The Bachelor’s Brad exposes real reality love
Last Monday, the 11th installment of ABC’s The Bachelor came to an unexpected and riveting conclusion: After whittling the field from 25 nubile women to his final two, Brad Womack — the rugged Texan bar-owner and self-made millionaire — dumped them both. In his break with tradition, the Southern beau laid bare the folly of this preposterous program.
The following day, ABC aired “The Bachelor: After the Final Rose,” wherein the snubbed ladies returned to face the man who sent them home. Though such piggyback specials are typical — a way to squeeze another night’s ratings out of the...
Why would anyone waste their time watching any of these so called "reality" series? It's just more opiates for the masses. Personally, I'm holding out for armed galaditorial combat of matched pairs to the death. Now that's entertainment!
I love the fact that the Yale Daily News ran an analysis of why "The Bachelor" is not an effective vehicle for creating lasting, stable marriages -- with a straight face, no less.
Good work, YDN. Insightful journalism at its finest.
"The Bachelor" is a tongue-in-cheek joke. Everybody seems to know that already, with the exception of the bright kids in New Haven.
Brilliant comments, and writing.
I can't believe the amount of fuss this has caused.
the reason people were upset were because of the circumstances surrounding Brad's rejection of the final girl, not because he rejected her. He made a decision between proposal and rejection, not between proposal and dating, or dating and rejection. He told her to look forward to the day, flew her father out, and picked out a ring, and just chickened out in the end, deciding he didn't even want to date her at the last second. I don't think anyone expects marriage to last from the show, but a significant relationship is certainly likely.
Brad Womack doesn't know if he is coming or going. He is running out of excuses, so why won't he tell America that he was seeing his EX while doing the show. He is on Ellen tomorrow I can't wait to see what he says then.
http://the-bachelor2007.blogspot.com
Excellent writing. I couldn't agree more.
Michael, as Billy Bob Thornton said in Sling Blad, "I like the way you talk"! Wonderful article, you truly expressed the absurd nature of this show.
Personally, I found this season most addicting, mainly because of the people. That is the one element of this program that I find endlessly fascinating -- people's personalities and the chemistry between them.
Keep on writing Michael, I look forward to it.
Excellent article. Thank you for your insightful and thought-provoking journalism. I personally feel that Brad did, indeed, take the high road. Some question why he didn't even try to continue dating one of the girls. To them I would say this: why should he lead someone on (even further than the producers demand) when he doesn't believe there is any hope for a lasting relationship? Why go through the stress of long-distance dating, or moving one of the girls to TX? I don't know if he's seeing an old girlfriend, or not. It is none of my business. But he did the right thing in letting Deanna and Jenni go, with kind words and good wishes for their futures. Good wishes to Brad.
I enjoy this show very much even if there is not a proposal at the end. Its a clean show and nothing dirty about it. Can't wait for the next season.
Bravo! The first commentary that I've seen that makes sense AND is fun to read. Should you decide not to pursue law...perhaps a career as columnist? A+ well done!
I think the show also exposed our society's unrealistic expectations about love and relationships - the black/white either/or kind of thinking that sets one up for disappointment and disillusionment. Let's face it. A lot of us have unrealistic expectations about falling in love and being in love - "butterflies" in the stomach, undying, intense passion, "only one soulmamte for me," etc. and so on. When the butterflies go away and passion fades, we mistakenly think love is gone and it's time for a new partner -- this person can't possibly be our soulmate because we've lost those feelings! We forget that butterflies and intense passion can fade in order to make way for true companionship, bonding, and deep love -- the kind that has us there for each other through crises, losses, and the not-so-happy times. We also need to remember that love is a VERB, not just a feeling. Think about it.
I can not, for the life of me, figure out why any of this matters at all or why a YLS student would dedicate more than a few minutes of his/her time writing an opinion on such an absurd, meaningless, and unimportant topic. I won't ask you if there is something better you could have used your obvious talent in analysis, research and writing on because we all KNOW that there is. It is very telling that our society thinks it's interesting to spend more than a moment discussing such trivia.
I love the show and can't wait for the next bachelor. At least it a clean show.
excellent piece.... first thing written that has been authentically true. thank you.