When most couples describe their first date, few do it on national television with one man and 29 other woman. However, television producer Mike Fleiss decided that this would be an ideal situation to meet one’s future spouse, and decided to produce “The Bachelor.”
The show has garnered a strong following at Hockaday: a recent Fourcast survey found that 60 percent of Upper Schoolers watch it. Season 21 aired on Jan. 2, 2017 with Nick Viall, despite only two couples of the 20 seasons having success in their relationships. Will Nick be lucky number three? I think not. And I am not alone: 70 percent of Upper School students do not think people can find love on the show.
Nick, who is 36, has been on shows in the Bachelor franchise three times, not including his current status as the Bachelor. He failed to find love in two seasons of “The Bachelorette” and a season of “Bachelor In Paradise.” Despite his attempts to convince the audience otherwise, I think he is trying to extend his 15 minutes of fame rather than find his future wife.
Nick gave the first impression rose, which the bachelor gives to the woman who he feels most connected to on the first night, to Rachel, an attorney from Dallas, and it was the first time an African-American woman had received this rose. Although previous seasons of the “The Bachelor” have not been very diverse, this is a step in the right direction.
But here is the problem: Rachel was never invited on any of the three dates in the following episode, making me question the motive behind Nick’s decision to give the rose to her, as well as how seriously he is taking the show. She did get more attention in following episodes, to Nick’s credit, and seems to be a viable contender.
Additionally, Nick’s decision to give a group date rose to Corinne calls into question his motives. Corinne, aged 24 from Miami, is season 21’s crazy villain, portrayed as a spoiled, promiscuous and aggressive woman who is not quite ready for marriage. However, to give Nick some credit, the directors and editors could be skewing the truth for ratings, and maybe there is more to Corrine than is shown. At this point, the show would not hold my attention if Corinne was eliminated because after Liz’s welcomed departure, who had a previous relationship with Nick, there was no drama except for Corinne, and the other girls are generally boring. This is disappointing because previous seasons have had more drama, upping the entertainment factor.
Although Nick can come across as cocky and arrogant, completely opposite to last season’s Ben Higgins, the show has proven to be entertaining, because of the women on it, from Corinne, who continues to shock me after each episode, to Alexis, who dressed up as a dolphin on the first episode.
I, among many others, don’t believe people can find true love on this show. So, why do we indulge in this guilty pleasure? Because besides the entertaining drama, maybe, deep down, we all enjoy the picture perfect ending that the Bachelor gives us.
Morgan Fisher – Asst. Castoff Editor
