Page 138 - Battleground The Media Volume 1 and 2

Dat ng Shows | 11

PLaying wiTh ThE CamEra: BrEaking ThE moLD
However, the dating show is a more complex genre than its surface of out-
right sexism suggests. In particular, as Average Joe or Joe Millionaire suggest,
dating shows have long been loved for showing bad matches, and while the
audience member’s criticism of those on screen may at times be misogynistic,
it might at other times allow audiences a chance to distance themselves from
prevalent scripts of romance. Here, then, it is the very cheesiness of suitors, of
dates, and of cast members’ long confessionals that amuse, and instead of en-
gaging with dating shows as romances, we might instead engage with them as
comedies. As comedies, some dating shows invite us to laugh at the silliness of
dating expectations, to roll our eyes at those who endlessly seek to live up to the
expectations, and hence to create different dating norms. Just as watching Jerry
Springer might bring amusement to audiences, yet no role models for future
behavior, so too might watching dating shows allow a space for play with and
mockery of those on screen.
In particular, the MTV and VH1 shows so obviously mix scripted behavior,
and outrageous premises, in a way that encourage little identification, and much
mirth. Parental Control, for instance, shows very little of the actual dates, and
instead focuses a lot of the screen time on verbal sparring between the parents
and the unwanted significant other, the three of whom must watch video footage
of the dates together. Here, the unwanted significant other often becomes a
comic hero, with the parents’ traditional expectations flouted and abused by
the often free-spirited significant other. Similarly, when the parents first inter-
view prospective dates, the producers always litter the pool with yet more comic
characters. While we might see their comic misbehavior as policing and disci-
plining a very firm notion of how one should behave, it is also such characters
who become the life of the show, and who make it enjoyable to watch, and thus
we will often support that behavior rather than chastise it.
Quite apart from the more riotous and comic dating shows, we might also
observe that identification is never secure even with shows such as The Bachelor.
While the bachelor is selecting from a group of 25 women, for instance, this may
well salt wounds of past rejection and public humiliation for viewers, who might
therefore identify with the rejected women, not the bachelor. In such a situation,
the bachelor’s seemingly “dreamy” qualities might therefore be inverted, as he
becomes yet another cardboard cut-out man who the viewer would be best to
avoid. As with all reality television, much of the work of the dating shows takes
place in the conversations and criticisms they inspire, not solely on the screen.
Just as American Idol or America’s Next Top Model do not require that viewers
validate the ultimate winner, neither does The Bachelor require that one either
agree with the bachelor or even agree that he is a worthy catch in the first place.
Finally, dating shows can also challenge the norms of patriarchal, heterosexual
romance. Most notably, many shows focus more on “hooking up” than on meet-
ing one’s actual spouse, thereby refuting the supposed purpose of traditional
dating. None of the MTV or VH1 shows seem to express hope in relationships