Testforfan

he Bachelor falling under the category of being a reality TV show brings an exceptional amount of debate and questioning surrounding the basis and plot of the show. When looking at Interpretative disputes, it gives the readers of a text the chance to collectively derive their own meanings from a certain text. Ideally this show surrounds the fantasy of being put in a mansion with 25 beautiful, smart, idealistic women in order for the man to fall hopelessly in love with one lucky lady and live happily ever after. Nearly 16 seasons of the Bachelor and fans have become completely immersed and obsessed with following a show that is suppose to lead to “perfect love”.

Due to the nature of the show, one of the obvious disputes that arises is whether or not the Bachelor can be a place where true love can really be found, or if it’s just another excuse for a reality TV show that includes large amounts of drama and suckers in viewers. No surprise that this question of whether the show produces real love or not encompasses communities that tend to lean one way or another.

On a website HubPages it is similar to Wikipedia in the sense that it is user generated information, yet it primary put into place to allow communities of people surrounding a specific topic can voice opinions and discuss with one another.One in particular contributor who is a part of the Bachelor community voiced her opinion how the Bachelor actually impedes the chance of the contestants finding true love (cite). Jan Peterson explains how the show is filmed in a 3-month period, and just pressures and rushes the Bachelor and contestants to make quick decision, not allowing for a true chance for love to develop. Jan also how the dynamic of the show, and how it can become easy to view getting proposed to at the end of the show as “winning” instead of looking at is a chance to have a lasting relationship with someone you love. In Season 16 of the Bachelor this was actually one of the most debated and heated issues surrounding the season. The woman the Bachelor (Ben) picked was constantly referring to her place on the show as merely a competition and opportunity to out shine other girls. Needless to say, when Ben watched the taping of the season it was not a happily ever after for that them. Another major problem that is mentioned is how throughout the show they travel all across the world to the most beautiful and exotic destinations, only to start a real life that has real challenges after the show? It’s easy to fall in love on an island in Fiji with a romantic sunset, but there is concern that creates almost a false sense of reality and possibly reason for “falling” for someone in the first place.

On the flip side there is a part of the Bachelor community that I located on The Tangential blog about how the relationships formed on the show share similar components and has the ability to offer the same opportunity for love. One of the points Jay the author uses to refute the idea that the only reason people fall in love is because of the romantic, idealized settings is stated how in a sense we all create an artificial setting when going on a date with someone. He used the example of bringing a picnic to a beach, or going to an extravagant restaurant downtown.We could argue that is not “reality” in terms of building a meaningful relationship as well, yet people still find their true love that way in the real world. The author of this blog also brings to the table the idea that people fall in love despite themselves. How although much of the show is staged, artificial, scripted, and a bit unrealistic these are still real people putting their hearts on the line in order to find true love. While many of the contestants do not go on the show for the right reasons, you got to believe there are a handful that truly desire to find someone to spend the rest of their life with, and are willing to put it all on the line for love.