Courtesy of Netflix
As stressed college students, sometimes we need a break from reality. For me, that break comes in the form of watching reality television. It may sound ironic, but becoming invested in the (dramatically televised) lives of other people takes me away from the stress of my own life.
While some call reality TV trashy, I call it extra-credit sociology homework. As an English and Sociology double major, I am always “on the job”: I cannot help but watch TV through my “sociology goggles.” Among many other social trends, I notice the racialized undertones of people’s language, the gender norms they perpetuate, and the implicit political messages they promote.
The two reality shows that have been at the forefront of my mind (and, more largely, popular culture) are ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars” and Netflix’s “Love is Blind.”
ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”
Currently airing its thirty-third season, “Dancing with the Stars” pairs professional ballroom dancers with celebrities to rehearse, perform, and compete for the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. A panel of judges (including Derek Hough, Bruno Toniolo, and Carrie Ann Inaba) serve as professional coaches and score each dance out of ten. The judges’ scores combined with viewers’ votes determine who keeps dancing and who must walk off the dance floor.
Stars on this season include US Olympians Stephen Nedoroscik (gymnast) and Ilona Maher (rugby player), Disney star Chandler Kinney, former Bachelor Joey Graziadei, former Bachelorette Jenn Tran, NBA star Dwight Howard, Super Bowl champion Danny Amendola, reality TV personality Phaedra Parks, and more. Notably, con artist Anna Delvey was the first star to dance in the competition wearing a house arrest ankle monitor.
The judges gained extra media attention this season, particularly Inaba. Her critiques of the dancers’ form and execution are always met with loud “boos” from the live audience. Some believe that Inaba is more critical of the female stars than the male stars, and that she picks favorites. In the Halloween episode, “Carrie Ann threw out 10s like they were candy to everyone except Chandler [Kinney] – who deserved it the most. Derek even gave her a 10, and he is the toughest judge on the show” (Collider). Others contest that fans are unfairly judging Inaba because she is a woman
Gender dynamics also come into play as the pairs rehearse and perform their dances. In ballroom dancing, men are the traditional leaders, spinning their partners across the floor and lifting them in the air. When the pro dancer in a pair is a woman, she is responsible for teaching the amateur man how to lead. In reality, the pro dancer must work twice as hard to make it appear as though the man is effortlessly leading. Arguably, it is somewhat unfair that the male and female stars are judged on the same scale, considering the vastly different roles of men and women in ballroom dancing. Fans criticize the fact that Howard (NBA star) receives high scores for merely walking across the dance floor and doing some dramatic arm movements while his partner does the majority of the work. On the other hand, female stars are expected to bring much more finesse to the dance floor, but the relative complexity of their moves is not always taken into account in the judges’ scores.
One pair in particular has pushed the traditional gender roles in ballroom dancing. Maher (Olympic rugby player) is an advocate for fierce femininity. She is known for wearing red lipstick on the rugby field and challenging beauty standards. Maher flaunts her strength on the dance floor, lifting her partner Alan Bersten in addition to being lifted by him. Another duo went viral on social media for their impressive lift. Amendola (NFL star) lifted his partner Witney Carson off the floor just by holding her ankle. Fans have attempted to recreate the lift at home, often without success.
Some episodes feature special guest judges. The “Hair Metal Night” episode had Kiss band member Gene Simmons on the judges panel, who sparked much controversy due to his erratic scoring and misogynist comments about the female dancers’ appearances.
Uncoincidentally, many of the pros on “Dancing with the Stars” hail from Utah and were raised in the Mormon faith. Derek and Julianne Hough, Lindsay and Rylee Arnold, Witney Carson, Jenna Johnson, and Brandon Armstrong all belong to this group. Evidently, this is because ballroom dance culture is prominent in Utah and dance is seen as valuable in the Mormon religion (Us Weekly).
Fans never cease to speculate about romantic relationships between the pros and rotating stars on the show. This season, model Brooks Nader was open about her romantic connection with pro dancer Gleb Savchenko. There has also been speculation about Tran (former Bachelorette) and her dance partner Sasha Farber. Tran admitted that the chemistry between her and Farber extends beyond the dance floor.
Netflix’s “Love is Blind”
Netflix released the seventh season of “Love is Blind” this past September and October, stirring up the reality TV pot with lots of drama. Created at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, “Love is Blind” follows couples through a social experiment to determine whether love is “truly blind.” Participants date one another in pods separated by a wall that prevents them from ever seeing one another. They are encouraged to form strong emotional connections through conversation without any of the superficial variables typically involved in the dating world, such as age, race, and appearance.
Each couple who forms a connection gets engaged and has a dramatic in-person reveal. The next stage of the show tests the relationships’ strength in the real world, with the added factors of physical attraction, living habits, and family. The remaining couples at the end of the show stand at the wedding altar and each make the life-changing decision to commit to one another for life or “walk away forever” (reality TV has no gray area).
The greatest number of married couples that have emerged from any given season of “Love is Blind” is two, raising questions about the experiment’s true effectiveness. Regardless of the end result, each season is full of enticing drama. Couples share deep conversations about socially relevant topics like race, child-bearing, and finances. They attempt to put their differences aside and meld their lives together, but often the initially romantic pod connections cannot withstand the complications of the real world.
Following the engagements and big reveals, the couples travel to a resort in Mexico where they finally get to socialize all together. The first cocktail party always creates drama, as the men see the women they dated in the pods but did not choose (and vice versa). Couples then see each other’s homes and begin settling into normal life together. They meet one another’s families and plan for their weddings. The dramatized weddings are more equatable to public ultimatums; there is no guarantee that the couples will actually leave the altar together.
Obviously, all reality TV is fabricated by producers. However, viewers have been especially skeptical about the involvement of the “Love is Blind” producers: “With couples who weren’t necessarily interested in each other or telling the truth about their relationships, the season felt overproduced from the very beginning” (Screen Rant). Fans question the validity of the screening process for participants in the show, as more than once there have been people who turned out to still be in relationships/situationships while they were participating in the experiment. It often seems like certain people were specifically chosen to be on the show because they would incite drama, not because they had genuine intentions to find love. I guess I cannot really complain, because the show might be less entertaining if the producers did not intervene as much as they do.
I would also like to give honorable mentions to The Bachelor Franchise, “Survivor,” “The Traitors,” and any reality cooking shows. If you are in a rut and in need of a new obsession, look no further than reality TV.
