I recently went out for coffee with a friend and they asked me how many words I had written Bachelor during my career. I thought about it, did some calculations on the back of a napkin, and finally answered that it was definitely less than half a million, probably a lot.
Their eyes widened. “Why?”
This was a reasonable question. Really, if someone writes a Lord of the Rings-level word count on the topic, they should expect to be asked why.
But what they said next – “it’s just a reality TV show!” – made me realize that despite all the words I’ve already written on the subject, I still have more to say. while yes Bachelor is just a reality show, it’s also a fascinating cultural artifact that can tell us a lot about how we think about love.
Reality TV stars who switched to acting
This is a topic I spend a lot of time thinking about. As many. I have two careers, both of which revolve around love and love stories.
By day, as Dr. Jodi McAlister, I study romance. I am an academic at the University of Melbourne and Vice President of the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance. My research revolves around the love stories we tell in popular culture and how they affect our ways of thinking.
The PEOPLE Puzzler has arrived! How fast can you solve it? Play now!
At night, like regular Jodi McAlister, I write romance. I am the author of several romance novels, and my latest, I’m not here to make friendsit will be on the shelves on June 4.
‘I’m not here to make friends’.
Atria books
The action of this book takes place on the set of a reality TV show called Marry me, Julietwhich is very similar Bachelor. But this time, the bachelor – who in this universe is called Romeo – is not the main character. Instead, we follow the show’s producers theirs a unique journey in love.
So – back to my friend’s question – why? Why am I so incredibly fascinated by this show?
First of all, as a reality TV format, Bachelor is an endurance athlete. Different dating shows will come and go, but Bachelor the franchise has been around for over 20 years – which tells me there’s something about it that audiences still find resonant.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2)/Gerry-Turner-theresa-tout-121223-b1587d12f7124b9c9c0b94815594d0d1.jpg)
The Golden Bachelor.
John Fleenor/Disney via Getty
Many reality TV formats have a specific trick – in love is blind for example, the contestants are not allowed to see each other until they commit to each other, something that would rarely happen in a real-life romantic relationship.
Love is blind: How 8 Couples Made Love Against the Odds Half a Decade After Opening the Capsules (Exclusive)
BachelorHowever, the only trick is the fact that all potential partners of the main role live together. The romantic milestones built into the format—dates, dates, kissing, family introductions, sex, commitment, maybe even a proposal—reflect the milestones a relationship progresses through in real life. The visual language of the play (roses, candles, endless formal clothes, etc.) evokes the timeless feeling of a fairy tale, but it is a fairy tale precisely about modern romance.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(720x332:722x334)/bacehlor-28-cast-053024-1-1fb22e03932e4a65b4650960f9f43deb.jpg)
The Bachelor 28 cast.
Disney/Michael Kirchoff
The relationships we see on Bachelor they involve real people, of course – but so does anyone who’s watched even one episode UNREAL knows, the love stories that are presented to us are very actively shaped, manipulated and edited. These are real love stories, but with an asterisk.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
For years I have been fascinated by this tension between what we think love should look like and what love actually is. IN I’m not here to make friends, after a season that went disastrously off the rails and left audiences deeply disappointed by the ending, TV producer Murray conjures up a very specific vision of the romantic fairy tale he wants to tell, complete with the perfect heroic prince and chosen Cinderella—and he’s willing to do an enormous amount of manipulation and sabotage to get the story. which he wants. But he doesn’t count on his estranged best friend and former co-producer Lily joining the cast as the season’s villain, derailing all his plans.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(1499x0:1501x2)/the-bachelorette-062323-7f14a081af6b4cc8b3c55953bc696f44.jpg)
The Bachelor cast.
ABC/Craig Sjodin
We’re so compelled by the fantasy of what love should look like that we keep coming back to the series year after year, even though the statistics on couples who stay together and then actually make it work are, shall we say, underwhelming (looking at you, Gerry and Theresa).
The Golden Bachelor Names The Golden BachelorJoan Vassos as the lead
“Your love might be pure and true and eternal,” snaps Murray at one point, “but that doesn’t give me a love story you can tell on TV!”
Because even if Bachelor is designed to reflect real-life romance, love is rarely as simple as TV fantasy. Sometimes it’s not a clean progression through romantic milestones, from meeting to dating to kissing and so on. Sometimes the road is long and winding, one step forward, two steps back. Sometimes love is intertwined with all sorts of other complicated, messed-up emotions – and sometimes, the mess makes for a much more interesting story than a fairy tale anyway.
And sometimes, Prince Charming and Cinderella aren’t the protagonists of the story at all.
Sometimes they are villains.
I’m not here to make friends is out on June 4 and is available for pre-order now, wherever books are sold.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education