that arise between the bachelor and one of the women, the bachelor simply eliminates the woman from the show and continues onto the next girl. The Bachelor is promoting pseudo love within society. Pseudo love presents the false expectancy that love is the answer to all problems. The

While most of the popular reality TV dating shows have been discontinued within the past decade, ABC’s The Bachelor remains strong as the most popular and continuous set of series with over 18 seasons of women trying to receive the “final rose”. Due to the impressive success of The Bachelor, producers decided to create a similar series known as The Bachelorette, which instead features a woman as the leading role opposed to the traditional man. Between both, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, there have been a total of 28 seasons, but producers didn’t stop there. They even went as far as creating a spin-off series that incorporates contestants that didn’t make it to the final rose from past seasons for a second shot at love and there’s a huge

In Megan Garber’s article, entitled “The (Booze-Infused, Bikini-Clad) Values of The Bachelor,” she examines many of the core traditions of the popular reality show. The Bachelor, and its corresponding The Bachelorette, both include a group of contestants vying for the love of the Bachelor or the Bachelorette, ultimately ended in an engagement between the chosen pair. This show’s depiction of romance and dating play a role in its long-lasting popularity, as well as present common representations of such relationships among the viewers. Garber’s article describes these reflections seen in The Bachelor, including the downplay upon people’s lives outside of the show, the emphasis on family values, and the consistent matchmaking organization of

Unethical, immoral travelling ‘freak shows’ such as the Ringling Brothers from the 1800’s now cease to exist in society, thank goodness. The mistreatment of the physically different was an outcry and surely no one would ever consider bringing such an offensive display of exploitation back. – Would they? Because it seems to me that reality television is becoming awfully similar. In fact I might even say that reality TV is worse than the circuses 200 years ago, for in all their unjust portrayal

A person who watches the show will be thoroughly entertained with the drama the show provides, as it continually makes the season more interesting to watch and more enticing for followers to continue to watch. Additionally, a fan of the show watches the beauteous story of two people falling in love, allowing people to understand the complexity and wonder of a developing relationship that could lead to marriage. This emotion allows for a viewer to become emotionally invested in the people on the show, demonstrating the wonderful ability the show has to convey true emotion. Correspondingly, The Bachelor details the concept of “love at first sight” and allows for viewers to believe in the idea of true love and connection, no matter the circumstances. This same concept of watching two people gradually build a connection together impeccably draws in a viewer, distinctly depicting the beautiful aspect of the television show. Consequently, the drama and raw emotion that The Bachelor educes in a viewer definitively demonstrates the allure of the program that should entice more people to watch