Just Another Day In The Bachelor Industrial Complex
This show will not let me rest.
Two posts in one week, you ask? I know, y’all. It’s Christmas.
Back in April ahead of AAPI Heritage Month, I pitched an article about Jenn Tran being named the first ever Asian American Bachelorette:
If you know me, you know one of my main motivations in entering the film/tv/entertainment industry was to keep pushing diverse stories and folks forward. I had a gnawing suspicion that despite Jenn’s clearly genuine enthusiasm for the role, she wasn’t some altruistic first choice pushed by the franchise. Rather a diversity “glass ceiling” breaker was a convenient marketing spin to keep public interest in the new season when they didn’t get who the fans wanted.
And sadly, as we’ve seen her absolutely treacherous end to her journey — casting that was clearly catered towards Daisy and Maria (which several men have confirmed), multiple serious allegations against front runner contestants, a broken engagement, and torturous live After The Final Rose taping where we watched her sob her way through being forced to watch her initial proposal with her ex-fiancé on stage next to her — my suspicion was confirmed. The one shining moment where she got the chance to talk about nuanced Vietnamese representation on screen and the dynamics of the patriarchy at play was quickly trampled by the mess that followed.
During the taping, Jenn at one point breaks the fourth wall, exasperatedly asking host Jesse Palmer, “Do I have a choice?” in response to him asking her if she’s ready to watch her proposal, which he adamantly tries to spin as empowering despite the position she’s landed in. Earlier on, she also shares with Marcus (the suspected winner before their breakup) how her feelings, time, energy, and investment — implicated not only in the romantic relationships she had, but also in the process of the show itself — was not treated with care.
The longer I watched, the more it was starting to feel disturbingly Truman Show-esque. I always thought there was no way they could repeat the same mistakes or stoop lower than Matt James’ (the first Black Bachelor) final episode, but boy was I unfortunately proven wrong. For a recap on my thoughts on his season, as well as other qualms with the franchise, you can listen to this episode of my previous podcast, The Brown Girls’ Journal, with fellow writer and co-host, Rodlyn Mae Banting:
“We dived right in to the myriad of systemic issues that have plagued the franchise, first dissecting Rachel Lindsay's season and how she was marketed and treated as the first Black bachelorette. Then, we talk about how the franchise handles gender dynamics and fails to keep up with the times. We deconstruct the problematic premise of the show itself, which implies polyamory is simply a means to an end. And last, we tackle the intricacies of the most recent season of the Bachelor with Matt James, which leads to a nuanced conversation around his relationship and subsequent fallout with Rachel Kirkconnell, who had several racist allegations against her while the show aired. Of course, Bachelor nation is the gift that keeps on giving, so there's no way that we could possibly cover everything happening with the franchise, but we hope this gave you a nice introduction and overview about how we're feeling regarding the show at this point in time!”
With only a two-week breather, The Bachelorette is back! This time, Golden edition. Tuning into Joan Vassos’ season premiere, I was prepared to be underwhelmed, but surprisingly found myself thoroughly entertained by the variety of personalities in the cast, abundance of dad jokes and budding bromances, and touching montage of videos from their children (including visibly queer kiddos <3 which I know is a low bar for this franchise, but just goes to show how much of an improvement in the authenticity it brings!). I seriously don’t even remember the last time I’ve laughed while watching this show, except for the seasonal blooper reel they for some reason like to hide until the final episode, so this was quite the departure. I even braced myself for Charles, an endearing older Asian gentlemen who received a full intro package edit, to be cut within the first rose ceremony, but was pleasantly surprised to see him stay.
From the way Joan quickly replaced a sobbing Jenn after the ad break during Jenn’s finale to the quickest hiatus we’ve experienced in a while, this show has an eerie way of reminding us this is all for our entertainment first, and a journey for these leads second. If my writing about this show is for one purpose, that’s to prove I’m not forgetting anything ABC, try as you might to make me!
That being said, I truly wish Joan nothing but the best. And Jenn — we see you and we love you. Despite what you dealt with, know you still did us more than proud.
Further Reading: Bach Mania
This is the section of my newsletter where I share more recommendations in line with the theme of the work I’m reviewing, if you are so inclined to dive deeper. Maybe it’s because it’s officially Fall, but I’m feeling nostalgic for all things academia, so this is my coping mechanism. Let me know in the comments if you indulge in anything from this list or have any other recs!
WATCH:
UnREAL (Lifetime/Hulu Original) - Now available on Netflix, this fictional drama follows the behind the scenes and life of the production team working on a reality tv dating show called Everlasting, modeled after The Bachelor. One of the creators of the show, Sarah Shapiro, was a real-life ex-producer on The Bachelor, which just makes the show that much more enticing and nerve-wracking!
LISTEN:
Unreal: A Critical History of Reality TV (BBC Radio 4) - For a more intellectual deep dive on reality TV, this 10-part series produced by BBC has become one of my go-to podcasts I’ll listen to on the plane while traveling. While they don’t touch on The Bachelor specifically, they do cover The Kardashians, Big Brother, Love Island, and more.
“Your Mom & Dad” Podcast: Jenn’s Bachelorette Finale Episode - If you’ve surrendered to living the life of a Bachelor Head like me, I highly recommend watching or listening to this recap podcast hosted by married couple, Jess and Evan Ambrose. They are arguably 90% of the reason I still watch the franchise, so I can hear their entertaining takes after and they truly went IN on this finale.