Everyone has his or her guilty pleasure, and mine till the end of time will always and happens to be The Bachelor. I've been completely and willing trapped in the series monster mess of tears, a cheesy fest of earnest declarations, tacky dresses, dramatic falls, and I know I'm not in this alone.
I'm a rather new follower to this cultural phenomenon, which first took the small screens in 2002, and has since created spin-offs "The Bachelorette" (2003) and "Bachelor Pad" (2010). Seasons passed by and I stayed faithful to Keeping Up With the Kardashians and Jersey Shore, but I reached a low point in my life and caved. I watched the Bachelor, and I liked it, scratch that, I LOVED it.
I was officially hooked; The Bachelor season 17 stole my heart. I watched Bachelor Sean follow the yellow brick road to his pot of gold, Catherine Giudici, his now wife and soon to be baby mama. Yes they did get their happy ending. Now if you are reading this thinking I am so come crazy obsessive TV junkie, that is true, but I promise hop on the Bachelor bandwagon, and you are in for one hell of a ride!
Most of my friends and including myself have a love-hate relationship with "The Bachelor." To be exact, we despise how much we adore the show. The message of the show is beyond horrible. We're basically told that women in their twenties should be frantically searching for Mr. Right (not to mention most of the 30 -something barbies I mean bachelorettes are portrayed as desperate, crazy, and everything in between.) This mostly applies to the predominately white women of the show, as people of color are an extinct species, which rarely get cast. Spoiler alert, Catherine isn't white and you do see color in the newer seasons so there is another cue to get watching people!
With everything being said and heard, season after seasons, hordes of America's finest and most successful women come to ABC and Chris Harrison with their hearts on their sleeves to see what's all this about.
Everyone loves Drama, Just Not There Own
I am definitely guilty of this along with many other things when it comes to this glorious show. I don't know about you, but there is something so pleasing about watching a human having one too many cocktails, abruptly burst into fake tears, and be the definition of a "nut case." It's similar to that melancholic curiosity that drives people to slow down in the middle of the freeway to get a nice long look when it has nothing to do with you. So with that being said, cheers to watching "The Bachelor" women swim in knee deep white wine tears, have mental breakdowns in bathroom stalls, and discuss their elaborate careers at cocktail parties. Don't worry, with an estrogen overdose, there definitely is a fair share of catfights over a man they barely know, is disturbing, yet absolutely fascinating.
It's A Perfect Punching Bag
Monday's are gross. Maybe your weekend was rough and you're feeling a little under the weather. Maybe your boss was being crappy at work, or maybe your roomie was getting on your nerves, or heck, maybe you just are suffering from a case of "Mad Monday". I have the perfect solution, release all your pent up frustrations on my virtual version of, "The Bachelor."
"Bachelor" Love is so Artificial; It Makes You Appreciate The Organic Reality Of Love
"Reality" Television is far from reality, I think most of us intellectual folks can piece that puzzle. Think about it, in what universe are we supposed to actually believe that 30 random girls will all fall deeply in love with one nice guy in just a (span of a few hours), not to mention with a few too many drinks in hand?
Yes, It is fun to watch all the super-scripted, cheesy-romantic dates play out on television, the reality of having a stranger smell your body odor after a quick run is pretty uncomfortable, and no I didn't make that up, this ladies and gentleman just took place a few weeks ago on an episode of Season twenty's,"The Bachelor."
We also get to bask in the fact that none of us would walk a thousand miles to impress a man... I mean at least the majority I am hoping. Telling all of America a stranger man is "your piece"? No. Leave your medical career to move to a deserted town in the countryside? No. Not even if Leonardo Dicaprio walked out of a limo begging for my love with a dozen roses and said" Forget Rose, you're the one." (Well scratch that, I might consider that...")
This Prince Charming fantasy "The Bachelor" plays for all us lovers, is a safe place for us to dream and drool, because I mean come on, from one bachelor to another, they just keep getting cuter. With that being said, most of us would rather go the practical route and take the dating battlefield in a local bar, through mutual friends, or on Tinder, rather than play mean girl on national television, or claim a man like a piece of meat and then pushed aside, which of course is later revealed on a wonderful spread of tabloids.
So my advice, instead of Taking "The Bachelor" franchise to seriously, or using it as a "Relationship 101" crash course for romantic etiquette, we take from the show exactly what it gives us, a sweet escape from our boring lives, an incentive to value a raw, imperfect relationship, and an excuse for some of us to enjoy that Margarita Monday to the fullest!