Page 78 - A Handbook Genre Studies in Mass Media

FORMULAIC ANALYSIS

reality shows. Compare any episode of any soap opera to an episode of
a reality series, like The Bachelor, and note the resemblance.
In season three of ABC’s The Bachelor, twenty-five single women com-
peted for the heart of Andrew Firestone, a young, handsome millionaire
and heir to the Firestone tire fortune and vineyard. In the beginning An-
drew became acquainted with the women through group dates and at the
end of each episode ceremonies were held that allowed Andrew to present
long-stemmed roses to the women he wanted to remain on the show, thus
cutting the women whom he felt less of a romantic connection with. After
weeks of rose ceremonies, the number of competitors dwindled down to
just three: Tina, Jen, and Kirsten. At this point, Andrew met each of the
three women in different cities for individual dates. This allowed both
the woman and the bachelor to get to know each other better in a more
intimate setting. After Andrew decided on the final two, both women,
on separate occasions, went to Andrew’s home to meet the Firestone
family. Each member of the family offered to Andrew their opinions of
which woman would be the better match for him, but ultimately it was
Andrew’s decision. In the end, the last woman standing, Jen Schefft, was
proposed to by Andrew in the final minutes of the show.
As in a soap opera, the storyline of The Bachelor is dragged out over the
span of many weeks. For the duration of the show, the female contestants are
put up in a secluded mansion, thus restricting them to interacting only with
each other and the bachelor. This controlled environment is also comparable
to the small world represented in soap operas. Storylines of soap operas focus
primarily on the complicated relationships within a community of characters
who typically live in the same town and interact only with each other.
Good versus evil is another characteristic of soap operas that has made
its way to reality TV. A prime example is the depiction of the final two
women competing for Andrew, Jen and Kirsten, who seemed as opposite
as night and day. Jen was portrayed as the girl-next-door type. She was
pretty, sweet, easygoing, and well-liked by the other women, making
many friends along the way. She cared for the feelings of the other women
and was there when they needed her. Her smiles and adorability made it
impossible for anyone not to like her.
Kirsten, on the other hand, was not there to make friends. Due to her
antisocial behavior and talking about the other women behind their backs
to the camera or to Andrew, she was quickly assigned as the antagonist
of the show. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, but there seemed

63